by Eden Proctor
Maybe it did to him.
She had known that he was not used to being opposed, but this…
“You know this isn’t okay, right?”
Emily thought she saw a flash of regret, but he covered it quickly. “It’s not the way I would have done things, but I needed you to see how serious I was.”
“Serious? About what?” she asked.
He lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile and gave her a glance that was so intense Emily felt like prey.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.
“About pretending to be your fiancée?”
“Yes,” he said.
“I did answer your question. My answer was no,” she said.
“I gave you all day to think about it, figured I would come and see if you’d changed your mind,” he said.
“And why would you think I’d do a thing like that?”
“Because you’re smart, ambitious. And you know an opportunity when you see it. This is one. For both of us.”
“So you thought coming into my home was going to change my mind?”
“Actually, no.”
Emily frowned, confused, wondering what was going on in Daniel’s head. “So why are you here?”
“I’m here for dinner. Get dressed. Or if you’d rather wear that…” he said, looking at her suggestively.
“You really think I’m going to dinner with you?”
“Yes,” he said.
The way he spoke left no doubt as to the truth of his belief, and Emily felt herself responding to it. Which was ridiculous. She should have thrown him out, so why was she seriously considering having dinner with him?
“You think too much,” he said.
She frowned. “Are you saying that’s a bad thing?”
“Not usually, but you have this little furrow between your brows,” he said.
He reached up to touch that space, smoothed it with his thumb, and Emily thought she would sigh.
It was barely a touch, but one that was deeply intimate, suggested so much more.
“It’s kind of cute though,” he said.
He smiled at her then, and Emily knew she was way out of her depth.
This conversation had her completely on the ropes, and from what she could tell, this wasn’t even making him break a sweat. She was already out of sorts. What if he decided to unleash a full-charm offensive?
She’d be totally screwed and would have no hope of counteracting it.
“If we go to dinner and talk about this, it will be the last time we have this conversation, right?” she asked tentatively.
“So you’re going to dinner with me?” he said.
She glared. “You didn’t answer the question.”
She crossed her arms again, not caring that it showed her arousal. She didn’t know if she was up to standing under his gaze, but she also needed to prove a point.
She also needed to get out of here, take him away from her space where she felt so vulnerable, and then get him to forget the stupid idea once and for all.
“If I can’t convince you after this dinner, I’ll let the subject drop,” he said.
She looked at him, not sure what to make of this development. It had been exactly what she asked for, but that he so readily agreed had her defenses up.
“Hurry. Get dressed. We have reservations,” he said, subtly forcing the matter.
“Reservations? You mean you thought you knew I would…”
“Agree to dinner with me?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I did. And it seems I was right,” he said.
She scowled, but then turned. He clearly had his plan, but Emily had hers. She’d have this dinner and then be done with it.
Chapter 5
Daniel was glad Emily had stomped off to get dressed. Having her so close was taking him off his game.
He had come up with this wild idea just a few hours ago and thought everything would fall into place. But Emily was proving to be far more surprising than he had expected. And he was finding that he enjoyed that surprise and unpredictability far more than he’d thought he would.
This, she, was…fun.
He was very much accustomed to people giving him what he wanted, and Emily would be no different. But this kind of challenge was uncommon, and something he found himself enjoying.
Or maybe it was just the woman herself?
His body was still on fire from the sight of her, so relaxed and casual and looking as sexy as a centerfold without even trying.
Maybe that was the key to this appeal that he hadn’t been able to shake?
All during the day he had thought of little else but Emily. He should have been thinking about the deal, the best way to get Charlie to go along with the plan, but he’d found himself returning to thoughts of Emily over and over again.
The surprise on her face when he’d said she was his fiancée.
Her stubborn refusal to go along with what he’d said.
How absolutely devastatingly beautiful she was, all without seeming to notice it.
That was the thing that threw him for the biggest loop.
He couldn’t say what it was exactly. She had a wholesome prettiness that he had seen before, but when she had been excited, it seemed as though there was a fire inside.
And that was even before he thought of her amazing body.
Her curves were something he didn’t usually go for, but she had his attention.
When was the last time that had happened? Had it ever happened?
No.
He’d never met a woman who engaged his body and mind, and Emily seemed to be doing both with no effort at all.
She could be dangerous.
But he was up to the challenge.
He walked to her small, inviting kitchen and put the chicken and spices away. He held the ceramic saltshaker for a moment and let himself think about the place. What kind of saltshakers did he have at his condo? Did he even have saltshakers in his condo?
That he didn’t really know the answer to that question spoke volumes. But even in something as small as the saltshaker he could see the lived-in nature of Emily’s place, saw the little touches of personality, the life that filled the place.
