When she’d agreed to go tonight, she’d been terrified, completely certain she’d fail to impress. But Jane had said trust me, and her friend had come through in spades. Marianne looked sexier than she’d ever looked. More importantly, she felt sexier. Vivacious and free, even a little bit beautiful.#p#分页标题#e#
Turning from the window, she walked to the armchair and picked up the new cardigan she’d purchased at Saks. Soft ivory silk, with gold sequined paillettes, the sweater made every other sweater she owned envious. Not wanting to cave completely to the idea that a woman needed to be packaged or made over to be desirable, Marianne had insisted on the sweater, the way she’d insisted on the glasses.
But she had slipped into LensCrafters and upgraded her tortoiseshells to a sultry pair of golden cat-eyed frames adorned with a smattering of crystals at the temple, the perfect amount of bling. Never a believer in fairy tales, Marianne felt like some kind of modern day Cinderella.
No statistics. All magic.
Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and picked up. “Jane?”
“Are you wearing the dress?”
Marianne smiled at her friend’s less-than-traditional greeting. “Yes, and it’s beautiful. But are you sure?” She bit down hard on her lower lip and glanced down at the dress. “Maybe it’s too sexy for a work function.”
“Trust me on this one.” The smile in her voice came straight through the phone. “Just stick to the plan and you’ll be the hottest fiancée in the place.”
“Right.” Stick to the plan.
Be sociable. Be sweet. Be charming.
Be careful.
Marianne wrapped her arms around her torso to control the shivers of excitement and anxiety coursing through her body at the thought of a real date with Nick. Jane had been right, a little TLC, and already she felt more confident. The hottest fiancée in the place. “Wish me luck.”
“Are you wearing the strappy gold sandals?”
She glanced down at the sexy little numbers. “Yes.”
“Then Marianne?”
“Yes?”
“You don’t need luck.”
…
The sapphire ring burned a hole in his pocket.
Nick was about to give a ring to his fake fiancée. His mother’s ring, the one he kept in his office safe because he didn’t have the balls to pawn it when she’d asked him to. Not like his mom would ever know. Marianne would wear it for a few weeks and then—boom—right to the pawnshop. No more sentimental bullshit.
Jesus, he was going to give a woman a ring. He shook his head. If there was ever a time to book an appointment with a psychiatrist, it was now. Trying to pass off a blind date as the love of his life was crazy, more like a roll of the dice than a calculated risk. He kneaded the muscles at the back of his neck. Maybe he was more like his father than he wanted to admit.
But unlike his old man, Nick refused to run. If tonight ended in a flameout, he’d survive. The end of his partnership bid. Hell, the end of his career. Whatever came next, he’d face it, straight on. He’d survived worse. A quick swipe of his electronic key activated the lock, and he stepped inside the condo. But the place felt different.
The door shut behind him with a click. Music floated down the hall, and not just any music, sexy blues music.
He took a few steps toward the living room. An inviting, citrusy scent mixed with the burn of the vanilla candles Jane had given him last year. He liked it. Funny, he was so used to walking into a dark, empty apartment that he never gave much thought to what a less-empty one might feel like.
Marianne had brought warmth along with her overloaded Kindle and cool, starched skirts, and surprisingly, Nick was pleased with the change. Not that he was going to be changing his rules anytime soon. Relationships weren’t for him.
He enjoyed his routine—long hours at work, dates that ended in great sex, an occasional beer at Temptation, dinner with Jane. He liked his habits, everything was easy and fun, and yes, he confessed, maybe a little shallow. He’d never allowed himself to consider it until now, but his patterns felt a bit hollow. His dating rules purposefully left little room for a woman in his life, but he had to admit that it was nice to come back to a place that felt like a home. Nick hadn’t felt at home in a long, long time.#p#分页标题#e#
He stopped at the end of the hall, rested his shoulder against the wall—and whoa—he didn’t need to be concerned about her starched cardigan exposing his engagement scam. He needed to worry about one of the partners suffering heart failure. Holy hell, when he called to tell her about tonight, she promised to be ready, but he’d been expecting a knee-length skirt, maybe an upgraded cardigan. Marianne had been talking about a whole different ballpark. Holy shit. Simply watching her from across the room made his mouth go dry.