A Deal With the Devil Read Online Free PDF Page B

steak. “Never mind.”
    She dropped the napkin and eyed him with suspicion, suspecting she might need the strength of alcohol when he replied. “ Tell me,” she said. Then she took a nice long sip, swishing the wine around in her mouth as she’d learned to do on a recent business trip to Napa.
    “Okay.” Jake set down his silverware with deliberation, one piece at a time, and then leaned back in his chair. His blue eyes locked with hers and he paused for a long moment and then said, “We should get married.”

Chapter Three

    ake uttered his on-the-fly proposal at the precise moment Amanda swallowed. She only got part of the wine down. The rest she spat out.
    He watched as she grabbed a napkin and held it to her mouth, her eyes watering as quick gulps of air interspersed with deep, rattling coughs. “You okay?” He stood next to her, looking down with concern.
    She shook her head and kept coughing.
    “Excited about the prospect of marrying me, huh?” Jake smacked her gently on the back with his palm.
    “It went down the wrong pipe,” she said, her voice a raspy croak. “Water.”
    Jake trotted into the kitchen, filled a glass with water and set it on the table in front of her. She coughed and reached for the water while he settled on the stone hearth. As she sipped at the water, he tried to figure out what had compelled him blurt out a half-baked idea before he’d even begun to think it through.
    Jake tapped a thumb on his thigh and wished he could jump in his Escalade and drive until he found himself a few thousand miles away. Unfortunately, with his SUV nose down in a ditch, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
    He rested his head against the stone fireplace and gazed up at the ceiling. No matter the situation, he never blinked under pressure. So what the hell was his problem? Granted, he’d been shocked when the family attorney called on his way up here to tell him about the change to his trust fund. But it still didn’t excuse his behavior. Iraq must’ve been harder on him than he’d imagined.
    On paper, Amanda might seem a perfect solution for a fake engagement scheme. It’s not like there would be any messy emotional complications because in the past few hours, she’d made it crystal clear she was over him. Still, actual experience told him anything involving the two of them would likely be difficult, impossible—maybe even disastrous. He had concluded this a year ago, which had been a key driver behind the break-up and which made his dumb proposal even dumber.
    His gaze drifted back to Amanda. She appeared royally pissed off. He looked away and tapped his thumb harder, wishing he could take the words and shove them back in his mouth. But now he had to let the situation play out. Who knew? Maybe she’d go along with the idea. Hell, maybe it could even work, though he knew it wouldn’t be easy. Still, after several hours of obsessing about his potential options, he still hadn’t come up with anything better. And, if he wanted to avoid his grandfather’s marital trap and still get his business started as he’d planned, he needed to figure something out; and soon. His entire future now hung in the balance.
    Amanda cleared her throat and Jake looked up.
    Judging from her narrowed eyes and the set of her jaw, she had readied for battle. He didn’t blame her. If the situation had been reversed, he would’ve thought her crazy. In an effort to avoid the tsunami of questions headed his way, he stood and turned his back. As he reached for the iron poker, his hand brushed the other tools and knocked them so forcefully, they clanged. He grabbed the poker, thrust it into the fire and stabbed aggressively at the logs. With each jab, the self-recrimination grew louder.
    It wasn’t like him to say or do stupid things. And as ideas went, this idea ranked at the top of the stupid meter. He sensed her glare, but refused to turn around and the long silence amplified the crackle pop of the logs as