He put the saltshaker away and then closed the cabinet a little bit harder than he probably should have, ignoring that thud in his chest.
He didn’t have time for those kinds of frivolities, and he had never wanted them, but being inside her house, seeing what it must be like to have a normal life, one that wasn’t solely made up of deals and money and people who wanted things, people he wanted to take things from him, was something that threw him off.
He quickly gathered himself, though.
He had a purpose, and he never lost.
So he would enjoy this, but he wouldn’t let himself lose sight of his purpose.
Emily was going to help him close this deal, and then he’d forget about her.
* * *
Emily had spent far too long agonizing over what she was going to wear.
She was shaken up just from Daniel’s mere presence and knowing that he was in her living room waiting was enough to keep her that way.
Part of her still couldn’t believe this was happening.
Daniel was here in her house and still pushing the ridiculous idea that they pretend they were engaged.
Why didn’t he see from his few minutes here that it was totally unbelievable?
She was a human resources account executive, a nothing, and he was…him.
He even seemed out of place in her house, was larger than life, seemed to fill the space in a way that she never had.
True she lived in a thousand-square foot apartment, and he was tall, broad, needed a certain amount of space. But even that didn’t account for the way that he had filled her home.
He was too much for it, just as he was too much for her life.
And some small voice in the back of her head told her that getting involved
with Daniel, even if it was just pretend, was more than she could handle.
Part of her chafed at the idea.
Emily was nothing if not ambitious, and the thought that there was something that she couldn’t do only made her want to seek the challenge that much more.
It was that rebellious streak, the one that told her nothing was out of reach, that had her even considering the idea.
But the bigger part of her, the one that was more rational, told her to stick to her guns and stay out of it. Sure, there could be gains, she would have an opportunity that wouldn’t otherwise exist, but there would also be a price to pay.
She knew that as much as she knew anything, but what she didn’t know was whether she could afford it. Emily again thought back to minutes ago, how outrageous, audacious it was that he had gone to such lengths to simply have a conversation.
What hope did she have against that kind of dedication?
Very little, she finally decided.
Which meant she needed to just go along and then be done with this as fast as she could.
But she knew that was silly.
There was no way she could go through this with Daniel, but there was also no way she could stand up to his withering gaze.
Which left her in an impossible position. Something she suspected Daniel knew.
So the smart thing was to push through this, tell him no, and hope he’d forget about it. Hope he’d get bored, come up with another alternative.
Yes, that was what she would do. She nodded, happy that she’d settled on a strategy. But as she dressed, she knew Daniel wouldn’t go along so easily.
When she left her bedroom, she found him standing in the middle of her living room inspecting the photos that hung on the wall.
His back was to her and for a moment she stood, staring at the breadth of his shoulders, the dark hair that brushed his collar, the strong fingers that he had folded behind his back.
Her breath fled her on a deep exhale.
It definitely hadn’t escaped her notice how devastatingly handsome he was even when he’d been invading her home, but even though she had seen him minutes ago, coming back into the room was a stark reminder.
And that only affirmed her decision that she needed to keep her distance.
She was in no way equipped to deal with a man like Daniel, and seeing how raw, masculine, handsome, and refined he was only reminded her of that.
“I’m ready,” she said, her voice wavering with some of the nerves that Daniel stirred.
He turned, and when she met his eyes, she knew that Daniel had been aware of her presence the entire time. He looked at her. Starting at the top of her head, he gazed down her body, assessing, and as she watched his expression she couldn’t help but wonder what he thought.
“Most women I take to dinner spend hours getting ready,” he said.
His voice was unreadable, bland, and Emily found herself getting defensive.
“If you don’t like my outfit, I’m more than happy to stay home. Which, you know, was my plan before you barged in,” she said.
But for a moment she felt a little bit lacking. She had given some thought to what she would wear, but had decided to go with standard business casual, a gray blouse and black slacks. This was not a date, and she wanted her attire to reflect that fact. That Daniel might not like what she wore, or might not like the body that was inside the clothes, was momentarily disheartening.
She looked up at his eyes, saw the lazy smile on his face. It told her that he liked what he saw, and she couldn’t help but be happy about that.
“No, this is much preferable. I like the fact that you don’t feel the need to impress me. And besides, Charlie is smart. He knows I wouldn’t marry some vacuous woman. So this is good,” he said.
Emily wanted to groan. He was still going on like there was no chance she’d do anything but agree to pretend to be his fiancée.
“Let’s go,” she said.
She strode toward the door, glared at him when he opened it and then locked it behind her with his key.
“Give me that,” she said, extending her hand.
