A CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

He blinked and then looked a little sheepish. “Okay, I get it. I’m an immature, egotistical man. The male ego is obviously a fragile creature. I think we can agree on that. Yes, it occurred to me to get a little of mine back on her by showing up with a gorgeous, stunning woman. Sue me. I even hatched the whole engagement scheme complete with the ring because I figured it was the best way to get them all off my back.” Julian said. “I just did what I thought I had to do… and I’m sorry about the way I did it. I should have at least told you my plans but I didn’t because I was scared that you’d say no. I know the kind of person you are. You’re nice and honest and sweet and I knew you wouldn’t want to lie about stuff like this”

Her shoulders shook and she closed her eyes. The man was nothing if not honest…. and too damn good with words. She had to give him that much.

“Nina, look at me, please.” he said.

His entreating tone had her turning once more to stare into those intense dark eyes. He looked earnest, and he looked….. worried.

“I didn’t do any of this to hurt you, I swear. I thought if I just came out and asked you to do me this favor, you’d have never agreed to come with me, even with the promise of listening to your pitch. I know you that much.”

“So you lured me here and ambushed me instead. You decided to take advantage of the fact that I needed your company” she said drily.

“It didn’t go exactly as I’d planned. I’d hoped to have a nice dinner together in our suite and I was going to ask you to do me a personal favor then. I was going to outline the entire charade and ask you to play along. Just for the time we’re here, But that all went to hell when we immediately ran into my parents. I didn’t tell Abby either because I knew she wouldn’t agree to it and I wanted to talk to you first. I was worried that she would tell you about my plan before I did.”

His hand crept over hers, and she didn’t pull away. She should. She should already be on her way back to New York, and she should be calling Evan to tell him that there was no way in hell she was delivering Julian Martin on a platter to Standard Gate Communications.

She pressed her lips together and tried to collect her scattered thoughts. “So you want me to pretend to be your fiancée.” She asked. She lifted her hand to angle the huge diamond in the light. “Complete with a really gorgeous ring. What happens after the wedding?”

Julian shrugged. “We break up quietly later. They’ll never know the difference. We don’t see each other that often. One day Mom will call and I’ll say ‘oh, by the way, Nina and I broke things off.’ And that will be that.”

She shook her head. “All of this because you couldn’t stand the thought of your fiancée thinking you weren’t over her?” she asked.

Julian scowled. “It’s not that simple. There are other factors. Besides, we’ve already established the fact that I’m an egotistical, immature male. We don’t have to go back into that territory.”

“Oh you poor cute, egotistical baby.” She patted his arm and then laughed at his disgruntled look. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”

His eyes glinted predatorily. “But you are.” he asked.

“Yes, dammit, I am. I’m a sucker for immature, egotistical males.”

“And cute too,” he added grinning at her. “Don’t forget to add that part, because i won’t forget that you did”

Nina rolled her eyes and continued “But we need to establish a few ground rules.”

“Of course,” he said solemnly.

“My reputation is everything to me, Julian,” she said quietly. “I won’t have any notion of impropriety attached to this account. I won’t have it bandied around that I got the account because I slept with you.”

Something that looked an awful lot like lust gleamed in his eyes a second before he blinked and adopted a more serious expression.

“This favor is separate. If I don’t like your ideas, you’ll go home without my business. It’s that simple. Agreeing to be my fake fiancée doesn’t buy you anything but my gratitude. It won’t land you Mart Enterprises. Are we clear on that?” he asked.

“Crystal,” she said. “Tell me something, Julian. If I refuse to play the part of your lover, are you still going to hear my pitch? Are you even going to consider Standard Gate?”

“Well, I do have a fragile ego, remember?” he asked playfully, and stroked his cheek.

“Will you be serious?” she said.

A grin worked at the corners of her mouth. She should be mad as hell at this man, not entertained by his self-effacing wit. And she definitely shouldn’t be attracted to his boyish charm or his straightforward handling of this entire ridiculous affair, but she wasn’t mad… not anymore. Being around him had this effect on her. It made her relaxed… made her feel safe… and here she was… agreeing to do something she’d never imagined herself doing”

“I tell you what, Red. The plan was always to have a quiet dinner tonight where I could explain my plan and beg you to go along. Then tomorrow morning we were going to have our business meeting, again, in the privacy of our hotel suite. Afterward we would perpetuate my silly hoax on my brother and his grasping, manipulative bride-to-be. See? Completely separate.” he said.

“You are completely irreverent, and I’m disgusted that I like it so much.”

He smiled, and his eyes twinkled with amusement. “You’re as diabolical as I am, face it.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I could use some of your evilness. That’s for sure. I’m a little envious of how you don’t mind poking your finger in the eyes of those who have screwed you over. I need to learn how to do that.” She said,

He cocked his head to the side. “Maybe we could spend some time together and I could teach you..”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship,” she said lightly.

“No,” he murmured. “We don’t. Not yet.”

Her gaze lifted but his expression didn’t betray his thoughts. She swallowed the knot in her throat and hoped she wasn’t making a huge, huge mistake. So much could go wrong with this.

“You’re so worried about the position I’ve placed you in,” he said, almost as if he could read her mind. “But the truth is, if I don’t like your ideas tomorrow morning, what’s to say that you don’t leave me to face the festivities on my own? I’d say that gives you all the power and none to me.”

“Or you could just say you like my ideas to keep me on the line long enough to get through the wedding,” she pointed out. “Nothing to say that you don’t dump me the minute we get back to New York .”

He nodded. “True. All of it is true. Looks like we both have some trusting to do.” he said.