The Engagement Arrangement

by Jaci Burton

  Honor’s eyes widened. “You had sex. That’s a sex glow.”

  Erin nodded. “Yes, definitely a sex glow. A first-time-sex glow.”

  They were like the most annoying detectives ever. Correct, but annoying as hell. “It’s freaking hot outside and I’m still sweaty from the shower. You’re both being ridiculous.”

  Honor looked over at Erin. “Notice she didn’t deny the sex part.”

  “She did not. Definitely guilty. So you spent the night with Finn and had so many orgasms it’s written all over your face.”

  Her body trembled a little just thinking about all those orgasms. Which she was not about to discuss with her sisters.

  “I have nothing to say.”

  “Oh, come on,” Erin said. “You both browbeat me to death when I was first seeing Jason. Turnabout is fair play. Now spill. Did you do it in the house here?”

  “Of course not. Mom and Dad are light sleepers. I would never—”

  Honor pointed a finger at her. “Aha. Which means you did have sex with Finn. Obviously at his place. I knew it.”

  “Good sleuthing, Honor,” Erin said, high-fiving her sister.

  Brenna rolled her eyes. “This is juvenile.”

  Erin laughed. “You’re just mad that you couldn’t keep it a secret.”

  “Oh, right, like what’s going on with the two of them is any secret,” Honor said. “She practically drools anytime Finn gets within ten feet of her.”

  Now they were being asinine. “I do not. And we’re not in a relationship. We’re still faking.”

  “Did you fake it last night?” Honor asked. “Judging from how hot Finn is, my guess is no.”

  “I’m not dignifying that with an answer.”

  “Because we know the answer.” Erin held out her hands toward Brenna. “Hence, the glow.”

  “Could we please talk about something other than my sex life now that you two have had your fun?”

  “Okay, fine,” Honor said with an exaggerated sigh. “But you know we both approve of you and Finn. And you should consider making this relationship not fake. He’s good for you, Bren. And he’s always liked you.”

  Erin nodded. “He has. And I like how you are with him.”

  Brenna frowned. “How exactly am I with him?”

  “I don’t know. More relaxed. More like your old self, like you were before Mitchell.”

  Huh. That was interesting. She hadn’t noticed that she’d changed since Mitchell. But maybe she had.

  As Erin talked on about wedding budgets, Brenna thought about who she was then versus who she’d become post-Mitchell. Sure, she’d had her heart broken. She’d gone into her marriage bright-eyed and with hopes of an incredible future, only to have her hopes dashed. And sure, she’d withdrawn for a while, but she’d eventually dragged herself back up to the surface and moved on with her life, taking up all the activities she loved, like her books and her gardening and her genealogy work.

  Maybe love and romance had taken a spot on the back burner. Way on the back burner. It wasn’t her fault that men were continually disappointing. She’d learned a valuable lesson from her marriage, and that was to have high standards. There was no sense in wasting time with a man who couldn’t meet them.

  And then this whole fake fiancé thing with Finn had come about. Her idea, of course, and she had only meant it to be for four days. Now, that contract had been extended. And sex had been added to the equation, which was beneficial for both of them, right?

  It was fun. No one would get hurt.

  Since she had no intention of marrying Finn—and he had to know that—why not have some fun? It was pretty phenomenal sex, too.

  She was long overdue for some fun and phenomenal sex.

  “This Saturday night we have the garden wedding,” Honor said. “Small wedding party, only thirty guests.”

  Brenna looked up. “That reminds me. Okay if I take Saturday off?”

  Erin’s lips curved. “Got a date?”

  “Sort of. Finn and I have been invited to a lake barbecue.”

  Honor smiled. “This wedding will be easy, and we can handle the wine order. Go have some fun, Brenna.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. We’ve got this.”

  “Okay, thanks. You know I’ll pick up the slack anytime either of you need me to.”

  “We know,” Honor said.

  “It’s about damn time, too,” Erin said. “You can’t work all the time.”

  “Oh. Look who’s talking.”

  Erin lifted her chin. “Hey. I’ve got a guy. And a place to live. And a dog.”

  Brenna snorted. “Of course you do, Miss Perfect.”

  Honor waved her hands at them. “Okay, okay. Before this ends up in an all-out brawl over nothing and I have to make the two of you apologize, how about we get back to the meeting?”

  Honor was right. Brenna didn’t even know what they were fighting about. Of course, being sisters meant they could always find something to argue over, no matter how trivial or petty. Erin had been encouraging her date with Finn and Brenna had turned it into an argument, likely because she was still a bit unsure of herself where Finn was concerned. Which didn’t mean she could take it out on her sister.

  “Sorry, Erin,” Brenna said.

  “Me, too.”

  Honor nodded. “That’s better. Now on to the business at hand.”

  They dove into the rest of the meeting, and Brenna pushed thoughts of the upcoming weekend aside.

  For now.

  CHAPTER

  • • • • • •

  sixteen

  FINN HAD SPENT most of the week prepping and bottling some whiskey for the weekend. It wasn’t aged as much as he would have liked, but it was good and tasty and he looked forward to sharing it with his new friends.

