A Deal With the Devil (20 page)

“What if I promise not to do it again?”

He shook his head. “No dice. I need to keep an eye on you. I can’t risk you blowing our business deal.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled her plate closer again. She speared a huge forkful of eggs and said, “Fair enough. I’ll move in and I’ll keep that monstrosity of a ring on. But we’ll need to define some boundaries.” She shoved the eggs into her mouth and her cheeks bulged out as she chewed, eyeing him with a look of irritation.

“Like what?” He looked somewhat amused as he watched her chew. “Enjoying those eggs?”

She ignored his last comment. After she swallowed, she said, “Like no more repeats of last night; that kiss . . . what happened,” she shook her head and dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “Not going to happen again.”

His blue eyes locked with hers. “The way I remember it, you enjoyed last night as much as I did.”

“I beg to differ,” she said. “Last night was a bad idea.”

“Last night was a great idea.” His gaze never wavered as he said, “Its okay to let go every now and again, Amanda. You don’t always have to be so in control.”

Of course he’d say that. His heart never got involved. From her perspective, last night had been the furthest thing from a great idea she could imagine. And she couldn’t afford to be anything less than totally in control around him. If she let her guard down one iota, if she allowed old feelings for him to resurface, it would only lead to heartbreak. “Thanks for the advice.”

He shrugged. “This thing between us just hasn’t run its course. I can’t see any harm in letting it play out.”

She dropped her fork on the plate. “Letting it play out.”

“Yes. While we’re going through the motions of faking a marriage, we could use the opportunity to get each other out of our systems.”

What an ass.

“Wow. You know, when you put it like that, I’m not sure how I could resist.” She summoned her sternest tone, the one she needed to start using with Rob, as she said, “I told you; sex isn’t part of the package and if you don’t drop it, the deal is off.” They might be over, but agreeing to his idea would be tantamount to playing with fire and she was pretty sure she’d be the only one who got burned.

Jake raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. We can keep it all business if you want.”

“Oh, I definitely want. Remember that.”

“You know, our agreement could take a long time to work through. You might decide you need a little fun.”

She lifted her chin. “If I need fun, I’ll have no trouble finding it.”

“Listen. While this agreement is underway, our options for fun are limited. I can’t afford for my grandfather to get suspicious. So while we’re in it, we’re both committed—like it or not.”

She didn’t like it. Not one little bit.

“But we’ll play it your way. We’ll see how long your resolution lasts.”

“Oh, it’ll last.” She felt a pang of disappointment, but ignored it. The no hanky panky clause was the first good decision she’d made since they’d left the cabin. Had it really only been five days? It seemed like five years.

She took a last bite of toast. He’d been right about the food. She felt almost human again. She picked up her plate and headed toward the sink, but Jake took it from her.

“I’ll clean up.”

“Thanks.” She sat back down. “Is there anything else we need to discuss? I am seriously going back to bed.”

“Just one,” he said as he carried the plate to the sink and rinsed it off. He placed it in the dishwasher and then turned and locked eyes with her as he leaned back against the counter. “I think three million is a little steep, don’t you?”

She tipped her chin down and mumbled, “I didn’t know how much the Paris apartment was worth.” Her outlandish demands, which had seemed so smart last night, made her feel like a greedy little conniver now. But it was his fault. He shouldn’t have pushed her to come up with a figure on the fly. And while drunk.

“How does half a million in cash plus the year in Paris sound? It will include the hundred thousand dollar advance plus another four hundred thousand payable when this thing is over,” he said. “You can still stay in the Paris apartment, but when the year is up you have to move out. You can’t keep the apartment. It’s been in our family too long.”

“I didn’t expect to keep the apartment. I don’t know why I said that last night.”

“Maybe the wine made you do it.” He grinned.

She drew a long breath and gazed up at him. “Half a million is very generous Jake.”

“It’s fair. I know how much you’re giving up. Your life will be on hold. You should at least get a measure of long-term security in return.” He cleared his throat. “The movers will come by in the morning and you’ll be settled in by tomorrow night.” He stood and walked to the door. “And if you change your mind on the fun front, just remember; my bedroom door is always open.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“Oh, one more thing.” The gleam in his eyes matched his wicked grin as he said, “Try to steer clear of Gorgeous George.” He winked and ducked his head, slamming the door shut just before the wooden spoon she threw bounced against it.

Chapter Eleven

ake entered the fifteenth floor law office suite Sam shared with his younger brother and waved at the receptionist talking on the phone. She smiled and pointed down the hall. Jake nodded and headed toward Sam’s corner office, rapped his knuckles twice and then walked in.

“Hey bud.” Sam stood and gestured to the seating area in the corner, lifted a folder from his desk and handed it to Jake. “This contains two copies of the revised agreement. As soon as you both sign this new addendum, the revised terms go into effect.” Sam dropped into a wing chair and watched Jake leaf through the papers.

