The Engagement Arrangement

by Jaci Burton

  “I know! I still can’t believe it. It’s like a dream.”

  She took Erin’s hands in hers. “The best dream. Soak it all in.”

  “I intend to. I love you, Brenna.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Then everyone took their seats and champagne was poured.

  As the oldest sister and official maid of honor, Brenna made the first toast.

  “Erin and Jason, when I see you together, I see happiness. I see joy. I see a future where you can both grow and have everything you’ve ever wanted. You bring out the best in each other, you calm each other in times of stress and you celebrate each other’s successes. I hope you know that you can always count on your families to be there for you whenever you need us. We will always have your back. I hope that the love you feel for each other today is the same love you will feel every day for the rest of your lives. To Erin and Jason.”

  She lifted her glass and everyone toasted.

  Then Clay gave his toast, and it was about friendship and love and brought a tear to Brenna’s eye.

  Finn grasped her hand under the table. “Those were some sweet words you said.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I always wished I had siblings.”

  “You do. You have Erin and Honor.”

  He took in a deep breath. “Thanks for not adding yourself as a sibling, because that would be creepy.”

  She laughed. “I have never once thought of you as a brother.”

  “You were hot for me even back then, huh?”

  “I have no comment.”

  He looked her over. “Did I tell you today that you were beautiful?”

  “No, you didn’t. But thank you.”

  “That dress looks nice on you. And I like your hair that way, down around your shoulders, and some of it pulled up. It’s very beautiful. Then again, you look pretty all the time.”

  He always said all the right things, and they were unpracticed, not bullshit lines. She could tell they came from his heart. She squeezed his hand, then leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. “You’re so . . . I don’t know . . . Finn.”

  He let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, that’s me, grá.”

  She knew that word—it meant love. And didn’t that set her heart to doing those flippity-floppity things again.

  She ran her fingers down the front of his shirt. “You in a tux? That presents quite a picture, Finn Nolan.”

  He looked down at himself, then back up at her. “I thought it gave me a rather James Bond kind of look.”

  “You look dashing, for sure.” Then again he could be sweat soaked in jeans and a T-shirt, and either way he could still turn her on. It was the man himself that did it for her, not the clothes he wore.

  Dinner was served next, and it was a delicious feast of steak and lobster along with a creamy potato mash and a wonderful mix of fresh vegetables.

  And, of course, the wine was spectacular.

  “I could have eaten that meal twice,” Finn said, laying his fork and knife on the plate.

  “You do like your food.”

  “Pretty much all food. But great food? That’s the best.”

  “Maybe you should consider becoming a chef in your spare time.”

  He laughed. “I’ll add that to my to-do list. Along with climbing Mt. Everest, skydiving and becoming a neurosurgeon.”

  “Oh, that’s quite the list.”

  “What’s on yours?”

  “Actress, singer, photojournalist, prima ballerina and queen of England.”

  He nodded. “Ambitious. I like that about you. Don’t let anything stop you from achieving your dreams.”

  She loved that he supported her dreams, even the ridiculously unattainable ones.

  She left the table to go to the restroom, fix her lip gloss and mess with her hair.

  “Stop, you’re already gorgeous.”

  She turned to smile at her mother. “And so are you.”

  “That burgundy dress does amazing things for you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. And you look beautiful tonight.”

  Mom sighed and glanced into the mirror to apply lipstick, then stopped, a wistful look on her face. “I can’t believe Erin is married.”

  All three of them were close to their mother. Brenna knew this was both a celebratory and difficult night for her. She walked over and put her arm around her mom. “You raised us all well, taught us everything you know. Erin’s going to be fine.”

  “Oh, I know she will. Jason’s a wonderful man. But it seems like it was just yesterday the three of you were getting dirty together out in the vineyard. And now, Erin’s a married woman. Time moves too quickly for me these days.”

  She caught the telltale tears glistening in her mother’s eyes and pulled her in for a hug. “You know she’s not leaving you.”

  “Of course not,” her mother said, sniffling. “It’s just a big day. I’m allowed to be emotional.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Mom took her hand. “Come on. I think we’ll be dancing soon, and we don’t want to miss that.”

  “No, we definitely do not.”

  Ending on a positive note, her mom spun her around like she used to do. Brenna felt that little tug of nostalgia from dancing with her mom like she did when she was little.

  Nothing like doing a little dance and twirl with your mama in the ladies’ room. Brenna laughed and slipped her arm into her mother’s, and they strolled back out to the reception.

  “Okay, what did I miss?” Erin asked as she caught up with them.

  “Mom’s all teary-eyed because one of her babies got hitched tonight.”

  “I was not teary. Okay, maybe a little.”

  “Aww, Mom.” Erin threw her arms around her mother. “Don’t cry. It’s a happy day.”

  “Why are we crying?” Honor asked as she came over.

  “Mom’s crying over Erin being all married up.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet.” Honor put her arms around Erin and Mom. Since Brenna didn’t want to be left out, she joined the hug fest.

