A Limited Engagement

by Bethany Michaels

“I’m sure Eve can handle the account. She was working with me on a couple of the pieces of the campaign.”

  “That’s what I said,” Richard huffed.

  Nice. He thought she could be as easily replaced in the office as she had been in his bed. How had she never seen what a giant ass Richard was?

  “But they want you,” he said. “Actually, they want your association with Derek Sawyer.”

  He couldn’t quite keep the sneer out of his voice, and she inwardly smiled. She was glad Derek had gotten under his skin.

  “Mr. Applewhite is a race fan, as it turns out. And as soon as he heard that you had taken up with Sawyer, he started calling, wanting to leverage that association.”

  “I don’t see what my engagement has to do with his account.”

  “You’re news. Your engagement is news. He thinks he’ll get mileage by letting it out that Derek’s wife-to-be is the person behind his promotion. He thinks somehow Derek’s flavor of the month will help him sell more paper plates.”

  She could actually feel her face flush with anger. “I am not one of Derek’s groupies.”

  “Whatever. We break up one day and you’re engaged the next. I’m not stupid, Lillian. Clearly you were whoring around with him behind my back. Were you sleeping with him the whole time we were together?”

  She really, really wanted to let a few choice words fly. Too bad she wasn’t someplace out of Willa’s earshot, because there were some things she’d been itching to say, and now would have been the perfect time. “Only Wednesdays, Saturdays, and twice on Sundays. In fact, our love child is due in just a few months. And anyway, who are you to talk? You’re hardly the poster boy for relationship fidelity.”

  “Don’t be childish, Lillian,” Richard said in the condescending tone she hated. “Where can I send this contract?”

  “What contract?”

  “We’re going to hire you as an outside contractor for this client,” he said impatiently. “Terms are included. Just sign it and—”

  “I’m not working for you, Richard.”

  “You have to.” There was a note of panic in his voice, and Lilly wondered if Richard’s daddy had threatened to take away his Ferrari if he let this client slip through his fingers.

  “I don’t. I would tell you what you can do with your contract and the rest of your pompous self, but my mama raised a lady.”

  “I suppose your boy toy is with you right now,” Richard said.

  “That’s right, and he’s going to kick your cheating ass all over Chicago if you call me again.”

  “I’ll make sure no firm anywhere hires you to scrub the floors, let alone head an account. You’ll be begging me for work.”

  “Good-bye, Richard. Don’t call me again.”

  She clicked off the phone and slammed it down on the table with a satisfying smack.

  “Wow. Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Shana said, grinning.

  “Can you believe that? Richard wants me to do contract work for the firm after…” She looked at Willa, still wiping the already-clean table a few feet away. “After all the stuff that went down.”

  “Maybe you can use that,” Shana said. “What if you went after the client on your own, you know, outside of RSG? Once you land at a new firm, you could really stick it to Richard by stealing his clients. Or you could go out on your own and do freelance work.”

  There was only one drawback. A big one.

  “Applewhite only wants me on his project because of Derek,” she said glumly. And when the truth came out that she wasn’t engaged to Derek, she suspected her client would be more than happy to let Eve take over again. “Once things are out in the open, he won’t be nearly as excited about it.”

  “What if you had more time?” Shana said. She shot a sideways glance at Willa. “Like a few weeks instead of a few days.”

  Extend the fake engagement to Derek. The idea barely began to take shape in her head when her phone rang again. She was prepared to ignore it, sure it was Richard, but it wasn’t. It was her father.

  “Hey, peanut,” he said as soon as she picked up.

  “Hi, Daddy.”

  “I know we were supposed to have supper with you tonight to talk about the wedding, but something has come up at the dealership and I won’t be able to make it.”

  Alarm bells went off inside her head. “Everything okay?”

  “Never better. There was some article online about you and your background and they mentioned the dealership. Since then, people have come out of the woodwork wanting to buy from me. You’re news, peanut. Every racing fan in Georgia wants to buy cars from Derek Sawyer’s future father-in-law. To tell you the truth, it’s a godsend. Business has been a little slow lately. Hey, do you think you and Derek might stop by later, just to say hello? Maybe ask him to sign a few autographs? It would give the out-of-town folks here browsing a real thrill.”

  “I’ll have to check with Derek.”

  “Okay, well I gotta run. If Derek’s busy, you can still come by. People want to see that sparkler Derek gave you. Bye, peanut.”

  Now her engagement was helping her dad’s business, too. Who knew just getting engaged, even fake-engaged, would cause such ripples? Everything Derek touched was golden. Even, apparently, Lilly.

  “Here you go, sweetie,” Willa said when she dropped off the check. Lying in the plastic tray next to the standard-issue after-pizza peppermints was a pack of antacids. “I always got heartburn after a greasy meal when I was carrying my twins.”

  Oh God. Willa had heard that love-child comment. Now it would be all over town that Derek and Lilly were going to have a baby. How much worse was this going to get?

  She needed to talk to Derek. Fast.

