Honest Betrayal (2 page)

For a moment, Hunter looked uncomfortable. “I’ve known her since we were kids. I would have grown to love her.”

“So the answer is...?” She trailed off giving him the opportunity to finish the statement. He stared at her. She glanced past him unable to stare back, briefly wondering what it would be like to be loved by a man like him. Would it be a blessing or a burden? “So the answer is no,” she finished lamely.

“I would have treated her like a queen.”

“Being a queen is a tiresome and scary prospect. Perhaps all she wanted was to be a wife.”

“So she chose some lowly computer programmer?”

His tone of disgust forced Brenna to look at him. “Who will make her happy.”

Hunter tugged on the cuffs of his sleeves, his voice smug. “If he can afford it. She is used to a certain standard of living that I was more than willing to provide.” He sat back, his voice softening as he looked out the window. “She told me she wanted a man to sweep her off her feet like Prince Charming.”

Brenna raised her brows. “And you’re Prince Charming?”

He returned his gaze to her face. “No, and I wasn’t suggesting I was or am. However, as an eligible bachelor I know my worth.”

“Then you have plenty of other women to choose from.”

“Women don’t know what they want.”

“Yes, they do. Janice made her choice clear.”

Hunter stood abruptly, Brenna expected him to leave, but he began to pace instead. The activity made the room feel smaller. She discreetly lifted the window higher, hoping the air would dampen the tantalizing scent of his cologne.

 “Do you know how she told me about her change of heart?” he asked. “With this.” He tossed an envelope on the table. Brenna didn’t need to look at it. She’d received a similar lace envelope in the mail.  “A wedding invitation. I go away on a business trip and come back to that. She didn’t call me or consult with me. We could have had a reasonable discussion, but she didn’t give me the chance. She just ran away. Do I look like an ogre to you?” He pointed a finger at her. “That’s a rhetorical question.”

Brenna closed her mouth.

“We could have gone over the pros and cons of such a decision.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “When I finally had an opportunity to meet with her, I asked her to explain.”

Brenna leaned back in her chair. “You didn’t demand?”

Hunter shook his head. “I never demand. I try to be very considerate of others.”

She glanced at her half eaten pattie and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “Of course.”

He continued, not recognizing her sarcastic tone. “She told me a lovely woman at Love by Design,” he sent her an unflattering glance. “I suppose that’s you.”

Brenna rested her chin in her hand and fluttered her eyelashes.

He scowled. “Matched her up with Michael. She said that it was love at first sight. As if there is such a thing.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “She said that she didn’t want to hurt me. She tried to convince me that she would have made me a dreadful wife.” He suddenly fell silent then raced across the room. Brenna sat stunned by his odd behavior until she saw him crouch down in the corner where the puppy was.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just give me a minute,” he said in a brusque tone.

Brenna stood and saw that the puppy had the leash wrapped tightly around his neck. She let out a gasp.

“He’s going to be alright,” Hunter said removing the limp puppy from its death trap.

“But he’s not breathing,” Brenna said with rising panic. “I should have been more alert. I didn’t even see...”

Hunter breathed into the puppy’s mouth and rubbed him and soon his shoulders relaxed. “He’s fine.” He returned to his seat with the puppy cradled in his arms. “See?”

Brenna fell back into her seat relieved. “Thank god.”

He winked. “You’re welcome.”

She laughed. “You don’t know anything about humility do you?”

He shook his head.

“What did you say?” Brenna asked, curious in spite of herself.

He blinked. “What did I say?”

“Yes, to Janice.”

He leaned back and the revived puppy squirmed in his arms and started to lick his face. “I wanted to say she was being rash and impulsive.” The puppy started to walk around his lap as if he’d found his new favorite playmate, Hunter didn’t appear to mind. “That she had no right to destroy the five year plan I had worked out for us.”

“Yes, that’s what you wanted to say, but what
did
you say?”

He looked down at the puppy then mumbled something.

She turned her ear towards him. “Excuse me?”

