Scandalous Engagement

by Jules Bennett

  “I’m not too worried about the public.” Reese shrugged. Again with that damn shrug, like this was no big deal. “Just wait and see how it plays out. He may surprise you by keeping quiet, or we may need to play it up. What kind of stone would you like in your ring?”

  Josie narrowed her eyes. “I’m going to need to switch to wine for this conversation.”

  Ignoring his chuckle, she stepped back into her house and moved into the kitchen. From her vantage point at the wine fridge, Josie stared out at Reese, who didn’t seem to mind that he’d just upended both of their lives. He simply sat in one of the sturdy wicker chairs and stared out at the horizon.

  When he’d first arrived today, he’d said he needed to talk. All she’d managed to learn was that he’d been away on personal business. If it hadn’t concerned a woman, then what else would it be? He didn’t have much of a social life. If he went out to dinners, they were all work-related, and the majority of the time, those dinners were in his own restaurant.

  The man worked like a maniac, and that was saying something coming from Cocktails & Classy’s most celebrated columnist. Josie never took a day off either, but at least she could work from home and only travel to the headquarters in Atlanta when she absolutely had to. Reese traveled all over, constantly on the lookout for new ways to keep his restaurants fresh and upscale.

  She poured a glass of pinot and swirled the contents before heading back out. She never got tired of the ocean breeze, and she always slid open the wall of glass doors when she was home. The added outdoor living space was what had sold her on this house right after her divorce.

  Now that she’d calmed down a little, Josie stepped around the coffee table and took a seat on the sofa across from Reese.

  “Want to tell me why you got so territorial?” she asked.

  He propped his feet on the coffee table and laced his fingers behind his head as he stared at her, since she now blocked his line of sight to the ocean.

  “Besides the fact that he was the wrong man for you to marry in the first place? I was trying to help you out.”

  Josie took a sip and set her glass on the table before leaning forward and keeping her gaze locked on his. “I can fight my own battles.”

  “You shouldn’t have to,” he retorted.

  While she appreciated the way he was always ready to protect her, she didn’t need him to. His failed engagement and her failed marriage had really opened her eyes to the fact that there was no rush to move on to what was expected. Who said she had to get married right now? There was no magical age when she had to be married, and who said she had to be married at all?

  But she knew Reese might want a family and a married life of his own.

  The day would come when he would find the woman he wanted to spend his life with.

  The thought unsettled her. Or maybe it was that Josie could still feel his fingertips along her waist and her hip. She shouldn’t still be tingling in those spots, but she was—which was both confusing and frustrating.

  Josie’s cell buzzed on the table and she glanced to the screen at the same time Reese muttered a curse. Chris’s name popped up with an unread message.

  “He’s still not taking the hint?” Reese asked. “I slammed the door in his face.”

  She didn’t bother opening the text; she would deal with it later...or not.

  “Maybe I should’ve just talked to him for a bit,” she stated.

  “No. Every time you talk to him, that gives him hope. You just need to cut all ties.”

  Reese was right, but she really hated being rude. She’d told Chris as nicely as possible that they were really over, and they’d been divorced for six months already. Wasn’t that enough of a sign that she was moving on? One would think divorce would be enough “cutting ties,” but Chris hadn’t wanted the divorce to begin with.

  “Don’t worry,” Reese added. “He’ll get the hint once he sees us together and notices my car out front when he drives by.”

  Josie laughed. “It’s not like you’ll be here twenty-four hours a day, Reese.”

  His eyes flashed to hers. “Sure I will. I can work from here. It will be tricky, and I have to do some traveling still, but you’re the top priority in my life right now. So which bedroom do you want me to take?”

  “Bedroom?” she asked. “You mean—”

  A naughty grin spread across his face that sent a curl of unwanted arousal through her.

  This was her best friend...what was going on?

  “I’m moving in, honey.”

  Two

  Well, this wasn’t what he’d planned when he’d arrived at Josie’s house yesterday. But damn if he hadn’t gotten completely sidetracked by feeling her against his side, having that curvy hip beneath his hand.

  He’d always known his best friend was sexy as hell, but she’d always been his friend. Now she was his fake fiancée...how the hell was he supposed to play this out?

  What had he gotten them into?

  Yesterday he’d needed her advice; he’d needed her guidance and her shoulder to lean on. Not that he did that often, but his life had imploded and he had nowhere else to go.

  He was still trying to process everything himself. From receiving a cryptic letter at his office while his father was recovering from heart surgery, to finding out his father wasn’t his father at all...if the letter from a deceased woman was actually true.

  Reese sank down on the edge of the bed in the guest bedroom of Josie’s home and clutched the letter in his hands. When he’d left for Tennessee several days ago, he’d told Josie he’d be gone a week. He’d come back after two days.

  Traveling from Green Valley, Tennessee, back to Sandpiper Cove, North Carolina, had only been an hour’s flight. Those were the perks of owning your own plane and being your own pilot. He’d taken the time going both ways to think about all that had happened...he still didn’t have a clear picture or any answers.