  “Okay, now we’re all starting to look ridiculous,” Mom said, pulling away. “I love all of you. And I’m fine. It’s my prerogative as your mother to cry on your wedding day. All of your wedding days. Might as well expect it.”

  Honor looked at Brenna. “I’m not getting married.”

  “Neither am I.”

  Mom shook her head. “Not today you aren’t. But eventually you’ll find the man who makes you swoon like Jason did for Erin.”

  Erin lifted her chin. “I never swooned.”

  Jason came over and slipped his arm around Erin’s waist. “I seem to recall some swooning.”

  “You lie.”

  “Come on,” he said. “We’re supposed to dance. Then we’ll see who swoons and who doesn’t.”

  Erin waved her fingers at them as Jason led her to the dance floor while the deejay announced the bride and groom’s first dance. They all followed to watch. Brenna smiled as Elvis sang “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” They used to watch their parents dance to that song all the time. And then they’d all join in, dancing with each other, with Mom, with Dad. Hearing that song was the sweetest memory. Brenna could understand why Erin chose that song for her first dance with Jason. It was all about love.

  She heard the sniffle next to her and reached out for her Mom’s hand.

  “It’s lovely.” Mom lifted a tissue to her eyes.

  After that, the bridal party had to dance along with the bride and groom. Finn took her hand.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Don’t step on my toes,” she said as he led her onto the dance floor.

  “Babe, I’m so good we’ll be dancing on clouds out there.”

  She couldn’t hold in her laugh as he wrapped his arm
around her and tugged her close. But he glided her across the floor effortlessly, and all she focused on was her hand in his, and the way he held her with such confidence, his eyes locked with hers while words of a love song filtered through her brain.

  This all felt so good, so right, and yet it was dangerous to let herself fall so hard with Finn.

  But what if you did fall? Would it be so bad?

  A loaded question meant to be pondered later. For now she let herself be carried away by the music, by the man holding her, and the extremely happy mood she was in.

  She tilted her head back. “Thank you.”

  He lifted a brow. “For my expert dancing skills?”

  “Definitely that. But mainly for being here with me the past couple months. It’s meant a lot that you’ve had my back.”

  “I always will, Brenna. You can count on it. Whenever you need me.”

  A strong promise. But could he keep it?

  As the night progressed, she found herself staring at him as he stood across the room talking to the guys. She couldn’t help looking at him all the time. It seemed to have become her favorite pastime. And who could blame her with his dark hair, those mesmerizing eyes and his incredible body? Not to mention the kind of smile that could light up a woman’s world.

  He’d certainly lit up hers.

  What if she did allow herself to fall in love with Finn? What if she gave in to all these emotions that continued to bombard her? What might happen?

  She knew what might happen. She could get hurt—again. Finn could turn out to not be the man she thought he was.

  That had happened before. Mitchell had seemed perfect for her. They were both driven, had wanted things for their future that required hard work and sacrifice. They had both talked at length about what it would take to get where they wanted to be.

  On paper and in conversation, it had sounded ideal. She liked to work and she appreciated a man who didn’t expect her to have dinner on the table at five o’clock every night. She wasn’t traditional like that, and neither was Mitchell. Sometimes she’d roll in after seven. Often he’d come in after eight. They both led busy lives and at first they jelled.

  But then came the arguments. Brenna chalked it up to the two of them not spending enough time together, something she’d originally thought would work out just fine. Then she realized that Mitchell had gotten used to his routine, having things the way he wanted them, and he wasn’t willing to be flexible. It was either his way or no way.

  Brenna figured out fairly quickly that her reply to that was no way. The problem was, she hadn’t seen it coming.

  Or maybe she’d been so blinded by the romance of it all, she’d only seen what she wanted to see.

  It would be so easy to fall into that same routine again. It was easy to see the hotness, the sweetness, the utter perfection of Finn. What she needed to do was dig into his faults, into what the traps could be, before she made the same mistake twice.

  Or maybe you could quit nitpicking and just go with your heart?

  She shrugged off that ridiculous thought.

  No, this time she intended to do it right.

  Or not at all.

  CHAPTER

  • • • • • •

  twenty-seven

  FINN HAD NO idea what was up when Brenna texted Wednesday night to tell him they were both taking the next day off, she’d already cleared it with her dad and she had a surprise for him. Then she’d told him to be ready to go by five a.m. and to meet her in front of the house.

  What the hell did Brenna want to do at five a.m.?

  Either way, he was up, he’d had coffee, Murphy had been outside and was fed and he was ready for . . . whatever. It was cool out this morning so he put on a jacket, grabbed the dog and walked over to the front of the house, frowning when he saw the big truck parked there with the boat trailered behind it.

  Brenna came out the front door with a large bag.

  “Oh, good, you’re here. Take this. I’ve got coffee inside for both of us.”

  “Where are we going?” He went up the steps and took the bag from her. “And where do you want me to put this?”

  “In the truck.” She looked down the steps.

