Ember #3
Jack shrugged. “A month is workable. We’ll have to make sure we’re seen around town, make it believable.”
“You’re proposing we pretend to fall in love,” I said flatly.
“I’m proposing we act like a couple while we’re in public, and that we be in public as often as possible.”
I must have had a blank look on my face, because he tilted his head, studying me. “You know how to act like a couple, right?”
“Of course I do,” I snapped, a little too quickly. A little too hotly.
“I’m not sure I believe you. Have you ever had a boyfriend, Ember?” His voice was dark velvet, sliding over my skin, sending shivers through my veins.
I gulped. “I’m adding an addendum to our contract,” I gritted out. “No probing personal questions.”
His smile was pure, delicious evil. “All I’m saying is we should hold hands. Say sweet nothings to each other. Feed each other bites of food.”
I grimaced, and he laughed. It was a rich, round sound that made me want to lean toward him and faceplant into his chest.
Red Alert: Danger Ahead.
Jack softened slightly, glancing at the door again.
“Look. This… It can work. This deal. But my grandmother just turned ninety,” he said in a gentler voice.
“This whole thing…I don’t want to upset her if I don’t have to.
She means a lot to me. To all of us. I want to make this believable, make her feel like she’s done the right thing. ”
My shoulders softened. That right there—that was trouble.
The man had a heart. I would have preferred him to be cold and calculating like the rest of the men in my life.
I knew how to deal with cold and calculating; I could be just as frigid in response.
But Jack cared deeply about at least two people: his daughter and his grandmother.
He was driven by the desire to provide for one and please the other.
I didn’t know how to deal with that, and it worried me how much I liked seeing the glimpse of the man behind the mask. It was much easier to think of him as nothing but a womanizing jerk.
Still, I was curious: “Won’t it break her heart when we split?”
He shrugged. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” When I frowned in response, he grinned. “That’s not your way of dealing with things, I take it.”
“It is not.”
He shrugged, nonplussed.
The deal hovered between us, there for the taking.
My future, his freedom. Ribs tight, I forced myself to slow down and reconsider this from all angles.
The risks were many: We could fail to make it a month, and I’d lose that much time in finding a husband before my thirtieth.
We could be found out for faking it, and I could be sued for fraud by my father’s estate.
Less likely—and more catastrophic—was the risk that I would develop feelings for Jack.
I stole a glance at the man across from me, watching the way he studied me. Blue, blue eyes. Broad shoulders. Devil-may-care smirk. I judged the risk of him falling for me to be hovering somewhere near zero. That was good, at least.
The rewards were too big to ignore. Six hundred and fifty thousand dollars in my pocket. A fresh start. A big fuck-you to the father who’d made my childhood miserable.
My mouth had gone dry, and I struggled to swallow past the lump in my throat.
We’d be married for six months, maybe a little longer.
Max, a year, depending on paperwork and estate lawyers and payouts.
Either way, I wouldn’t have to stay here after the estate lawyer confirmed receipt of the marriage certificate.
That meant I’d only have to be in Jack’s presence for, at most, two months.
Then we’d both move on while the paperwork got sorted out.
I could—shudder—share bites of my food if it meant getting a massive payday at the end of it all. Right?
“In public, we’ll pretend to be married,” I confirmed. “And in private, we’ll plan on divorcing as soon as I’ve received my inheritance and paid you out your share. And your daughter?”
Jack’s eyes hardened. “What about her?”
“What will we tell her?”
“The truth. I won’t lie to her.”
I nodded, relieved. If he noted my reaction, he didn’t show it.
All that was left to do was shake on it. I extended my hand, but I still wasn’t prepared for the feel of Jack’s palm against mine. The warmth of it. The size of it. His fingers wrapped around my hand as we shook, his hard, sapphire eyes sparking as he watched my every reaction.
My stomach knotted, but not unpleasantly.
I was pretty sure I’d just made a huge mistake.
JACK
I stood and pulled Ember to her feet by the delicate hand she’d slipped into mine. Honey blond hair was pulled back in a sleek, low knot to reveal sharp features and big green eyes. Her posture was perfect. Her full lips pinched to a near-bloodless line.
Uptight. Difficult. Intelligent. She wasn’t what I’d expected.
She smelled fresh and feminine, a scent that teased me, made me want to lean in and chase it.
In any other circumstance, I would’ve had her on her back within ten minutes, just to prove to myself that I could.
There was something deliciously guarded about my soon-to-be wife.
Mysteries I wanted to unravel. Reserve I wanted to crack wide open.
But she was promising me an out from under my grandmother’s thumb. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let my bad habits get in the way. There’d be plenty of time for other women once my daughter’s future was secured.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I had to fight a grimace. It had been a while since casual sex had made me feel anything other than faint revulsion at myself. All the sleeping around I’d done in the decade since my late wife had passed hadn’t filled the hole in my heart. Not even close.
Ember tugged her hand out of mine, and her jaw eased. Pink lips puffed out as she relaxed, her eyes darting to the exit. I caught myself staring at her mouth for a beat too long, so I jerked my arm out to guide her out of the room.