  He’d gone to Hawkins Distillery a few days ago and met with Sam Hawkins and Nick Campbell, the two men who were supposedly Reese’s half brothers. Nick’s late mother had apparently wanted to leave behind a deathbed confession by distributing letters for the three men about their true paternity. She was the one who had mailed the letter to Reese.

  They all shared the same father—Rusty Lockwood, billionaire mogul of Lockwood Lightning. Everyone knew the world-renowned moonshine company, but not many knew the man behind it...including Reese.

  A week ago, he’d hired an investigator to dig up everything that wasn’t easily accessible to the public, and Reese had also been doing his own online research. On paper, or the internet as the case may be, Rusty appeared to be a saint. The man owned the largest moonshine distillery in the world and donated thousands of dollars each year to Milestones, a charity for children with disabilities.

  Unfortunately, last week, Rusty had been arrested for skimming from that same charity, and according to Sam and Nick, Rusty was the devil himself. Both guys had dealt with Rusty for years and neither one had a kind thing to say. They weren’t happy with the knowledge that Rusty was their biological father.

  Reese didn’t know what to believe, because all of this had blown up in his face so fast and come without warning. He didn’t like being blindsided by anything, especially not a revelation that meant he might have been betrayed and lied to his entire life.

  The letter had arrived while his father was in the hospital, but once he was released, he and Reese’s mom had gone on a relaxing vacation with the doctor’s blessing and Reese didn’t want to mess up their time away.

  There had just been so much all at once... His father’s health, the shifting responsibilities of the business, the letter claiming Reese wasn’t his parents’ child...

  But by the time his parents got back home, Reese hoped he would have a solid plan and some much-needed answers.

  Should
Reese confront them? Or did he just let this knowledge go and ignore the past? What was the actual truth in all of this? There were so many questions and part of him wished he’d never learned the truth, but the other part of him wanted to know the history...his history.

  Reese refolded the letter and sat it on the nightstand before coming to his feet. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, mostly because this wasn’t his home and he wasn’t used to that cushy bed with all the pillows.

  Josie might be very strict and straitlaced when it came to her fashion sense and her career, but she did love a cozy-feeling home. Granted, everything in her house was either white or gray. She really did lack color in her life, but he wouldn’t change her for anything.

  Especially those damn curves.

  Who had known how well she’d fit intimately against his side? Just that simple gesture had conjured up a night of fantasies he shouldn’t have allowed himself when it came to his best friend. Didn’t he have enough going on in his life without adding an unwanted sexual attraction to Josie?

  Reese rubbed a hand over his bare chest and padded from the room and down the hallway toward the kitchen. He needed coffee, because this was the time of day when it was actually acceptable to have a cup. It was too damn early, but he might as well get his day started.

  He’d visited here so many times over the years, but he’d never made coffee, so he searched through her cabinets, trying to be quiet because he was positive she was still asleep. He hadn’t heard a word from her this morning, and he also knew she wasn’t an early riser.

  He, on the other hand, had too much to do, including following up with his assistant about the RSVP to the new restaurant opening in Manhattan in two weeks.

  Conrad’s was moving up the East Coast and opening a big new space in New York. Reese couldn’t wait to get into his favorite city. Manhattan had always been a goal of his.

  He’d grown up here in Sandpiper Cove and he absolutely loved the beach. Loved it so much, he’d purchased his own private beach with his home, which was not far from Josie. His yacht was docked at the end of his own pier and he didn’t want to lay his head down anywhere else.

  But this new restaurant in Manhattan would be all his. He’d inherited his father’s string of upscale restaurants from Miami up to Boston, but this was his first venture on his own and he had a few changes in place that he was excited to test.

  “Good heavens.”

  Reese turned from the coffeepot to find Josie standing in the doorway, her hand over her chest, her eyes fixed on his. But his eyes immediately locked on the tiny shorts and tank she wore. The outfit left little to the imagination...and last night he’d done plenty of imagining.

  “Could you put some clothes on?” she grumbled as she shuffled in.

  Reese couldn’t help but grin as she made her way to the cabinet and pulled down a mug. Her hair was all in disarray, like she’d had a fight with her pillow all night, and those pj’s, black of course, weren’t covering much, either. The simple tank dipped too low and the shorts literally covered the essentials and nothing more.

  His body stirred in response.

  There were some things he could control, like not telling her he’d like to strip her down and pleasure her beyond anything she’d ever known. But there were other things, like his arousal, that weren’t quite so easy to hide.

  Damn it. He had to get a grip. This was Josie. He couldn’t risk a quick romp just because suddenly his hormones had woken up and realized she was sexier than he’d known.

  They were friends...nothing more.

  “You’ve seen me in swim trunks. This is hardly any different,” he replied, taking the mug from her hands. “Go sit. I’ll get this for you.”

  She shoved the hair from her face and went to the bench at her kitchen table. “Trunks are one thing, but boxer briefs are another. If you’re staying here, put some damn pants on.”

