THE DEAL by Marsh, Nicola (electronic reader txt) 📕

“Mmm?”

“Your place or mine?”

The soft, upward curl of his smile drew attention to his lips and for a moment she wondered if she had the courage to go through with the rest of her plan.

“That’s what I like. A woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go for it.” He grabbed his keys and shrugged into his jacket. “You decide.”

“Mine,” she said quickly, before she lost her nerve totally. “As for being forward, you ain’t seen nothing yet...”

Ten

Kara couldn’t go through with it. She’d planned on telling Matt the truth once they had breakfast but hadn’t got round to it. In fact, she hadn’t had a chance as breakfast had turned into a repeat of the night before as they made love, this time standing up leaning against the pantry.

She would never be able to look at the storage cupboard again without remembering the feel of him deep inside her as the kettle whistled. They had laughed at that afterwards while cradling a steaming cup of coffee, making jokes about the kettle not being the only thing letting off steam.

It wasn’t just the kitchen. His memory was everywhere now, in every nook and cranny of her house. She’d wanted it that way, giving her some small part of him to cherish when she ended it. She’d succeeded with most of her plan. She just hadn’t been able to see it to completion. The part about calling it quits had slipped her mind about the time the trench coat came off at her front door. The rest of the night and the morning had been less than conducive to ending their relationship.

She couldn’t believe she’d pulled off that performance in his office last night. It had been part of her master plan to drive him mad with wanting her, to make him remember her before calling the deal off. For the longer she continued the charade as his girlfriend, the longer it would take her heart to mend. If ever.

Damn, it was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Perhaps she’d give it a while longer. After all, it wasn’t long until the six months were up and pretending to be his girlfriend wasn’t too difficult. Surely she could walk away at the end unscathed? She was a big girl now, not like the last time. Yeah, right, so big that she’d probably never recover.

Just one more week turned into several and before she knew it she’d fallen deeper into the role of Matt’s girlfriend. Not that he seemed to mind. Why wouldn’t he, when he had it all? His father was talking partnership now he’d ‘settled down’ and she’d taken their relationship to the next level, sleeping with him at every opportunity. As Olivia always said, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

Now her feelings of guilt about Sal had resolved, she’d thrown herself into the role of his girlfriend with the selfish wish to please herself. It wasn’t like she was doing anything terribly wrong. She had no intention of taking the money at the end of the deal and she wasn’t the one deceiving anybody.

Except herself.

If she was completely honest, she still harboured the fantasy he’d fall in love with her and they would live happier ever after, like the fairy tale promised.

The doorbell rang as she finished applying a slick of lipstick. Another bonus; being a stickler for punctuality, Matt was always on time. She opened the door with a flourish.

“Hi there.” She kept her greeting simple, as she could hardly speak when confronted by the mouth-watering sight of Matt Byrne in a tux.

“Hi there yourself.” He let out a long, low wolf-whistle, grabbed her hands and twirled her around. “You look fantastic.” Pulling her flush against him, he backed her inside and slammed the door with a kick of his foot.

“Glad you approve,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around him, enjoying the feel of his freshly-shaved cheek against her own and the intoxicating scent of his signature aftershave.

“I do...very much.” He leaned his hips into her. “I think you can tell how much.”

His hardness drove all thought of the evening ahead from her mind as she entwined a leg around his, sliding it up and down. “Just how important is this cocktail party?”

Backing her up against the entry hall mirror, he kissed her thoroughly before pulling away. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’d like nothing better than to continue this but my Dad’s making a big announcement tonight. I need to be there. If it’s what I think it is...” He trailed off, not needing to say the words.

She slipped out of his arms, eager to put some distance between them so she could think straight. “So, tonight’s the night?”

“I’m not sure, but what else could it be? There’s been a spot vacant for a partner for the last eight months and Dad’s been sizing me up.” He stalked around the living room, increasingly nervous. “I’ve done everything he suggested...” Once again, he didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t have to. They both knew he was talking about the deal and if tonight’s announcement went according to expectations, he wouldn’t need to continue their charade any longer.

“You sure have.” She tried to keep her tone light-hearted and failed miserably.

“I’m sorry, Kara. For everything.”

“Don’t apologise. We both knew the score at the start. A deal’s a deal, remember?” She’d mastered a flippant tone where he was concerned. It was the only way to hide the hurt.

He had the grace to look sheepish. “Yeah, but I didn’t plan on taking it all the way.” He paused and looked away. “Uh...I