Hunter set the puppy on the ground then
moved his chair closer to her desk then sat. He looked directly at her, his eyes like woodchips aflame, the heat in them reaching out to scorch her. Brenna swallowed, wishing she could glance away, but feeling mesmerized.  “I wished her joy.” His gaze fell; she sat back in her chair relieved. “I only said it because she looked so unhappy and she used tears. She knows I hate tears. I said ‘I wish you joy and happiness’,” he repeated, his voice a whisper.

“That was kind of you.”

His eyes captured hers amazed. “Kind? I had no other recourse.” He dropped his gaze to the ground where the puppy was pawing at his leg and whimpering. He lifted him up and settled him in his lap. “What else could I have done?”

The fact that he didn’t know was encouraging. Other men wouldn’t have been as understanding. Brenna merely shrugged amazed at the ease in which he handled the puppy.

“Can you imagine what it was like for me to say, ‘I wish you joy’ while I had her ring in my pocket?” he said playfully tugging on the puppy’s ears.

Brenna shrugged. “It’s for the best.”

Hunter ignored her. “She threw her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek. She told me how happy she was that I understood, that I didn’t fly into a jealous rage or something. She knows me better than that. I never get jealous and I do not rage.”

Brenna raised her brows and glanced at the door. “Really? You did a pretty good imitation.”

Hunter dismissed her comments with a wave of his hand. “That was nothing.”

“So what happened next? Did you return the ring?”

“Then I met Michael. I admit to wanting to rip out his teeth.” He raised his hand. “Not because I was angry, but purely because he kept smiling at me with a smugness I found annoying. I find that kind of attitude with most computer programmers. They’re experts in one finite area and consider themselves geniuses.”

Brenna grinned. “You’re beginning to sound jealous.”

Hunter picked up a framed picture of her holiday in England from her desk. She felt the urge to slap his hand away, but resisted. It would be as useless as a flea trying to fell a brick wall. “Nonsense. I should be applauded for maintaining my composure.” He groaned.  “Two years of planning the perfect proposal destroyed due to impulse.”

Brenna licked her lower lip. “Yes, well. While I understand how therapeutic this little ‘chat’ must be for you, it doesn’t explain why you are here.”

He set the photograph down. “I need a replacement. I have an event coming up in three weeks where I’d planned to announce my engagement. The company I work for strongly encourages management to be married. It shows stability. I’ve assured everyone, my grandfather included, that I would introduce my fiancée there.  It’s expected and would be humiliating for me to show up without someone.”

“But wouldn’t they be expecting Janice?”

He lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug. “No, I never made it clear to them specifically who I was going to marry.” The puppy rolled onto it’s back exposing its tummy.  Hunter scratched it and the puppy wiggled in delight.

“But you were dating Janice long enough to want to marry her?”

“I told you we had an understanding. There were others, but they didn’t suit me.”

“You dated other women while seeing Janice?” Brenna asked trying to keep her disgust hidden.

“I wasn’t cheating on her,” he said annoyed. “We never dated exclusively. I dated others because I wanted to make sure Janice was the right choice.”

Brenna briefly covered her eyes trying to understand his logic. “Then how could you be angry with Janice for choosing Michael?”

“I’m upset because she decided to
marry
him, that’s the whole point. I need a fiancée.” The puppy climbed up to his shoulder and began to lick his face. “Stop that,” he said in a kind, but firm voice. The puppy took the hint and slid back into his lap.

Brenna watched the exchanged baffled by the man before her. He seemed so arrogant, demanding and cold, but treated this helpless puppy with such considerate tenderness. “Don’t you want someone you love?”

“I’ve explained that,” he said impatiently. “It’s not essential.”

Brenna straightened in her chair and handed him a brochure. “Sorry, but you’ve come to the wrong place. This is
not
an escort service. My clients are looking to start long term relationships, and certainly not the type you and Janice were engaged in.”

Hunter scanned the brochure with disinterest then closed it. “I don’t want one of your clients.”

She furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand.”

“I want you.” He stuffed the brochure inside his jacket. “Since you ruined my life, I expect you to fix it.”

CHAPTER TWO

Hunter watched Brenna’s face change from polite disdain to anger. He feigned a cough to keep from smiling. He was enjoying himself. He hadn’t expected that.

