The Agreement (An Indecent Proposal) (10 page)

I swallowed hard as my heartbeat
picked up in speed. He had what?

No going back.

Did I even
want
to go back? My mind was spinning, frozen from the hundreds of
swirling thoughts racing through it, but even worse was my heart and its
hopeful fluttering.

“Are you sure?” I asked, plopping
down next to him, unable to stop the renewed hope rising within
me—stronger than before.

“Of course I’m sure. Once
everything’s sorted, we’re ready to go.” He paused as he leaned forward.
“There’s just one problem, Laurie. You might not like it.”

I grimaced. “What it is?”

“I’ve just landed a job, which
requires me to travel to NYC. I tried to change the time, but they didn’t
agree, so…” He shrugged, his eyes boring into me. “We’ll have to get married
sooner. Like next Tuesday. Will that be a problem?”

My eyes widened at the word
‘sooner.’

“Next Tuesday?” I swallowed hard.

Holy cow!

That
soon?

He nodded slowly.

I had it all wrong. Chase had been
serious. He was really doing it. As if confirming my thoughts, he continued, “There
won’t be time to send out invitations. No time to invite your family or
friends.” He sounded apologetic, as if not having a huge party was indeed a
problem.

“Your birthday might be in three
weeks, but with me gone, this is the only time I can offer you, so…” He
shrugged, leaving the rest unspoken. He didn’t need to spell out the obvious. I
had to be married by my birthday, which left us to do the deed when it was
convenient for him, which was fine by me. “So…what do you think?”

“I think it’s…great.” In spite of
my nerves, I smiled. “Let’s do it on Tuesday, then. Sounds as good as any other
day.”

His brows shot up. “What about
your family and friends?”

“It’s just a fake marriage, Chase.
Besides, I don’t really have a family. My grandparents died a few years ago
after my mom’s death. So, it’s just me and you and Jude.”

“All right. That’s settled, then.”
He smiled, all traces of anger gone. “Do you have any special plans? I was
going to invite you over for dinner
so we could talk.” His lips twitched
at the corners again. For a moment I just stared at him, astounded both by how
quickly he could change his mood, and by the fact that he looked so damn sexy
doing it.

Focus, Hanson!

He still wanted to talk. What else
did he want to talk about? Because there sure was nothing to discuss. Sign the
papers and then move on. But instead of asking the obvious, I found myself
simply nodding and mumbling, “Okay.”

“Tonight?”

“I can do that.” My heart beat so
fast, I feared it might just burst out of my
chest. He looked at his
watch and stood, signaling the end of our conversation. “About seven?”

“Sounds great.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

“Thanks.” I tried to sound
nonchalant
, but failed miserably. Chase headed for the door and I
followed a step behind. When he stopped mid-stride, I bumped into him. His arm
went around my waist to steady me, but instead my bathrobe almost came undone.
My hands clenched quickly at the fabric, pressing it against my chest, while my
eyes remained connected with Chase’s. There was something in his gaze—dark
and broody, and much too disconcerting.

I groaned inwardly at the way my insides seemed to melt,
giving way to a deliciously warm sensation I had never felt for another man.

Chase lowered his head and for a moment I held my breath,
both hoping and fearing that he might be about to kiss me. To my dismay, he
stopped an inch from my lips, and when he spoke his hot breath caressed my
skin.

“You need to learn to fall with no safety cushion, Laurie.”

“Why would I want that?” I whispered, unable to control the
shaking of my voice.

“Because I’m right there to catch you. No matter what
happens. Just don’t play with me.”

No matter what
happens.

Dangerous words coming from a man like him. I swallowed past
the sudden lump in my throat as my heart did a flip-flop. Chase smiled, and in
that instant I forgot the world around me. I forgot that we were two strangers
soon to be married for convenience. I forgot that I wasn’t
supposed to open up to him, because I couldn’t lose my
heart to a man.

Lifting on my toes, I raised my mouth to his until our lips
connected in a brief but tender kiss. And then I pulled back.

“See you later,” I said.

“You can’t be serious.” Chase groaned but didn’t make any
attempt at trying to get more than I was ready to give.

