Marriage by Mistake

know. Felicia couldn't let him think she was weak. If he could take being in her company, then she could take being in his.
    And besides, there was always the possibility that a tour of the facilities might convince Troy to bestir himself and use his sleeping charm to bring in some badly needed funds.
    "Oh," she said, smiling innocently. "Would you like a tour?"
    Troy's dark eyes gleamed. "Why, yes," he replied. "A tour would be ever so nice."
    Felicia inclined her head. It was anybody's guess why Troy was really here.
    "Oh," Andrea said, and winked. "Be sure to show him our 'new wing.'"
    Troy turned to Felicia with a lifted eyebrow.
    She smiled with even more innocence. "We'll save that for last."
    With a curve of the lips that said he was willing to play along, Troy lowered his eyebrow again.
    It was all Felicia could do not to gnash her teeth. Lord, but he was appealing, all lithe and athletic and bedroom-eyed. She smiled her farewell to Andrea and then walked quickly past Troy and into the hall. Fortunately, every room in the place was full of people; volunteers, staff, and clients. She would have no opportunity to give in to the temptation to press her hands against his hard chest or run her fingers through his silky hair.
    Felicia's pace was brisk as she strode down the hall. No, nothing that way was going to happen between them here...but perhaps she could make something more constructive happen. If she were very clever she might manage to provoke the sleeping philanthropist in Troy's soul.
    She started where the clients would start, at reception. There, under Troy's polite attentiveness, she pointed out the comfortable furniture, the carpeting, and painted landscapes on the walls. Prospective clients, often fleeing horrific situations, should feel safe and at home.
    Troy nodded. He was doing his best to appear detached, but Felicia noticed his eye catch on one client who was sitting on the sofa, paging through a People magazine. The client looked about fifteen years old, and had a black eye. Felicia saw a muscle jump, ever so slightly, in Troy's jaw.
    After a hike through the kitchen and dining room, Felicia led Troy through the dormitory, where the rooms had been designed to give privacy to family groups. There, touring a one-bedroom suite, Felicia got her second hint she might be getting through.
    Occupying the suite was Roberta Brown, a single mother suffering from cancer. With hollowed cheeks, she sat in a rocking chair and slowly read a book to Shane, her six-year-old son. Shane huddled in her lap, his arms clutched around his mother's neck as he peered out at Felicia and Troy.
    Felicia could feel Troy stiffen beside her. At the same time, his sleeping charm seemed to leap to the fore. "Hey, buddy, whatcha reading there?" He waltzed easily up to the pair, then leaned sideways to peer inside the book.
    Roberta smiled wanly up at him. "It's Dr. Seuss."
    "Oh, Seuss is the best." Troy put on a mock stern look and pointed at finger at Shane. "I hope you're paying attention."
    Looking cowed, Shane nodded.
    "Good," Troy said, and grinning widely, chucked Shane under the chin. The boy laughed in surprise at the sudden reversal in attitude, and reflexively grabbed onto Troy's hand. There followed the kind of tussle Felicia had often witnessed between males, something from which they seemed to derive a mysterious joy.
    Both Shane and Troy were beaming by the time Felicia led the latter from the room. But Troy's grin dropped once they were in the hallway with the door closed after them. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Felicia.
    "Leukemia. She's getting treatment through government aid, but meanwhile she's too weak to make a living."
    "Huh," said Troy, and his eyes flicked away from Felicia's. She suddenly remembered a fact about Troy that she'd long known, and had long forgotten. Both his parents had been killed in a small plane crash when he'd been a teenager.
    Quickly, Felicia turned away. Funny, how she'd forgotten that, and funny how it now hit her. How hard it must have been for him to lose both his parents at once, and at such a young age. But he never showed any lingering ill effects.
    Or at least, not in any obvious way.
    "Ahem. This way." Felicia started down the hall. Unfortunately, the idea that Troy might harbor some vulnerability poked at her. It made him, somehow, more real.
    Impulsively, she changed her mind about ending the tour before they got to the 'new wing.' She turned right instead of left.