Chapter 6

• He suppressed a smile. He almost enjoyed the match of minds, just like he used to. "You'll entertain my business associates. I have a big deal on the line, so you need to get along with the other wives."
• "I can keep my elbows off the table while laughing at their stupid jokes. But I need to be able to run my own business and have a social life."
• "Of course. I expect you to maintain your personal lifestyle."
• "As long as I don't embarrass you?"
• "Exactly."
• Her toes tapped in time with her fingernails. "I've got some problems with this list."
• "I'm a flexible person."
• "I'm very close to my family and they'll need a good reason to believe I'm suddenly getting married."
• "Just tell them we ran into each other after all these years and decided to marry."
• Alexa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because they're not supposed to know about this arrangement, they have to believe we're madly in love. You must attend dinner in order for us to make the announcement. And it must be persuasive."
• He remembered her father abandoning her family and leaving them for the bottle. "You still speak with your father?"
• "Yes."
• "You used to hate him."
• "He apologized. I made the decision to forgive. In any case, my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and twins all live with my parents. They'll bombard you with questions, and you'll have to be convincing."
• He smirked. "I don't like complications."
• "Bad luck. That's part of the package."
• Nick reasoned that he'd give her a small victory. "Fine. Is there anything else?"
• "Yeah. I'm getting a real wedding."
• His pupils constricted. "I was thinking justice of the peace."
• "I was thinking a white dress outside with my family in attendance and Maggie as maid of honor."
• "I don't like weddings."
• "As you've stated. My parents will never believe that I eloped. We must do this for them."
• "Alexa, I'm marrying you for business reasons. Not your relatives."
• Her chin was raised. He mentally recorded the gesture. It appeared to be a warning before she charged into battle. "Believe me, I'm not happy about this either, but we have to play the part if people are going to think this is real."
• His brow furrowed, but he managed a nod. "Fine." His tone was tinged with sarcasm. "Anything else?"
• She gave him a nervous look before rising from her chair and pacing around the room. His gaze shifted to her flawless rear end, swinging back and forth, and his zipper strained in pain.
• His last rational thought slipped through his vision. Cut your losses and walk out the door right now. This woman will flip your life upside down, diagonally, and sideways, and you've always despised the fun house.
• Nick fought the surge of fear and waited for her response.
• ____///____
• Oh, dear.
• Why did he have to be so damned attractive?
• As she paced, she stole a glance at him.
• A vulgar curse escaped her lips, but she stifled it. She used to sneer at him and call him Pretty Boy because of his golden hair when she was younger. Those youthful curls had been tamed into a short, conservative cut, but a few stray strands fell across his brow in defiance. The colors had deepened with time, but she remembered them as honey blond to wheat Chex mix cereal. His features had hardened, and his jaw had become slightly chiseled. During that brief smile, her perfect white teeth flashed at her. His eyes were the same deep chestnut, and he kept veiled secrets behind a wall. However, his body...
• He'd always been active, but when he walked across the room, the elegant fabric of his oatmeal-colored pants moved and bent to his will, highlighting long muscular legs and taut buttocks. On a Saturday, the V-necked tan sweater was both casual and appropriate for the office.
• Some sections were completely inappropriate. His corded length of arms. The fabric was stretched and molded by the broad shoulders and chest. His skin was a deep bronze color, as if he had been lying in the sun for hours. His movements are animal-like in their fluidity. He had matured, and he was no longer a pretty boy. Nick Ryan was a hot-blooded man who still saw Maggie as her little playmate. There was no recognition or appreciation when their eyes locked. It was only a distant friendliness extended to someone from his past.
• She'd be damned if she let her tongue dangle from her mouth simply because he was attractive. His personality remained abysmal. The letter B stands for Boring. The letter D stands for Dull. The massive...
• She pushed the thought away from her mind.
• Alexa despised how his presence made her nervous and a little giddy. She'd cast a love spell a week ago, and Earth Mother had listened. She had enough money to save her family's home. But what had happened to her shopping list?
• The man in front of her destroyed everything she believed in. This was no love affair. No, this was pure business, and it was very cold. While her memory of their first kiss dragged from the back of her mind, she bet he'd completely forgotten the moment. She wriggled with embarrassment. No longer. Would Earth Mother really deny her the most important requirement on her list? She took a deep breath before speaking. "One other thing."
• "Yes?" he inquired.
• "Do you watch baseball?"
• "Of course."
• Her stomach clenched with dread. "Do you have a favorite team?"
• He grinned. Smirked quite literally. "There's only one New York team."
• Alexa overcame her nausea and asked the question. "Which one?"
• "Of course, the Yankees. It is the only team that succeeds. It is the only team that is important."
• She took deep belly breaths, as taught to her in yoga class. Could she get married to a Yankees fan? Would she be sacrificing all of her morals and ethics? Could she bear being married to a man who worshiped logic and thought monogamy was only for women?
• "Alexa? Are you all right?"
• She silenced him with one hand and paced, desperately looking for answers. If she left now, there would be no choice but to sell the house. Could she live with herself if she knew she was too self-centered to make a sacrifice for her family? Was she given a choice?
• "Alexa?"