“What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching for her hand. “Chris—”
“No.”
Well, he had texted, but that wasn’t the problem.
“Then what is it?” Reese insisted.
Josie smiled and pulled in a deep breath. “How do you feel about picking out that engagement ring?”
Four
Well, that wasn’t at all what he’d thought she’d say. She’d been upset earlier when he’d joked about a ring.
“Engagement ring?” he repeated.
Josie pulled her hand from his and sat her purse on the accent table inside the front door. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she turned to face him once again.
“It’s a silly story, really,” she began with a nervous laugh. “There was some harmless talk, or what I thought was harmless, on the phone with my assistant about Chris and everything that had happened and then the way you got him to leave. You know...by saying we were engaged.”
Reese listened, actually rather amused at her jittery state. Something really had her ruffled.
“We talked about work and moved on,” Josie added, fidgeting with her hands. “When I pulled in just now, I got a text from my editor congratulating me on the engagement and telling me that she’s got a teaser announcement on the blog site and she needs a Q&A from us. All I can figure is my assistant thought I was serious. I mean, I don’t know who else would’ve told my editor and I guess maybe I forgot to mention this info was confidential. I’m sorry this is all just a big mess now.”
Reese continued to watch as she twisted her fingers, smoothed her black dress, toyed with her hair again. The woman was a bundle of nerves ready to explode. This faux engagement was quickly getting to both of them. Likely she was stressed because her life wasn’t so neat and tidy right now, the way she liked it. And for him...well, he wanted to strip his best friend and feel those curves beneath his touch and he wasn’t sure what to do about those feelings. So, yeah, they had one hell of a problem he didn’t have time to solve.
“Then we’ll get a ring and answer some questions,” he told her, shoving aside his lustful thoughts. “Is that all?”
Her eyes widened. “Is that all? That’s your response? We’re not getting married, Reese. I can’t do this again so publicly. I’m freshly divorced from a marriage that never should’ve happened in the first place and you and I are both public figures. I mean, we’re no royal couple, but the media will be interested in this story.”
Reese wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her on into the house. As they stepped down into the sunken living area, he tried to figure out how to assure her that everything would be fine.
“Listen,” he started, then stopped and turned to face her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “We play the role. Surely we can pretend to like each other.”
She glared up at him and met
his crooked grin.
“Would you be serious?” she demanded.
He leaned in just a bit more. Her eyes dropped to his lips, but she pulled her gaze back up to his and held steady.
“Oh, I am serious, Jo. We can answer the questions for your editor and make an appearance at my grand opening in two weeks as a couple. We can push through all of that and then figure out what to do after.” He smoothed her hair back and framed her face with his hands. “We can always say we split because we realized we were better at being friends. That’s very believable because people have already seen us together as friends—they know we already have a relationship.”
“But I don’t want to fail at something else,” she stated. “Not even fake failing.”
That’s what she was afraid of? Failing? Nothing about faking being in love with him. Interesting.
“You’ve never failed at anything,” he reminded her. “Not even that marriage you ended once you realized it wasn’t working. And I sure as hell am not going to let you start now. We’ve got this. Together.”
She closed her eyes and pulled in a breath, her slender shoulders tensed beneath his hands. Reese gave her a reassuring squeeze, needing her to realize he’d never let her get hurt. He was right here by her side.
“Trust me?”
Her lids lifted as she focused on him. Those deep brown eyes staring at him were usually so good at hiding emotions, but not now. He saw the fear, the vulnerability, the concern. He had all of those, too, but he also had faith enough in their relationship that they would make it through anything...even stepping over that invisible line.
The one he’d promised himself not to cross.
Josie ultimately nodded and a wave of relief washed over him. He would care for and protect her at all costs. He could juggle his family, old and new, plus the Manhattan opening, and still make sure Josie came out of all of this unharmed.