His reaction caused a wave of heat to radiate from her face. “No, I want to get married because I want a husband and a family. I want to marry David, because he’s a wonderful man and I know he’ll make me happy.” She paused trying to control the cracking in her voice. “Don’t you see, it’s like he’s getting a stamp of approval from my parents somewhere.”
Jack turned away and ran a hand through his hair so hard it stuck up at the ends. He quickly turned back. “You’ve got to be kidding. If your parents are giving that guy their stamp of approval, the distance from up there is clouding their view.”
“Madame Butterfly said we would get back together, too. I can’t ignore all that.”
His mouth drew in a tight line. “That’s the stupidest reason to marry someone I’ve ever heard. I mean, a sign? A psychic? Don’t you have any sense at all?”
“It’s not stupid.” Her lips trembled and she felt tears burning the backs of her eyes, but she kept them from breaking free.
Jack reached out to touch her cheek, withdrawing quickly when he saw her body tense. “Look, don’t get yourself—”
“I believe in those crazy superstitions, as you call them. It’s all I have at this point, Jack. But you wouldn’t understand that, would you?” Her voice was rising by the decibel, but she didn’t care. “You have a living family to fall back on for support, to help you, to guide you. Oh, but you never need anything or anyone. All you want from life is your precious work. Well, you—” She hiccupped, then covered her face as hot tears spilled down her cheeks.
…
Jack stood helpless for a moment.
Then he walked up and closed his arms around her. Guilt had him swallowing hard as she sobbed, shaking under his hands. He could kick himself. The last thing he’d wanted was to go and make her cry. He just didn’t want her marrying David for the wrong reasons. He was worried about her. That was what he should have told her from the beginning. But no, he’d let his temper control his big mouth again. He was a complete grade-A jackass.
He held her tighter and when her crying finally began to quiet, he had already made the decision to bank down his pride. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as the light vanilla scent of her hair swept over him.
Sabrina froze for a few seconds, then whipped her head up. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He gazed at her beautiful tear-stained face and his throat tightened. “You’re right. I went off-script and completely blew our deal. Your beliefs aren’t stupid. I’m the stupid one. It wasn’t my place to interfere.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” She gave him a tiny watery smile, then her gaze wandered to his mouth.
Unexpected, unwanted desire unfurled in his stomach and he swallowed. His heart picked up speed as if he’d just jogged around the apartment building. That was the signal. Let her go, stupid. He knew he should drop his arms now and take several steps back. But he didn’t.
Couldn’t.
“Jack?” she whispered.
He moved his face closer to hers. “Yes?”
“Maybe you should…let me go now.”
Her eyes, still shiny with tears, burned into his. When she looked at him like that, so sweet and vulnerable, he became defenseless, too. Something inside him snapped. Before he knew it, his lips landed softly on hers—and by all that was holy, she was kissing him back.
She slid her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. She tasted of apples and cinnamon, courtesy of the apple cider served with dinner, but there was much more to her. Something was different, like the planets were aligning. All because she was kissing him and it wasn’t pretend. There was no David watching. Nothing for show this time.
He ran his fingers through her soft brown hair and down her back, gathering her up against him. She fit so perfectly in his arms. His body tingled from the contact. He didn’t know how much more he could take and finally, he broke the kiss. “Let’s continue this elsewhere,” he murmured huskily. Lightly holding her fingers in his, he began to lead her to her bedroom.
Sabrina dug in her heels. “I can’t.”
Jack turned and studied her. Okay, she did look a little shaky. He was knocked for a loop, too. But not a problem. He scooped her up in his arms and managed to take two small steps before she shook her head.
“No, Jack. I can walk. I mean, this isn’t right.”
“Of course it’s right. It’s more than right.” He fought the panic rising in his system and swallowed hard. “It’s perfect.”
The soft, dreamy eyes she’d been gazing up at him now aimed hard and direct. “No. It’s not perfect. It’s fake.”
Her words cut, and just like that reality came crashing back. He allowed her legs to unceremoniously drop to the floor. “It felt pretty real to me,” he murmured.
Sabrina drew in a shaky breath as she looked away. “We just got a little carried away.” Her eyes managed to travel back to his. “It’s only natural. I mean, sometimes being friends with a person can lead you to—”
“You can save the bit about friendship. Trust me, I don’t want to touch any of my other friends like I want to touch you right now.”
Jack had the satisfaction of seeing color spring onto her cheeks. “Okay,” she began tentatively, “I’ll admit we do share a kind of…mutual attraction. But that doesn’t mean we should act on it.” She took a defiant step back, putting a mile of distance between them.
“But we’re two consenting adults. There’s no ring on your finger, and there’s certainly none on mine.”
“I know,” she began, “there’s no ring on my finger, but there’s the hope that there’ll be one again. It’s what I’ve dreamed of having. The whole point of our charade. As much as I’m attracted to you, I can’t settle for less than that.”
Now Jack knew what she was telling him. He hadn’t made it a secret that a long-term relationship wasn’t exactly something on his life’s agenda. Sabrina wanted a future—with her ex-fiancé. But David wasn’t here. And Jack was.
When did something so simple get so complicated?