  …

  Nothing relaxed Derek more than a few tunes, a few brews, and turning a wrench under the hood of a hot rod. When he’d bought his house—well, the first of many—he’d built his dream garage, complete with stereo system, epoxy floors, and a 1969 Charger in need of some TLC to fill it up. When he was racing, he had no home base. No place to be alone with his thoughts. But on the rare occasions he made it back to his hometown, he came here to think it all over. He always kept a project car in the bay for just such an occasion, even though he ended up selling or donating the car when he had her purring again.

  This was the first time he’d hit his garage to mull over a situation with a woman, though. He’d hardly slept all night knowing Lilly was in the next room, so as soon as it was light, he’d gotten up and headed for the auto parts store. It was a comfort, being able to take something that wasn’t working, figure out what was wrong with it, and then fix it. Women were never that straightforward.

  He heard the side door open and close and saw a pair of tennis shoes and two slender ankles stalking toward him, and he knew in his gut that replacing an oil pan was not going to fix the mess he’d gotten himself and Lilly into.

  “Can I talk to you a minute, Derek?” Lilly said.

  Derek stopped turning his wrench, and he lay on the creeper a moment before answering. “Sure,” he said and put down the wrench.

  He slid out from under the car and was immediately met with the sight of the rest of her slim legs encased in tight jeans, along with a red V-neck T-shirt and a gray hoodie. Lilly was just as sexy in casual clothes as she was in a cocktail dress, and any peace of mind he’d managed to achieve left his head in a rush of heat that went straight to his fly.

  He stood and wiped his greasy hands on a shop rag. “Sleep okay? You were still snoring when I left the house this morning.”

  “Fine, thanks. I ran some errands and then met Shana at Peggy’s for lunch.”

  She chewed at her lip in that adorable way that made Derek want to do the same. “There’s a slight chance that Willa thinks I’m pregnant.”

  “I’m not even going to ask.” But he should be asking himself why the thought wasn’t sending him running for the hills. Instead he just wiped at the grease on his hands, set the rag aside, and grabbed
another beer out of the fridge. “Want one?”

  “No, thanks.”

  He popped the top on his can and took a long, slow drink while he looked at her. After he’d swallowed about half the can, he wiped his mouth, finally ready to hear what she had to say. “So I assume you’ve come to ask me when I’ll be breaking the news to our folks?”

  “Not exactly. I have a new idea.”

  He pulled out two stools and sat down on one. “Where are all the charts and graphs and bullet points explaining this new idea?” He hated to see her so serious and hoped he could tease her into releasing all of her tension. If that didn’t work, he could just kiss her, but that would lead down a road he couldn’t go.

  She slid on to the stool, facing him. “Well, the thing is, it seems like there are a lot of reasons to postpone telling everyone. Our pretend engagement is helping people, as weird as that sounds.”

  He nodded, a flutter of hope beginning to take flight in his chest. “What happened?”

  “Daddy mentioned that things at the dealership were booming since the press got wind of our engagement. And then Richard called.”

  “You’re not going back to that jackass.” His chest tightened. He knew guys who thought nothing of throwing a woman away until another man showed interest. Then they’d do anything to get them back. He couldn’t bear to see that happen to her. Wouldn’t allow it.

  “No, nothing like that. It was about a job. One of our clients is a big race fan and wants me on his campaign because of my connection to you.”

  The pressure lessened. But only slightly. “What did you say?”

  “I told him to go jump off a bridge, basically,” she said with a smile.

  “I should have hit him when I had the chance,” he said, shoving a hand through his hair. “So you’ll still need my help to find a job. I talked to Mark last night. He knows of a couple possibilities.”

  “Maybe. But being engaged to you might be all the help I need.”

  Well, that was something. He felt strangely protective of her. He couldn’t walk away from this arrangement without knowing he’d done something to repay her.

  “So this works out for both of us,” he said.

  “Yeah. And then there’s your team and all the stuff there that could go south if we came out of the engagement closet now.”

  “And our families. We need to come up with a strategy to let them down easy.”

  She looked up at him, uncertainty clouding the blue depths of her eyes. “It seems like there are more reasons for us to stay together than not. I was wondering if maybe you would mind extending our fake engagement for a little while longer.”

  The wave of relief that washed over him at her words was a surprise. He realized he wasn’t ready to end this…thing between them. If he was honest with himself, it wasn’t just about the sponsorship money, either. He liked spending time with her. “How long are we talking?”

  “I don’t know.” Her gaze slid away. “How long can you put up with me?”

  Forever, a small voice said inside his head. He took another swig of his beer and told it to shut the hell up. She was not the kind of woman for him. She was the home and family type. Not the kind that would be happy with a wild weekend here or there and then nothing for months while he spent all his time on the road.

  She deserved a man who was around for her when she needed him. And knowing that was what was keeping him from grabbing her up in his arms and kissing her silly before making love to her right on the hood of the car he was working on.

  “That depends. Can you cook?”

  She glared at him. “Can you?”

  “I have the numbers to all the take-out places on speed dial and an open invitation to Mama’s table. Does that count?”

  That got him a small smile. “So here’s what I was thinking. We keep our relationship going for a few more weeks. By then I will have hopefully landed a spot with a new firm, or made a decision about going solo. We can break up quietly once the spotlight is off of us. Time and space and the long-distance thing will be our reason when people ask what happened. We wouldn’t be the first couple to break up because of that.”