  “That’s your dad’s truck.”

  “Yes.”

  “And your dad’s boat.”

  “It’s the family boat. I thought we’d go out on the lake today. Maybe do a little fishing. If the idea of that suits you.”

  His lips curved. “It does. But don’t you have work to do?”

  “Every day. Today, though, we’re skipping out on work to have a little fun. Any complaints about that?”

  “Hey, you’re the boss.”

  She laughed. “Not of you.”

  Once they put all the gear in the truck, Finn double-checked the trailer and hitch to make sure they were secure.

  “I need to do something with Murphy,” he said as the dog sat between them, his tail wagging wildly.

  “Oh, Murph’s coming with us.”

  “He is, huh?”

  “Of course. I figured he’d enjoy a day on the boat. And there’s a life jacket for him, too.”

  “You thought of everything, didn’t you?”

  She smiled. “I tried to.”

  They climbed in, Murphy jumping into the back seat of the truck.

  “Where to?” he asked.

  “I already have the coordinates mapped into the truck’s GPS.”

  “Well, aren’t you the planner today?”

  “Actually, I’ve been working on it all week.”

  He tilted back a little to study her. “All to surprise me.”

  She shrugged. “Yes.”

  He liked this take-charge attitude of hers, and that she had, in fact, surprised the hell out of him. The idea of Brenna taking a day off work was practically unheard of. She had to have her fingers in everything related to winemaking. Giving that up for an entire day just to spend it with him?

  He did feel special.

  Hell, he felt a lot of things where Brenna was concerned, but it was too early in the morning to decipher them, so he put the truck in gear, punched Go on the GPS and off they went.

  It took about an hour to get to the lake, and he followed the directions to where Brenna wanted them to go. It was a great spot to launch, so they got everything out and loaded up the boat. Finn got the boat into the water, then Brenna parked the truck and met him on the dock.

  He held her hand while she climbed in. She looked amazing in her tight pants and boots, her jacket flapping in the morning breeze. She’d put her hair in a long braid this morning, and she looked so beautiful she took his breath away.

  Murphy thought so, too, because he came up to her, his tail wagging so she’d pet him.

  “What do you think about all this, Murphy?” she asked as she smoothed her hands over his back and rubbed his ears.

  Murphy’s enthusiastic tail thumping was his answer. As Finn moved slowly through the water past the No Wake zone, Murphy put his paws on the edge of the boat so he could look out over the water. Finn could tell Murph was going to enjoy this.

  And Brenna? She sat in the seat next to him, wisps of her hair blowing back as he cranked up the engine and soared through the water. He’d been to this lake several times before, and he knew just the right place for fishing.

  He found a nice isolated spot where they wouldn’t be disturbed. Not that there’d be a lot of traffic on the water on a Thursday morning in October anyway. He killed the engine and dropped the anchor.

  Brenna moved out of the chair and went to one of the bags, lifting out two sandwiches she’d wrapped in foil, and brought them over, handing him one.

  “I figured you wouldn’t have had any time to eat breakfast, so I made sausage and egg sandwiches.”

  Just the thought of
food made his stomach grumble. “You made this?”

  “I can cook. Sometimes. If I have to.”

  He gave her a look as she unwrapped her sandwich.

  She shrugged. “Louise wasn’t there yet so I had to do it. And it’s totally edible.”

  “I believe you. Thanks for making this.” He took a bite, and it was good. He leaned over to grab his coffee.

  “Hey, this is good,” she said.

  “You’re surprised that food you made is good. Maybe I should be scared.”

  “I don’t cook very often. I eat out and at home we have Louise.”

  “But you were married before. Did Mitchell cook?”

  She snorted out a laugh. “Hardly. I cooked . . . some. But we both worked a lot, and I often worked late at the house, so I took a lot of meals with the family, and he would get takeout or make a sandwich when he got home.”

  He nodded as he swallowed, then said, “Makes sense.”

  She lifted her head. “Say you’re married to . . . someone. What would your expectations be about the whole cooking thing?”

  “Never thought about it, honestly. I guess if she likes to cook, great. But I don’t mind doing the cooking if she’s not into it.”

  “Huh.” She took a bite and chewed while staring out over the water.

  “What would your expectations be?” he asked.

  She pulled her gaze from the water. “Same as yours. I’m not big on one person being responsible for certain roles. Like the guy having to mow the lawn and take out the trash, and the woman having to do the cooking and cleaning.”

  “Nah, that’s bullshit. If you live together, you share everything. Though I do enjoy mowing. I’d hate for my wife to take that task away from me.”

  She laughed. “Is that right?”

  “Yeah. I like being outside.”

  “So do I.”

  “Okay. I’ll mow. You get to be in charge of the garden.”

  He waited for her to laugh again, but she looked away to stare out at the water, as if she was pondering something monumental.

  Or maybe she was just trying to wake up. It was still early.

  He hadn’t meant to plan out their future like that, to assume they’d have that life where he mowed and she gardened.