  Along with his normal daily work, he hadn’t had much of a chance to spend time with Brenna. He passed her a few times during the day and they stopped and talked, but she’d said she was busy. He wasn’t offended. She was often busy. And when he’d asked her if they were still on for Saturday, she smiled at him and told him she couldn’t wait.

  Her smile had held him the whole week.

  Now he was packing up his truck with whiskey and chairs and fishing gear and whatever else Brenna kept dragging out for him to include. Which was a lot. Bags and boxes of wine and coolers and even more bags.

  He tossed the current bag into the bed of the truck.

  “No, that one goes in the front.”

  Resisting rolling his eyes, he smiled and tucked the bag into the back seat. “Sure. Anything else?”

  “I don’t know. Let me check.”

  “You do realize we’re just going for the day. Not the week.”

  She waved one hand at him while she disappeared into the house.

  At this rate, the entire day would be over before they even got there.

  He leaned against the truck, arms folded, watching across the way as they set up for the day’s wedding. He was actually surprised that Brenna had so quickly agreed to this, considering she always worked the weddings during the weekends.

  But he couldn’t deny he was happy she was coming along with him today.

  She finally flew through the front door, her hair in a high ponytail. She had on a blue-and-yellow sundress with her swimsuit under it. And damn if she didn’t make him catch his breath.

  She slid her sunglasses down from her head onto her face and fixed him with a bright smile. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

  Since he was already wearing his shades, she missed his eye roll. “Waiting on you, princess.”

  She slid her hand up and down his arm. “Then let’s get this party started. Hey, where’s Murphy?”

  “Out on the vineyard with your dad. He’s watching h
im today. Said they were going to sit inside, have snacks and watch a baseball game later.”

  She laughed. “Of course they are. They’ll probably nap together, too.”

  “No doubt.”

  The drive to Sabra and Dave’s house took about forty minutes. They played music on low and mostly talked to each other about their week. It had always been easy to slide into conversation with Brenna. Whether it was about current events, weddings, his whiskey or an argument, they never ran out of things to talk about.

  “What’s in all the bags and boxes and cooler?” he asked.

  “Food. Wine. Clothes. Towels. I assume you handled the fishing gear.”

  “I did. And I brought a fresh batch of whiskey.”

  “Looks like we’re going to have a great day.”

  He took the exit off the turnpike. “Clothes?”

  “Yes. So I can change out of my swimsuit. And in case I get dirty.”

  “You plan on getting dirty?”

  She shrugged. “You never know. I like to be prepared. How about you? Did you bring a change of clothes?”

  “Pretty sure there’s a pair of jeans and a T-shirt back there somewhere.” He tossed his thumb over his shoulder.

  She rolled her eyes. “I guess that’s something.”

  “I don’t think guys need to have as much stuff as women.”

  “I’m amazed your species has survived as long as it has.”

  He figured if he laughed she’d probably throw something at him, so he kept his mouth shut. They got to the house about ten minutes later. It was a big two-story, and while it wasn’t right on the lake, it wasn’t far. He couldn’t wait to get out on the water. He’d grown up by the sea, and being near water was one of the things he missed the most. He and his da would often go out on the boat to fish, and it was in his blood. He was aching to stretch his legs and toss his pole in the water today.

  “You seem anxious,” Brenna said as they started to unload the truck.

  “I miss the water,” he said.

  “Oh, of course. You want to fish.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Hopefully you’ll catch something today.”

  “I know I will.”

  Her lips curved. “I do like a confident man.”

  They carried everything to the door, which opened as soon as they got to it. Dave was there to greet them.

  “I’m happy you two could make it,” he said. “Sabra’s in the kitchen making . . . I don’t know. Something. Sue’s out back putting the meat in the smoker and the rest of us are drinking and wishing it was already time to eat. Come on in.”

  They carried the bags and cooler inside with Dave’s help. Andi was in the kitchen along with Hilary and Marie, who was helping Sabra slice strawberries. They all shouted out a hello.

  “We’re so glad you came,” Sabra said. “I thought maybe you’d have to do a wedding today.”

  “There is one this evening, but it’s a small event and my sisters graciously offered to handle it without me.”

  “Awesome. There’s sangria in the fridge if you’d like a glass. Help yourself. And Finn, there’s beer in the cooler outside.”

  Dave motioned with his head. “Follow me.”

  Finn looked over at Brenna, who waved him off, so he knew she’d be okay, and he followed Dave outside.

  Brenna was happy to see that Sabra and the others were comfortable enough to let her make herself at home. And that Finn didn’t feel like he’d have to sit right by her side all day.

  She’d always been independent and confident enough in herself to be comfortable in a crowd of strangers. It didn’t take her long to get to know the women. Sabra was vivacious and super friendly. Hilary was gorgeous and had a wicked sense of humor. Andi was smart as hell and adept at keeping the conversation moving along, and Marie was just incredibly sweet and friendly, always the one to fill drinks or pitch in to help.