“What? I was just trying to say thank you.” I squealed as
his hand palmed the nape of my neck and his fingers curled in my hair, pulling
slightly but not enough to hurt.

“Watching you in that bathrobe and imagining you naked
underneath it was hard enough,” he said hoarsely. “Now you’re seeing me off
with a sweet kiss and expect me to leave unaffected?”

Holy cow!

He was affected?

I could barely contain my stupid grin.

“How about you give me a little more?” Chase asked.

My core began to pulse at the insinuation
in his deep voice, and a warm sensation pooled between my legs. As though he
sensed my sudden arousal, his hand moved between the layers of my bathrobe to
stroke my abdomen, inches from the hidden spot that no man had ever
touched—except him. And it was such a good memory. One I ached to repeat.
But if I didn’t resist now, I might just find myself entangled in the sheets
with Chase on top of me. The thought wasn’t half bad, only Jude would be back
soon. How could I possibly explain that to her?

“No. Not now.” I pushed his hand
away, gently but determinedly, even though my whole body screamed for him,
begging my brain to let it happen.

“Why not?” Chase whispered against my skin, his hot breath
caressing my earlobe.

So close. Too close.

I shook my head, suddenly
trembling, and not from the cold. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I—” I moistened my
lips and forced myself to meet his heated gaze. It was so obvious what he
wanted, but I couldn’t give it to him now. Even though I wanted to. Madly. In
fact, it was the one thing I could think about before falling asleep. “If we
want our arrangement to work, we can’t get involved like
this
.” I pointed at the air between us in the hope he wouldn’t
expect me to spell out the obvious, because I knew if he kept talking about it
I might just change my mind.

“Maybe. For the time being.” Chase grimaced and pulled back
but didn’t let
go of me immediately.

I set my jaw. “What the hell’s
that supposed to mean?”

“We need to set some ground rules
before I lose control and can’t be held accountable for my actions,” Chase
said, grinning. “In fact, I think I’ve just come up with the perfect plan.
Dinner. Seven sharp. And don’t be late.”

And with that he turned around and
left, slamming the door behind him, leaving me standing with my arms wrapped
around myself and absolutely no idea what the hell he had been talking about.

What the hell just happened? That
was the one question that lingered in my mind for the next three hours.

Blowing hot and cold.

That’s what Chase was. Erratic and
impulsive—a dangerous combination in a man. I realized that ever since
meeting him, I had tried my damnedest to place him…without much success, and
for the first time I asked myself whether our marriage, as short as it would be
until we got divorced, would be as unpredictable as the man himself.

Staring at my reflection in the
mirror, I smoothed my hands down my buttoned blouse and pencil skirt, and then
took a deep breath, readying myself for the evening ahead when I heard the
door.

“How was it?” I asked as soon
as Jude let herself in.

She dropped her handbag on the floor and took her time
slipping out of her
shoes, all the while avoiding my
gaze.

I regarded her intently as I tried to read her expression.
Was her silence a good or a
bad thing? I had no clue,
and had almost assumed the worst when a smile lit up her face. “They want me
back.”

I drew her into a hug, proud of
her.

“I told you. Didn’t I tell you?” I
followed
Jude into the kitchen and watched as she opened the fridge for
what I assumed was a celebratory tub of ice cream. “When
are you starting?”

“This week. And get this.” She
retrieved two dessertspoons and turned to face me. “I’ve been assigned my very
own assistant. Just like you said would happen.”

“That’s—” I shook my head,
for once lost for words, but happy, so very happy.

“Yeah. That’s exactly how I
reacted when they told me.”

“God, that’s so amazing. You’ll be
a star, Jude. You’ll be huge.”

“I hope so.” She beamed at me.

We settled on the sofa and began to tuck into our chocolate
chip ice cream.

“So, tell me all about it,” I said.

“There’s not much to tell,” Jude said with a shrug. “I was
introduced as
the
expert on interior design, then was asked a few questions.
They liked what they saw, so they offered
me the job on the spot.” She
was being modest; I could tell from the way her gaze kept darting across the
floor, evading me. Or maybe she felt bad for
progressing
in her career while I was stuck with no way out. “I’ll be on air five days a
week for two months. Might get busy. We’ll see how
it goes.” She smiled
faintly.