He smiled and grabbed her hand and began walking toward the elevator. She was stunned momentarily, the feeling of his huge hand swallowing hers leaving her mostly breathless.
His palm was warm, rough in the most delicious way, and his strong fingers scraped at the back of her hand. She was having this over-the-top reaction to him holding her hand, and he seemed completely unaffected.
As unaffected as she should have been. Because this didn’t mean anything. It was all just a part of his ploy. She knew that with all of her being.
But she couldn’t stop herself from hoping he’d never let go.
Chapter 6
The walk out of her apartment was fast, and Emily would never admit that she was disappointed when he let go of her hand to unlock the car door.
She settled into the butter-soft leather seat, looked at the perfect interior. Daniel walked around the car and got inside beside her and then drove off, his hands on the wheel strong, commanding just like he always was.
The ride was silent, but Emily was grateful for that. She had been so certain, but she felt her resolve weakening. If she pretended to be his fiancée, there would be more of this, and by this she didn’t mean a ride in a fancy car.
No, the ruse would require her to spend time with him, and even though the fancy center panel separated them, being this close to him left her needy, breathless, desperate to be even closer.
Which was exactly the reason why she couldn’t let this happen.
A single car ride and she was ready to beg him to fuck her. There was no way she would be able to resist if they spent more time together. When he stopped the car at a valet, Emily practically sprang out once the door was open.
Daniel caught up with her quickly, and again clasped her hand with his and lead her into the restaurant. As they walked, she saw the photographers quickly snapping their photos, heard their calls for comment. She noticed that his face was even, not exactly grim, but not excited either.
Still he didn’t seem to be paying the photographers any attention, so she did the same, walked next to him somewhat shell-shocked by all of this.
Everything she had read about him said that he shunned attention. So why would he bring her here, to this restaurant that even she knew was a hotbed for photographers and celebrities? When they were finally inside, she looked over at Daniel and then looked away quickly when she instantly became aroused again.
Instead of staring at him, she kept her eyes ahead and stayed silent as the maître d’ led them to the back, but once they had been seated and were alone, she glared at him.
“That was intentional, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“What was intentional?” he said.
“Coming here.”
“Yes. I told you we were having dinner,” he said.
“But you wanted to be photographed. Why?”
He looked at her, the smile on his face almost angelic, or would’ve been if not for the devilish glint in his eye.
“Why do you think I want to be photographed?”
“That was the question I was asking you,” she replied.
“I don’t know what your conspiracy theory is, Emily, so why not spell it out?” he said.
She glared at him and then pointed at him. “You know those pictures are going to go directly in the paper. So you have evidence you can show to Charlie.”
He shrugged, but his expression told her that he was pleased with her. “You don’t seem to like the idea,” he said.
“What? That you trapped me into this?”
“You’re not the kind to be trapped. But think of it from my perspective. There are other benefits,” he said.
Emily paused to consider and then said, “If I don’t come through, you can tell Charlie that you’re heartbroken that the relationship fell apart. And you’ll have those pictures to prove it.”
“You r
eally are quite intelligent,” he said.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” she snapped. “And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you’re doing, Daniel.”
“Can you blame me? I have to cover my bases,” he said.
“Or you could just tell him the truth,” she returned.
“And lose out on this deal?” He shook his head. “That’s not an option.”
She went silent and waited as the staff of four, which seemed excessive since there were only two of them, smoothly rearranged the table as one of the waiters spoke to Daniel about their meal. Emily didn’t even object when he ordered for her. She was hungry, but also somewhat nervous, so she wouldn’t have been able to think anyway.
But when they were alone she turned back to the subject at hand.
“So why is this so important?” she asked.
“Why do you think?” he replied.
“That’s a terrible habit of yours. I asked you a question and you asked one back,” she said.
“I’m trying to get to know my fiancée,” he said, but the corner of his mouth lifted.
“You’re impossible. But the reason I ask you the question is that I don’t know what’s so important about this deal. I researched everything that’s publicly available about Mr. Green’s company, and it’s a good deal, good company, but nothing worth jumping through all these hoops for,” she said.
The waiter had returned with two plates, each with a small cut of meat on it. He placed one in front of her and the other in front of Daniel and then left. After she finished her question, she sliced into it and placed a piece in her mouth. The steak practically melted against her tongue, and it was the most delicious she had ever tasted. Emily almost moaned. But she kept quiet, looked at Daniel as he cut his own piece.
When he was done with his first bite, he leaned back, looked at her. “So you know a lot about the business?”
“It’s important for me to know things.”
“That’s good.”
“Am I missing something? Something about Charlie’s company that’s worth it?”
“It’s like I said earlier, this is about me,” he said.
She nodded at him to continue, and after he took another bite, he did.
