An Indecent Proposal(6)

“No. Please help him,” I croaked, planting my feet firmly on the ground, but the arms around me were stronger. My voice could barely reach my ears, let alone penetrate the shrill sound of the alarm.

Struggling against the iron grip, I was carried away before I could turn to get a glimpse of the stranger in the elevator. “No,” I pleaded. “Please. You’ve got to help him. Please.”

But my voice was too weak to get anyone’s attention.

As I was carried down flights and flights of stairs, I glimpsed more people being helped out—their faces reflecting their shock and disbelief. Figuring someone might need it more than I did, I tried to remove the oxygen mask, but my rescuer pressed it against my mouth, his gesture urging me forcefully to keep it on. Eventually we burst through the reception area and onto the street outside, where hundreds of evacuated office workers and onlookers had gathered, some filming the event on their cell phones, others commenting loudly.

“I’m fine,” I said to a concerned woman and scanned the faces around me, even though I knew better than to expect a miracle.

My heart was slamming so hard against my chest, I was sure it would break. If the stranger had been rescued, he couldn’t possibly find me in the crowd, not least because we hadn’t exchanged names. We didn’t even know what the other person looked like. As I was guided to the waiting medical assistance, a crashing sound rang behind me so loud that the rumble rocked my body and the ground beneath my feet vibrated. A cloud of dust billowed into the sky.

My heart stopped.

“The library,” a woman in the crowd shouted. “It’s the library. It’s gone.”

“The whole floor’s collapsed.”

“People are still trapped inside,” a fireman shouted into what looked like a radio, and began to gesticulate. “Send another unit. I repeat, send another unit. We need as many people as possible.”

Oh, my god.

I stared at the building, my fingers clasped over my mouth in shock as the disaster unfolded. I didn’t know if he had survived, but I hoped he was safe. That he had made it out in time. Chances were slim. I realized if he didn’t survive, he’d be my sixth secret—the man with the sexy voice whose name I didn’t know.





An Indecent Proposal: The Interview





Chapter 1





Three months later



I needed a husband—and fast. Not literally, of course. Just for the weekend, or as long as my stepfather would be in town. A relationship was the excuse I had given for not visiting Waterfront Shore for the last three years. Three years of running away from the place of my dreams and nightmares, and a past better left buried forever. And now my lie was catching up with me, because there was no husband or fiancé in sight, not even a boyfriend or a date to play the part.

“Hire an actor,” said Jude, who was looking up from her computer screen. “In fact, he’s perfect.” She jumped up and headed over to me, her chiffon dress revealing long, tanned legs as she sat down on the sofa and tucked her legs beneath her. I stared open-mouthed at the half-naked model on the screen. He looked hot, no doubt about it, but he also looked—

“Desperate,” I mumbled to myself.

“I wouldn’t exactly call you ‘desperate.’ More like ‘inventive’ or—”

“Thanks,” I muttered, cutting her off. “But I was talking about the guy.”

For a moment we remained silent as I read the text beneath the picture of a man with a strong chin, dark brown hair, and eyes the color of an ocean shimmering in the sunlight, a shade of eye color I’d never seen before. I figured it was either Photoshopped, or they were contact lenses, which only managed to fortify my first impression of him.

Desperate. Plain desperate.

And his description in his own words didn’t help improve his image, either.

Chase is a very nice, humorous, and down-to-earth lover of female beauty. He knows how to cook and offers to carry things when shopping.

“He sounds dreamy,” Jude gushed.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her. “He sounds like a bellboy with playboy aspirations. Either that, or he’s a crook waiting for gullible women to fall for his creepy charm. I bet the profile’s fake.”

Oblivious to my sarcasm, or maybe she was just ignoring me, Jude picked up the phone and dialed the number in his contact details. I stared at her, not believing that she was going for it. I figured she’d come to her senses the moment she heard the guy’s voice, which I imagined was old and cheesy, and even creepier than the fake profile.

“Hey, is that Chase?” Jude held her breath as she listened, then gave me the thumbs-up.