 “No,” she replied her voice quiet but firm.

He blinked. He’d expected more than that. A burst of temper, perhaps even a slap. Not such a cool refusal. “Why not? You have nothing better to do with your time.”

Her lips thinned. “How do you know that?”

“Do you think I would come up with such a proposition without being prepared? It would be stupid of me to suggest such a thing if you had a husband.” Actually it was her ringless hand that gave him the cue and after looking at the pictures on her desk he noticed there was no man present.  Taking her as Janice’s replacement had been inspired on the spot. He hadn’t come here to do that. He came to tell her off, but when he walked into the room his carefully prepared speech left his mind and for the first time in his life he had no words. He could only stare.

He had expected a romantic, meddlesome wallflower. Not a striking woman in a blue power suit. She wasn’t beautiful, but he liked how her light brown hair framed her high dusky cheekbones, giving her face a haughty look as if she were a goddess offering a lowly servant her attention. When he finally did get his tongue back in order, he scrambled to think of how to gain her sympathy and come up with a reason to see her again. He liked a woman who challenged him.

She intrigued him. Few things did, he had to find out why. “You’re currently not seeing anyone steadily.”

“How—”

Hunter nodded relieved that he was right. “Do I know this? There are very few secrets in this world if you’re willing to pay for it.”

Brenna shook her head. “The answer is still no.”

“And you still haven’t answered my question: Why not? Isn’t that what you do, match people up? I want a match and that would be you.”

“No.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to spend one evening pretending to be my fiancée?”

“Perhaps for the same reason Janice refused to marry you.”

Something unreadable flashed in his eyes, before he lowered them. “I see.”

Brenna cringed. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, although she wasn’t sure what emotion she had seen. He was definitely overbearing and arrogant, but he had cared for Janice in some odd sort of way and it was obvious that her rejection had bothered him. “I’m not much of an actress,” Brenna said trying to soften her refusal.

Hunter nodded, but his eyes remained lowered. “That’s understandable.”

Brenna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear unsure whether she wanted him to look at her or not. Both prospects made her nervous. Yet, she didn’t like not knowing what he was thinking. She lightened her tone, hoping to come up with a compromise.  “I may be able to find a woman willing to pretend to be your fiancée for this important event. You are an eligible bachelor and an evening out with a handsome man such as yourself is always a treat.”

His eyes captured hers. “You think I’m handsome?”

Her stomach fluttered at the intensity of his gaze.
Very.
“Does it matter?”

“I’m curious.”

Brenna toyed with a pen on her desk. “I’m sure you’re well aware of your attributes.”

“It’s not the same as a compliment. Humor me. I’ve just been dumped. My ego is a little shaky.”

“You’d need a sledgehammer to shake your ego.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.” He rested his arms on the desk and offered his profile.  “Well?”

“I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t mean it.”

Hunter turned to her, his eyes teasing. “Sure you would. Women always say things they don’t mean. I could have spots all over my face and you would have said the exact same thing. Women are trained to be kind so they throw out compliments that make men feel better. I want to know if you mean it.”

She picked up a potato chip and bit into it. “You’re just curious?”

“No,” he said slowly, the attempt deepening his tone. “I find you attractive. It’s only fair that you find me the same.”

Brenna choked on the chip and grabbed her drink. After a large gulp, she slammed the drink down and glared at him. “Don’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not appropriate.”

“It’s the truth.”

“I doubt that’s something you say often.”

He paused, the teasing gone from his eyes. “You’re not used to compliments. Pity. You should be.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s so much to compliment.” Hunter rested his chin in his hand his gaze sweeping over her in admiration. “Your eyes, your face, your intelligence, your sense of style. You know you could hurt someone with that letter opener.”

“Yes, I know. Why do you think it’s aimed at you?”

He seized her wrist and snatched the opener then dropped it on the ground. “Okay, I’ll stop. I’ll teach you how to accept compliments another time.” He snapped his fingers. “Wait. I have an idea. Give me a compliment and I’ll show you how it’s done.”