After a few minutes, Jake tossed the folder onto the table. “Thanks.”

Sam tapped his index finger on the arm of the chair and regarded his friend thoughtfully. “It’s not too late to rethink this bone-headed plan, bro.”

“Don’t start.” Jake’s tone warned his friend to back off. “I’ve made up my mind.”

Sam grinned. “You’re harder-headed than she is, if that’s possible.”

Jake changed the subject. “I ran into some guy named George at Amanda’s last night,” Jake said. “Ring a bell?”

“They work together. I’ve met him a few times,” Sam said. “Kate says the girls love him.”

Jake scoffed. “Yeah, I heard;
Gorgeous
George.”

Sam chuckled. “Sounds like something my wife would’ve come up with.” He shrugged. “He seems like an okay guy—”

“Who’s got a thing for Amanda?”

Sam smirked. “What do you care? You’re over her, remember?”

“She’s going to be my wife.”

Sam pointed to the folder and raised a brow. “Your wife for hire. Big difference.”

“So my wife for hire should be able to date.”

“Not what I said. Besides, I don’t think Amanda wants to date him. If she did, she would’ve done so while you were over in Iraq.”

Jake wanted to push Sam for more details, but didn’t because if he did, Sam would jump all over it. He’d have to do his own research on George.

“If you ask me, you should just marry Amanda for real,” Sam continued. “I never understood why you broke up—”

Jake shot to his feet and glared at Sam as he said, “I didn’t ask you.” His tone sounded harsher than intended and he waved his hands in silent apology before striding to the window where he gazed out at the noonday traffic. After several minutes, he turned to face Sam and said, “What do I know about making a relationship work.”

Sam pushed back in his chair and cross his ankle over his knee. “What does anyone know? You do your best.”

Jake bit back a harsh laugh. “Unfortunately, when it comes to relationships, my family’s best can be pretty damned bad.”

“Max did okay. Look how long he and Winnie were married before she died.”

“Forty-five years.” Jake shoved his hands in his jeans pocket. “But my father’s relationship failures overshadowed my grandfather’s success.”

“So you broke up with Amanda because of your father.”

Jake spread his arms wide. “My father divorced four times.
Four!
And in between those catastrophes, he paraded around enough girlfriends—or whatever you want to call them—to populate a small city.”

“You’re not your father. You can’t let his mistakes control your life.”

Anger erupted inside and Jake shouted, “Why does everyone keep spewing out pop psychology garbage whenever my father is mentioned!”

Sam frowned, but didn’t back down. Sam never backed down. “You and Cal couldn’t be more different. I always liked your father—”

Jake choked back a bitter laugh. “Cal was a great guy to have a
drink
with. But as a parent or husband, he sucked.”

“You’re not Cal,” Sam said, regarding Jake intently. “So you’re telling me you broke up with Amanda because you consider yourself bad husband material.”

“It’s not the only reason, but it’s a reason—and a good one, in my book.”

Sam shook his head a few times, then shrugged and looked down. A few moments later, he raised his head and opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and shook his head again. His mouth twisted as he looked away. “Well, this is a new one.”

Jake folded his arms. “What.”

Sam looked him straight in the eye. “We’ve been friends since we were five and this is the first time . . .” He paused, then lifted his chin and said, “I didn’t know you were such a chicken-shit.”

Jake scowled. “I’d call it being honest with myself.”

“Dude, your reason for breaking up with Amanda was a cop out, and you
know
it.”

Jake fought a wave of embarrassment as he skulked back to his chair. “I had other reasons,” he grumbled.

Sam folded his arms across his chest and appeared to be enjoying himself as he said, “Let’s hear ‘em.”

Jake sat up straight and tried to regain his dignity. “For one thing, I hate how she is with her brother. When I looked into the future, I saw a never-ending stream of issues with that kid. And given her current situation, it appears I nailed that one.”

“Rob is immature and sometimes, he takes advantage of Amanda, but he’s not a bad kid. If you ask me, you could’ve done him a world of good.”

Jake’s voice cracked as he said, “Me?”

“Yes you. Rob needs a stable male influence. Remember, he lost his parents at the age of thirteen so he missed out on a male figure at probably the most critical age. Since then, he’s had only Amanda. And besides, he idolizes you.”

“I never had a positive male influence either.”

“You’ve enjoyed plenty while in the Navy.” Sam regarded Jake with interest. “I always believed it to be a primary reason you went the military route instead of following the expected Lowell path into the Ivy League and then a career in the family business.”

Sam was right. His Navy career had given him the foundation he’d missed from his father, but instead of admitting as much to Sam, he changed the subject. “Anyway, my family provides enough problems to keep me busy for a lifetime. The last thing I’d do is sign up for all that trouble with someone else’s.”