  They worked together to make sandwiches and fill up containers with fruit and other snacks for the boat.

  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think we make a damn good team,” Hilary said. “We got that task done in record time.”

  “Which is good,” Andi said. “Because I’m so ready to get in the water.”

  Brenna was as well, and she hoped Finn would get to spend some quality time fishing.

  They ended up having two boats. One was at the marina, and one that Marie’s boyfriend, William, had brought.

  Dave, Finn, Sue, Will and Johan took one boat to fish, and the rest of them climbed onto Andi’s boat so they could hang out in the water.

  This wasn’t exactly the day she thought she’d have with Finn, but he seemed excited about being able to fish, and that was what she wanted for him. Besides, they had coolers of booze and plenty of food to eat on each boat, so they’d all be fine. They made plans to meet up in a cove for lunch.

  They started out skiing and tubing and Brenna had never laughed so much. Andi was an expert skier and Hilary had never gotten up on water skis in her life, with the rest of them falling somewhere in the middle. They gave Hilary a lot of pointers, but she still face-planted a few times, and each time came up sputtering and laughing. When she finally got back onto the boat, she was still laughing.

  “Thank God I have these enormous boobs to break my fall.”

  Then they all started laughing so much that Andi said she was unable to maneuver the boat, so they took a break and had a drink. Brenna felt the heat from the sun and didn’t want to get sick, so she drank a lot of water and drove the boat while Andi skied for a while.

  The time passed quickly and they made their way to the designated meeting spot. The other group showed up about fifteen minutes later, all of them grinning, which was a good sign.

  “How was the fishing?” Marie asked.

  “It was good,” William said as they tied their boats together. “I caught two. Finn caught four.”

  Brenna cast her gaze across the boat toward Finn. “Four, huh?”

  He grinned. “It was a good fishing spot.”

  He was standing there wearing only his board shorts, his body bronzed and golden and dripping with sweat. He wore his shades and the wind blew his raven hair. It wasn’t fair for a man to look so downright hot. Brenna felt a pang of regret that they weren’t alone in this shaded cove so she could have her way with him about five or six times.

  She dipped her sunglasses down her nose and gave him a very direct look. His lips ticked up in a knowing smile, so he’d obviously received her message.

  They climbed off the boats and onto the small island, opened up the coolers and grabbed their sandwiches and fruit and veggie sticks and parked their butts in the sand.

  Finn sat next to her.

  “I guess it was a good fishing expedition,” she said as he dug into the bag containing the carrots.

  He chewed, swallowed and nodded. “Really good. I need to add ‘buying a boat’ to my list of things to do—someday.”

  “You do know we have a boat.”

  He shrugged. “That’s your family’s boat. I want one of my own so I can go out anytime I want.”

  She wasn’t going to tell him that the Bellinis’ boat was his anytime for the asking, that her father would never tell him no. She understood men and pride.

  “Anything worth having is worth working for,” she said.

  He nodded. “Damn right.”

  Brenna understood that better than anyone. She chewed thoughtfully, taking a sip of her water.

  “When Mitchell and I got married, I saved all the money I could, my one goal to buy a house. I hated living in that cramped one-bedroom condo.”

  “I sense a but in there.”

  “Mitchell liked to take trips and host parties and show off his success. One of the many things we argued over.”

 
“Ah. You weren’t on the same page, financially.”

  “Not in the least. But when we divorced I took the money I saved and put it away again.”

  “For your someday house.”

  She turned to him. “Yes. For my someday house.”

  “You’ll get it. Someday.”

  “Just like your boat.”

  “Just like my boat.” He smiled and smoothed a wayward hair away from her face. “Anything worth having is worth waiting for.”

  She wasn’t certain if he was referring to his boat, her house or something else entirely. But she was lost in his eyes right then and didn’t care. Whenever she looked at him, the whole world fell away.

  And when he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers, she melted against him, only barely cognizant of the other people nearby. Finn was the one who broke the kiss.

  “Hold that thought for later. When we’re alone.”

  “We’ll be alone later?”

  “Yeah. When we get back to my place. If you wanna come over.”

  She pressed her fingers into his bare chest. “Oh, I want to come over.”

  “Good.”

  They all piled back into the boats after lunch and took turns tubing. Brenna ended up on the boat with Finn, and the two of them went out together.

  “You ready?” he asked as Dave started the boat’s engine.

  “I’ve totally got this.” Which she did, because this was not her first ride on a tube.

  He grinned, and then they were off, sailing over crests like they were flying. They hit the water hard and her legs nearly flopped over her head, sending her careening off the tube. Finn grabbed on to her and tugged her against him and she fought for breath as she laughed. He held tight to her while they went catapulting over the waves.

  She was dizzy by the time Dave stopped, but, hey, she’d held on. They climbed aboard and Brenna needed to get her footing. Finn stayed next to her while she downed some water.

  “Feel okay?” he asked.

  She looked over at him. “Exhilarated. How about you?”

  He grinned. “Same. You did great out there.”

  “Did you have any doubt I would?”