“Oh, Jude.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her
close. “You have no idea how proud I am of you.” And I was, big time.

“Thank you.”

Was that a sniffle? I could only hope it was out of joy
rather than a bad conscience.

“Want to celebrate tonight? Maybe dinner. My treat,” Jude
said. She
felt
bad. I cringed
inwardly at the fact that she was so desperately trying to refract from her
success to spare my feelings.

I shook my head. “I’m meeting Chase. Rain check?”

“Wow. Another date, huh?” Jude’s gaze brushed over my
clothes as though she was only now noticing that I was dressed to go out. “You
two aren’t wasting a second.”

“He wants to talk. Nothing big,” I
said nonchalantly, even though my heart was beating so hard I knew she could
probably smell my bluff from a mile. If she just knew how close I had been to
sleeping with Chase, she would insist on celebrating. I was so sure of it; I
could almost see her high-fiving the air.

Just as expected, Jude’s eyebrows
shot up. “About what?”

“No idea.” I shrugged. “But
listen. Chase and I are getting married sooner than planned.”

“You’re doing what?” She let out a
laugh.

“He came over to tell me we’ll
have to do it by Tuesday. He’s already arranged for the papers, so our date is
fixed.”

“Oh God.” She leaned back, barely
able to stifle her laughter. “Hanson, he’s definitely not wasting time. I’ll
call that the blue-balls syndrome, because that’s why he wants to get
hitched
as fast as possible. I’d gladly take a bite, if he weren’t yours.”

“What?” I raised my eyebrows. “You can have him.” Even as I
uttered those words, my pulse sped up.

“I don’t think I’m his type. And frankly, you need to get
laid. Like big time or else we’ll have another forty-year-old virgin.” She let
out brief laugh. “The stars have listened to you, Laurie. I told you it was
going to be a great year. All your dreams are coming true.”

Gee, she was starting to sound like a fortune cookie.

“Oh please.” I shook my head,
smiling. “He’s doing it because he has no choice.”

“Because his heart tells him to?”

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right. She
wished. “No.” I drew out the word. “Because his agent booked him a job.”

Jude opened her mouth to say
something, but the doorbell cut her off.

He was here.

Speak of the devil.

I brushed my hair out of my eyes
nervously, wondering whether I’d ever stop being nervous around him. I figured
probably soon, when I got used to his looks…and then I opened the door and my
heart sank in my chest.

Holy moly.

Talk about gorgeousness.

Talk about god among gods.

How could someone as good-looking
as Chase be so earthly and human?

Standing in the doorway in his shirt and blue jeans that hung
low on his hips, with his dark hair and ocean-blue eyes, he was beautiful. I
swallowed hard and managed a “Hi” past the lump in my throat.

“You ready?” Chase said, peering over my shoulder. I turned
and noticed Jude standing there, watching us with a strange expression on her
face.

“Take good care of her,” she said,
pointing at me. “She’s a diamond and a sweetheart. I entrust you’ll be good to
her.” She made it sound as if she was giving me away at the altar and he had to
take care of me for the rest of my life. My lips twitched, and not with
amusement.

Trust Jude to be fully into this
whole marriage thing, no matter how fake it was. Turning my head back to Chase,
I watched his reaction, only to find my heart sinking a bit—this time for
a different reason.

“I will.” Chase nodded. His
expression darkened just a little bit—just like it had earlier when we
had been alone. Or maybe it was my imagination, because an instant later it was
gone.

I squeezed into my jacket and grabbed my handbag, waving
Jude goodbye. Her mouth pressed into a tight line and something crossed her
features.

Concern, I realized. Maybe she
didn’t like Chase as much as I had figured. Or maybe she was just worried for
me… Or maybe I was misreading everyone tonight.

I was slowly turning into this
obsessive person who just
had
to know
what everyone else thought.

“Be back soon,” I mouthed to Jude. “Don’t wait up.”

She just nodded and closed the door.