Fiance by Fate by Jennifer Shirk

subject of my suggestion?”
    “I’ll do it,” she said softly, then bit her lip.
    “Excellent.” His voice boomed through the phone and she could practically hear his brain filing the information and formulating what to do with it. “We can talk about it more at work tomorrow and hash out a plan that suits both of us then. You and David will be back together in no time.”
    “That’s the least of my worries right now. I’m more concerned with what you’re asking in return.”
    “You worry too much. All I ask is for a little display of adoration in front of others and perhaps for you to keep the venom in your voice toward me to a nice nonlethal level. Trust me, posing as my girlfriend will be a cake walk.” He paused then added, “You won’t be sorry, Sabrina.”
    Too late. She already was.
    …
    The next day, Sabrina sat in Jack’s office with the anguish of a woman who had just been sentenced ten to fifteen years with no hope of parole.
    “Will you relax,” he told her. “You’re making me anxious and I’m never anxious.” Although he was anxious to get their plan started, but he was also hungry. He opened his desk drawer to his new stash of beef jerky he had on hand for such an emergency and pulled some out.
    Sabrina threw her hands up in the air. “Oh, great. This is so completely fitting with you. While I’m stepping into a web of lies, you’re stepping into a Slim Jim.”
    He looked at the beef thoughtfully, then held it out to her. “I’m sensing you need this more than I do.”
    “I’m a vegetarian.”
    “Now that explains a lot.”
    She bristled. “That’s it. Forget it. This is so stupid. We’re never going to convince anyone that we like each other, let alone that we’re dating.” Shaking her head, she was on her feet before he could blink and looked about ready to hightail it out of his office.
    “Wait,” he said quickly. Where was his normal finesse when it came to women? She had a way about her that brought out his worst. But she was right. If he didn’t watch himself, he’d ruin everything.
    “I’m sorry, Sabrina. This will work. How about we both try to keep the smart comments to a minimum?”
    She sat back down but her shoulders were still stiff. “All right then. Let’s just figure this plan out so I can get back to work.”
    Damn, there was a lot of pent-up energy going on in that tight little body of hers. It was kind of amusing to watch, especially the way she tried to quiet her hyperventilating breaths so he wouldn’t notice. Call him a jerk, but he noticed. Her chest was going in and out like a runaway steam engine and it was all he could do not to stare. And he liked what he saw.
    “What do you want me to do?” she asked, breaking into those thoughts. She nibbled one corner of her lip, her hair hanging loosely as she cocked her head to the side.
    “Well, I…” Their gazes met and held.
    Have her eyes always been that blue? Hell. He knew she was pretty, but he never realized she was that pretty.
    He cleared his throat and reached for more beef jerky.
    “You do have some sort of agenda, right?” she asked.
    “Agenda?”
    “A list of dos and don’ts.”
    He rolled his eyes. Sabrina was definitely not a play-it-by-ear kind of woman. He should have known she’d want an itemized list of how he expected her to act.
    She licked her lips. “Nothing over the top, I hope. Oh, and I guess I should have mentioned this before, but I don’t want to have to, uh…”
    “Don’t want to have to what?” he asked, popping another piece of jerky in his mouth.
    “Kiss you,” she finished.
    Jack froze mid-chew, then swallowed. “What?”
    She shifted in her chair. “I don’t want to have to kiss you.”
    “Absolutely not. That’s non-negotiable. You have to kiss me. What kind of fake girlfriend are you, anyway?”
    She lifted her chin. “One that doesn’t believe in public displays of affection.”
    “That’s ridiculous.”
    “No, it’s not. Look,