“Still think you should see my bedroom,” he said.
“I don’t see why.”
He glanced back at her and gave her a half smile. “Because you’re my loving fiancée who would be completely at ease there.”
“Right.” Not at ease. Not even close. Her stomach started jumping again and lower portions of her body heated to a slow boil.
In a house this size, she told herself, you could have five or six kids running around and still find acres of room to have some space to yourself. When she was a child, she would have loved a house like this. Especially that library. She would have camped out in that room and been deliriously happy.
Of course, when she was a kid, she would have been ecstatic with any house to call her own. A place where she could belong, bring friends. A room of her own to do homework in or daydream. Instead, she’d moved from hotel to motel back and forth across the country as her father followed the next poker game.
Watching Dave, she had to wonder if he was actually happy here. Or if the house was more a trophy. A tangible sign of success.
When they walked into the massive great room, Mia paused a moment to look around. The fire had been lit in the hearth and the snap and hiss of flames devouring wood whispered in the air. A few of the table lamps had been turned on, and pools of golden light fell across the furniture. Tan leather couches and chairs sprawled alongside light oak tables. Wide windows at the front of the house would, in daylight, afford an amazing view of the yard. Now, though, night crouched on the other side of the glass and the sea of blackness was broken only by the soft glow of the solar lights placed along the walkway.
Dave took a seat on one of the couches and reached for the white thermal coffeepot sitting on the low table in front of him.
Mia’s gaze fell to the plate of brownies and cupcakes beside the coffeepot, and she walked over to take a seat within reach of the dessert tray. She picked up a napkin and a brownie and took a bite. Chocolate melted on her tongue and she closed her eyes and sighed a little in appreciation. When she opened her eyes again, Mia found Dave watching her. His gray eyes looked smokier than ever and his lips were tight. Tension radiated from him. “Is everything okay?”
* * *
Dave took a breath and blew it out again. He was suddenly rock hard and in pain. Who would have thought it? Mia Hughes wasn’t exactly the kind of woman he usually went for. There was no cleavage displayed. No short skirt to afford him a view of silky skin. No lipsticked mouth to tempt him. Not even a damn seductive smile.
And yet when she’d taken a bite of that damned brownie and made that soft groan of pleasure, his body had lit up like a lightning strike.
“Yeah,” he said shortly as he fought to get a grip. “Fine.” He poured them each a cup of coffee, then reached for a manila envelope lying on the table. Back to business, he told himself. Keep focused.
He pulled out a single sheet of paper, glanced at it then handed it to her along with a pen.
“What’s this?” She took the paper but kept her gaze on his.
“Our agreement in writing. We’ll both sign it so there won’t be any questions later.”
“A contract?”
“Easier all the way around to have everything laid out in black-and-white.” Dave wasn’t the kind of man to leave anything to chance. If there was one thing he’d learned over the years, it was that most people couldn’t be trusted.
He took a sip of coffee and watched her as she skimmed the document.
Dave knew what it said. He would pay her ten thousand dollars up-front. All school loans to be paid off at the end of the month or the closure of his deal with TexCat, whichever came first. In return, she would feign love for him and do everything necessary to make sure this game worked.
She read it through and he saw her wince once or twice. He wondered what had brought on the reaction, then reminded himself that it didn’t matter. They had a deal and he’d hold her to it.
“Questions?”
“One.” She looked at him. “How do we explain to people in town that all of a sudden we’re engaged? I mean, the whole point of this is to avoid gossip and scandal, right?”
He’d considered that, of course. Dave always thought through any proposition. “We’ll say it’s a whirlwind kind of thing. Unexpected. Passionate.”
She laughed and he frowned. Not the reaction he’d expected. Outrage, maybe, or even embarrassment. But not outright laughter. “What’s so funny?”
“You,” she said as she shook her head and took another bite of brownie. She sighed a little and his groin tightened even more. If she had more than the one brownie, he might explode.