  “And our parents? When should we break the news to them?”

  “That’s on you to figure out.”

  “Sure, give me the hard job.”

  “Seems only fair.”

  He sipped his beer. “You sure you can resist me for that long? Ladies find me irresistible. I have a reputation, you know.”

  “Well deserved, no doubt. But we’re both adults and I think we can figure it out. All we need is a few ground rules.”

  A caution flag dropped inside his head. “Ground rules?”

  “Yeah, to kind of draw the line between what goes on in public versus what goes on in private. Do you need me to make up a chart?”

  Sassy Lilly was back. He liked it. “Words ought to do.”

  “Well, I’m going to have to live in your house, for starters, but I want to pay my share. I’ll buy the groceries and pay utilities.”

  He didn’t know whether to hug her or shake her. “Lilly, I get that you don’t want to seem like a freeloader. But please. My watch costs more than you make in a month. I have enough in the bank to cover the damn light bill. And I have a housekeeper who takes care of groceries and that kind of domestic stuff. Next?”

  “The worst thing that could happen would be for someone to find out this is all a sham.”

  “Agreed.”

  “I think we need to make sure we’re seen around town together. As a couple.”

  “I think I can manage that. There should be hand-holding, kissing, the occasional butt pat. Just to make it look real.” His pulse leaped at the thought of touching her again. Holding her.

  She chewed her lip for a second before shrugging. “I guess it would be weird if we weren’t affectionate, right? We’re supposed to be nearly-weds.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So hand-holding and some kissing is okay. But no butt patting. Hands stay above the waist.”

  “This would be one of those ground rules you were talking about?”

  “Exactly.”

  “You drive a hard bargain.”

  “Outside of the time we’re putting on a show, you should carry on with whatever your normal plans are, as will I. I don’t want to feel like I have to check in with you all the time and vice versa. The only exception is that you can’t cavort with any groupies.”

  “Cavort?”

  “Flirt, hook up, give out private tours of your trailer to coeds in bikini tops at the track.”

  “Ah, cavort.” He rubbed his neck, pretending to consider. Groupies really held no attraction for him now. The only woman he wanted to cavort with was Lilly.

  “I guess my sponsors and fans wouldn’t like seeing me messing around with other women. It could impact my endorsement deals.”

  “Right. And then there’s the physical aspect.”

  “My favorite.”

  “For peace of mind, I think we need to make sure nothing…intimate happens between us.”

  “You mean more intimate than being engaged and living in the same house?”

  “You know what I’m talking about,” she said.

  “So that means you’re not going to try to get me drunk and have your way with me again?”

  Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink, but she pushed on. “This will be like a partnership,” she said. “Both sides reap the benefits and share the risk. Each of us knows what to expect from the other. Where the boundaries are.”

  “Sounds like you’ve thought all this through and tied it all up in a neat little bow.” Why did that annoy him so much? He was getting what he wanted…an extension to the fake engagement and all the advantages it brought. Including more time with Lilly. Maybe it was because it seemed so easy for her to dismiss the heat between them when it was all he could do to suppress the raging hard-on he sported at just the thought of doing a little “cavorting” with her.


  “I think so. Is there anything I’m missing?”

  “Nope. I think that about covers it, partner.” He set his beer down on the workbench and stood in front of her stool. “Think we ought to shake on it?”

  “Sure. I guess.” She looked up at him with eyes narrowed. Wise woman.

  “I guess we should make it official,” he said. “Lilly, will you do me the honor of continuing to pretend you’re going to marry me?”

  She snorted. “It’s no wonder you’ve got women falling all over themselves to get at you.”

  He smiled. This was the closest he would ever come to asking a woman that question for real. He had to admit, with her, under the safety of knowing it would never really go anywhere, it felt…good.

  He took her hand in his, never breaking her gaze, and slowly moved in. If he wasn’t going to kiss her or touch her or God forbid have her in his bed, he needed to indulge in this one last kiss. One last touch that was just the two of them—not for show. It would hold him over until this whole thing was just a spot in his rearview mirror. It would have to.

  “Or maybe something more fiancé-like?” He leaned in and kissed her before she could remind him about contracts or agreements or partnerships.

  It took only a few seconds for her to melt into him, and even though he knew it was totally and completely wrong, he loved throwing a wrench in her plans. Why had he left her alone on the golf course in Dallas again? Oh yeah, the whole ethics thing.

  Instead of pulling her lithe little body into his and grinding his growing erection into the softness of her belly like he ached to, he let her go and stepped back.

  “Oh, and about supper with your parents—I have to meet with potential sponsors. I can conference call with some of them, but others want me there in person. Mark has me booked for several days. I’m leaving this evening.” The truth was he didn’t trust himself to hold to their agreement tonight. He needed a little space to cool his jets. There was a lot riding on this fake engagement, and the last thing he needed was for her to get pissed and call off the whole thing because he couldn’t stick to her rules.

  “No problem. Dad just canceled. He’s busy at the dealership.”

  “I’ll get back as soon as I can.” He felt bad about leaving her here to handle everything on her own.