  Reese poured two cups of coffee, leaving hers black to match her wardrobe and her bleak mood.

  “I don’t recall you being this grouchy in the mornings,” he told her as he sat across from her. “I know you’re more of a night owl, but this is a new side.”

  She curled her hands around her mug. “This is my only side before caffeine. Be quiet so I can enjoy it.”

  Reese sipped his hot coffee and waited on Little Miss Sunshine to perk up. Clearly, she’d had a restless night, too. He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was staring at her. She looked like a hot mess, which irritated the hell out of him because his boxer briefs were becoming more and more snug. There was going to be no hiding anything in a few minutes.

  “Shouldn’t you be lifting weights or jogging or going to some meeting where you fire people?” she asked around her mug.

  Reese laughed. “Glad to know what you think of a day in the life of Reese Conrad.”

  She merely shrugged, causing one slinky shoulder strap to slip down her arm. Reese’s eyes landed on that black string and he barely resisted reaching out to adjust it.

  Hands to yourself.

  A physical relationship would certainly change things between them, but the main question was—would they be better or worse?

  Wait. What?

  Why was he even letting his mind travel to that space? He needed to get control over his wayward thoughts and keep himself in check.

  “You don’t have to stay here, you know.”

  His focus shifted back to her face. She stared at him over the rim of her mug. Those dark eyes never let on to what she was truly thinking...just another way they were so alike. Both held their emotions close to their chest.

  “How many times did Chris text you last night?” he asked.

  Josie’s eyes darted away as she mumbled something under her breath. He thought he heard a staggering number, but even one was one too many at this point. Beyond the fact that they were divorced, she’d blatantly told Chris no and Reese had mentioned they were engaged. A lie, sure, but Chris didn’t know that. The man should back off.

  “All the more reason for me to stay for a while,” Reese replied.

  Maybe his presence would keep Chris away, maybe it wouldn’t. Reese really had no idea. He did know that he obviously enjoyed a round of torture before breakfast because he was in no hurry to move away from his newly appealing best friend and get going on his busy day.

  Did she always sleep in something so damn...sexy?

  Maybe they did need to set some clothing boundaries now that they were temporarily living together.

  Their friendship was solid; it was perfect. They completed each other and there was nobody else he would trust with every aspect of his life. But he wasn’t quite ready to open up about that letter. He still wasn’t sure what to do with the truths it had revealed, and the strange things he was feeling since announcing their fake engagement weren’t helping him figure it out.

  Only a week ago, his main worry had been about his Manhattan opening and now...well, that opening was the least of his worries. He and his selected launch team had a good handle on the upcoming momentous day and Reese truly believed the opening would be nothing short of a smashing success.

  “How’s your father?” she asked as she set her mug down. “Still doing good?”

  His father. Those two words sounded so odd now, so foreign. He had no idea how he felt about the changes in his family, except maybe a little deceived that the people he’d loved his entire life had lied to him from the beginning.

  “Reese?”

  He blinked and focused on Josie. “He’s fine,” Reese replied. “His doctor has checked on him every day since they’ve been gone.”

  “That’s great. Your mom and dad have worked so hard and then for him to have heart surgery right after retiring—he deserves some downtime.”

  Which was one of the reasons Reese had been holding on to this letter, this secret. When
the letter came, it had been with a stack of mail that Reese hadn’t gotten to immediately. He’d been so swamped with taking over the Conrad restaurants, plus working on the launch of the new one, that if something didn’t seem pressing or like an emergency, he’d put it on the back burner.

  Josie sighed and came to her feet, bringing his attention back to her.

  “I have to finish my article before my noon deadline,” she told him. “I’m just going to grab a quick shower first. Feel free to use the guest bath or head on home and get ready there. We can meet up for dinner later if you’re free.”

  She sashayed out of the room...and that was the best way he could describe those swaying hips beneath that flimsy material. It was driving him out of his mind.

  He was going to need a shower, too. A very, very cold shower to get control of this new reaction to his best friend, one he should ignore.

  Reese cleaned up the few dishes in the kitchen and headed to the spare room to throw on his clothes from yesterday and head to his house for a few things.

  As he moved toward his room, he heard a thump from one of the other guest bedrooms. Then a string of muttered curses followed and Reese let his curiosity get the best of him. He circled back to the nearly closed door and tapped his knuckles on the frame.

  “You okay?” he called.

  The door flung open and Josie seemed even more frazzled than earlier. A strand of inky black hair fell across her face and she blew it away.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, trying to peek over her shoulder.

  “Nothing.”

  Because she tried to slip out the door, Reese took it upon himself to put a hand on the wood and ease it back open.

  “You know you’re a terrible liar.”

  He stepped around her and into the room. Simple furnishings with whites and neutrals, a white rug on the hardwood, a sturdy white chair in the corner with a black-and-white-striped pillow.

  “Is this where you keep all your journalism secrets?” he joked. “Cocktail recipes or dinner party themes? Am I close?”