A small sigh escaped her lips. “Jack, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“I have no feelings, remember?” The way she flinched at his words had him wanting to apologize all over again. Twice in one evening, he thought bitterly. That would’ve been a new record for him.
“I didn’t mean—”
“If not you, then there’ll be some other woman—like Jessica—before long, right? Is that what you really meant? Look, if you want marriage and the whole nine yards then that’s what you should have. Don’t let me or what’s happening between us get in your way.” Okay, he wasn’t handling the situation like he’d wanted to at all, and worse, he was feeling extra cynical, so he picked up his coat to leave.
Sabrina walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm. “It would only complicate our plans,” she assured him.
“You’re right,” he managed between clamped teeth. The last thing Jack wanted was her touching him now. Where her hand gently rested felt like fire going directly to the bone. He was sure by the time he reached for the doorknob his arm would be singed clean off.
Without another word, he let himself out before he did or said something even stupider. Like apologize again. Or worse yet, fall on his hands and knees and beg her to change her mind. Now that would be a new one.
Hearing the door quietly close behind him, he let out a sigh of relief. At least he was out of there with some shred of dignity still intact. Although his body was in rebellion, he had to admit Sabrina was right. It would’ve been a big mistake getting involved with someone like her. He didn’t do long-term. She was just the kind of complication he’d steered clear of for years. It wasn’t part of what he really wanted. All he wanted was to concentrate on his career. He wanted to be back in good standing with his dad and the board. He wanted to take over Brenner Capital. He wanted…
Sabrina.
As Jack started walking down the hallway, he honestly didn’t know what he wanted any
more.
Chapter Ten
“I went over a few of your sales ideas, Jack, and I’d like to set up a lunch meeting this week to discuss them with you.”
Jack looked up from his desk. Pride filled his chest as he took in his dad’s pleased expression. Jack was so close to getting the position he wanted. His ideas were good. And if they impressed his father, he knew they’d impress the Board of Directors. But he’d been working hard on his image as well as his job over the past few weeks. He hoped that part hadn’t gone unnoticed, but just to make sure, it was time to use his trump card.
“Sabrina helped with those suggestions, Dad. We’ve actually been working closely lately—very closely.”
“I know.” His father’s eyes lit with amusement. “She looked lovely the other night at the fund-raiser you two attended.”
“How do you know about that?”
“One of the stockholders emailed me the link to the Boston magazine blog this morning. Apparently, your donation was quite the show stopper.”
“Yeah, about that—”
“Well done.”
“I— You think so? I know I said the pledge was from Brenner Capital, but I had planned on using my own money.”
“You can take it out of the company’s account. The Assist Club is a wonderful organization. Very nice idea to have us donate there. That’s the kind of publicity I don’t mind seeing from you.”
“Yeah, well, Sabrina and I weren’t at that event for work.” Jack cleared his throat. “We’re dating now.”
His father’s grin spread wide, as if it were Christmas morning and he’d just been handed a puppy. “That’s fantastic, son. And here I thought you still had the National Sales Manager position stuck in your head. No wonder you’ve been working so hard, to spend more time with Sabrina.”
“Well, uh, yeah. Of course.” Jack fumbled with his words, worried his plan had backfired on him. “Sabrina is great, but Brenner Capital is still my number one priority.”
His dad’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Oh. I’d hoped this news meant you were making room in your life for more important things than work now.”
“What could be more important than our company?”
“Family for one thing.”
Jack’s jaw tightened. “I’ll be at Laurie’s for Thanksgiving.”
“Making an appearance at your sister’s house is not what I mean and you know it. Everything revolves around work with you. What would your mother say if she saw you only devoting—”
“Don’t go there, Dad. Mom’s not here to see or say anything now because of her own choice.” He and his father stared at each other across a sudden ringing silence. Jack swallowed the bitterness in his throat. He didn’t mean to bring up his mother, but her suicide still cut deep. She obviously hadn’t felt he or the family had been important enough to live for.
His dad let out a long sigh. “I just don’t want you to miss out on a good thing when you finally have it. Sabrina is a wonderful woman. Don’t go through the motions. Life is too short not to live.”
Jack unclenched his jaw. “I am living. I’m dating a nice girl, just like you suggested, and I’m even generating good press for the company. I don’t know what more you want from me.”
“I want you to be happy.”
Tightness expanded in his chest and he looked away. “I am happy.”
“You just don’t get it, do you?”
Jack got it all right, but he didn’t want to admit that much to his dad. It would only prolong the conversation and disappoint his father further. And Jack didn’t have the energy. Apparently, he was good in business, but that was all. When it came down to family—relationships—he was a failure. He hadn’t been enough for his mom and now it seemed as if he couldn’t please his father, either. Even Sabrina had rejected him the other night. Was there any wonder he preferred to invest all his time in work?
His father threw his hands up in disgust and walked over to the door. “Jack, I don’t want to fight with you,” he said wearily. “But I already lost my wife and sometimes…sometimes I feel like I’m losing my son as well.”
