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“No, it isn’t. According to you and your master plan, this is about pretending we’re in love while you catch the bad guy.”
“Love?” His throat went dry at the idea. He knew the word. Had a grasp of the general concept. Neither the word nor concept had a place in his life now or his view of the future.
“Yeah.” She stretched out the word and he felt her staring at him as if he were stupid. “Typically, in our culture, the primary cause for getting engaged,” she flashed the ring, “is love.”
“Uh-huh.” He understood it, even if he didn’t believe in it.
“You asked me to play this part,” she continued. “So don’t blame me if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“Because it’s the most viable option. Everyone at the office thinks I’m away for the weekend celebrating.”
“With me,” she said. “A woman you’ve never mentioned and they’ve never met.”
“Yes. My personal life isn’t a cause for conversation at the office.” His patience snapped. How many times would they take this ride? “Look, I’m sorry if my plan here has inconvenienced you. It was the best excuse for me to get a little latitude for the weekend and not be expected in the office.”
“You couldn’t just ask for some time off?”
Not without raising suspicions. He kept the thought to himself as the animal shelter came into view. Heather leaned forward slightly in her seat as if the movement meant she’d arrive a few seconds sooner.
“Dear God,” she whispered. “Whatever happened got everyone up.”
He had to agree. It looked like every law enforcement agency and first response team in the county was well-represented. The small parking lot in front of the building had overflowed onto the grassy area.
“Off or on?” she asked, keeping her hands low in her lap.
“On. We have to sell the engagement.” He sighed. “We have to make them believe our romantic plans were interrupted.”
“That’s no problem for me.” She batted her eyelashes. “You?”
“I’ll manage.” He cut the engine and gripped the key.
“Can you please manage to look less like you knocked me up and I’m demanding millions in child support?”
He pointed to the rock on her finger. “That isn’t the ring a man gives a woman who’s trapped him.”
“Good point.” She smiled and a strange warmth seemed to fill the space between them.
His gaze locked with hers and he watched, unmoving as she leaned close. She tugged at his jacket, bringing him the rest of the way and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his lips when they met.
“Hmm,” she murmured, licking her lips. “I think the sex would’ve been amazing.”
That subtle warmth ratcheted up to a fiery blast, searing him in less than a second. What the hell? He didn’t… She wasn’t… Crap, now she was interrupting him without saying a word.
“Curtain up,” she said. “Don’t let J.C. give you a hard time.”
He was managing hard all on his own. She tilted her head a bit toward whatever was outside of the windshield. For a split second, his vision full of her luscious mouth, he thought she was simply making it easier for him to continue what she’d started.
Then he saw her brother glowering at them and understood. That kiss would either perfectly launch their performance or get him killed by brotherly rage. At the moment, he wasn’t sure which he preferred.
She twisted around and opened her door, shooting him a grin that held a woman’s deepest secrets. “Let’s go, Special Agent Fiancé.”
It required more than a little effort to pull himself together. There would be time to review the ground rules about kisses and beds and all the rest when they were alone. Clearly she needed a reminder about the limits.
From his research into her background, Heather didn’t enjoy limits much. Not that she broke laws, more that she just avoided conventional behavior whenever possible.
Rather than a career, the woman had chosen a collection of jobs. What the stats had yet to reveal was why. She had the grades and test scores to do anything she wanted, clearly she had a passion for animals and a strong sense of justice, yet she’d turned down vet school and law enforcement careers. Didn’t she have any ambition?
He knew the answer was yes. He’d been close enough to see the drive and determination in her eyes, no matter what smile she put forward. That didn’t mean he’d figured out what her ambitions and life goals were.