…
Sabrina chewed on the end of her pen and stared at her computer. She’d been on the same screen for who knew how long, but she hoped she at least looked productive. She was having a hard time thinking about anything other than Jack. Thank God he had an appointment this morning and had been gone before she got in. Maybe he’d be out of the office for the whole day—or if she was extremely lucky, the rest of the week. She couldn’t imagine seeing him again so soon after what had happened between them Saturday night. He probably thought she was some kind of tease with all the mixed signals she’d thrown at him. Obviously, spending so much time together outside of work was messing with her brain and she wasn’t acting like herself anymore. She should be concentrating on David. Jack may be a handsome man—she’d even admit he had his moments of humor and kindness as well—but they were completely different people. Different enough to want different things out of their lives. He’d practically said so himself. Jack wanted her, yes, but not for a lifetime. It wasn’t a big deal for someone like Jack to have a casual one-night stand, or whatever he was used to having with a woman. But where would that leave her in the end? Probably much worse off than she was right now and nursing two broken hearts to boot. She could never be a loner like Jack, and if she wanted to make sure she didn’t end up like him, she was going to have to put some distance between them.
“Earth to Sabrina.”
She snapped her attention up to Maddie’s smiling face. “Oh. Hey, what are you doing here?”
“We have a lunch date.” Her friend raised an eyebrow. “Remember?”
“Oh, right. Sorry. My mind has been…elsewhere.” And primarily on a meat-eating Adonis who only wants a pretend relationship with me.
“No apologies necessary.” Maddie grinned. “As long as you’re buying.”
Sabrina glanced at her Hello Kitty clock, surprised that it was twelve-thirty already. She’d been thinking about Jack for longer than she’d thought. “Okay, but I choose where.”
Maddie made a face. “No deal. I want a real lunch. Not just vegetables.”
Sabrina took out her purse from the bottom drawer of her desk and stood. “You’d like vegetarian meals if you’d try them,” she said in a singsong voice.
The door to Mr. Brenner’s office opened and he stepped out. “Hello ladies,” he said, offering them both a sunny smile. “Are you going to lunch now, Sabrina?”
She automatically set her purse back down on her desk. “Yes, but if you want me for something, it can wait.”
He waved her off. “No, no,” he said with a chuckle. “Just wanted to know. When you get back, I’d like to speak with you though.”
“If you want to talk now, I could—”
“No, you have a good lunch, sweetie.” He shot her a wink, then walked back into his office with a spring in his step that made him look almost two decades younger.
Sabrina and Maddie exchanged curious looks.
“What was that all about?” Maddie asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your boss so happy.”
Sabrina nodded. Mr. Brenner’s actions were perplexing, but that wasn’t what was bothering her. It was because it was the first time he’d ever called her sweetie.
…
“Come on. Live a little.”
Sabrina stared hard at the sloppy, cheese-oozing steak sandwich Maddie held out for her, and shook her head. “No thanks. Why are all of my friends trying to slowly kill themselves with either meat or cigarettes?”
“You have other friends?” Maddie took a bite of her sandwich and grinned.
Sabrina held her stomach in a mock laugh. “That’s so funny. You two have the same sense of humor as well.”
“Who does?”
Sabrina hesitated, not wanting to mention Jack because she’d felt she’d been talking—and thinking—about him enough lately. She wiped her fork with he
r napkin and stalled for time.
“Who has the same sense of humor?” Maddie pressed.
She sighed. “Jack.”
“As in the Boston magazine article Jack? As in if I were single I’d be all over him like white on rice Jack?”
“You know exactly which Jack I’m talking about, and I had a feeling you’d make a big deal about me mentioning him.”
“Sorry. So I assume you and Jack made nice at work and are BFFs now?”
“Well, I suppose Jack and I have gotten friendlier lately.”
“Oh?” She lifted one brow. “How friendly?”
“Friend friendly. We’re kinda sorta helping each other out, so to speak.”
“Helping each other? Explain,” she prompted.
Sabrina let out a long sigh. “Jack and I are pretending to be in a relationship. For a short time. He needs to change his image at work, and I figured if David got jealous, he’d realize how much he loves me and come back. It’s a win-win situation when you think about it—and strictly business. No funny stuff is going on whatsoever.”
Maddie looked unconvinced. “Uh-huh.”
“No, it’s true. You know I’m committed to David. All signs point to him as my soul mate. Besides, it’s not like Jack and I are really dating. We’re just fake dating. It would never work between us anyway. Jack is hardly the type who wants to be saddled in a relationship or get married.”
“So you discussed it then?”
“Yes. I mean, no.” She shook her head and tried again. “I mean, the point is moot because I’m getting back together with David.”
Maddie gasped. “David proposed again?”
She bit her lip. “Well…not exactly. But I feel it’s imminent. My seeing Jack is driving him nuts.”
“Oh? What does Jack have to say about all this?”
Maddie sounded so accusing that Sabrina automatically grew defensive. “What could Jack possibly say about anything?”
Her friend shrugged. “I just thought Jack would have an opinion on the whole David situation. With the way you’ve been going on and on about Jack lately, I thought he might have taken an interest in you that was beyond friendship. But I guess not, since he hasn’t even put those luscious lips of his on you. Some playboy, huh?”
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