Harlequin Desire June 2020 - Box Set 1 of 2

by Maureen Child

  Josie pulled her hand away and laughed. “Can you focus for two minutes?”

  “Oh, I’m focused.”

  She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the flowers. “Let me find some tissue paper and ribbon. I’m out of vases.”

  “Just gather them all up and we’ll find vases at my house,” he told her. “Grab a bag of whatever you need to stay the night.”

  “This is silly, you know.” Josie started gathering the flowers. “I can stay here.”

  “You can, but why?” he countered, helping her gather everything. “We’ll do a movie night like we used to.”

  She stilled and gave him a side-eye. “I get to choose the movie?” she asked.

  Reese cringed. “Don’t tell me.”

  Josie squealed and a wide grin spread across her face. “Oh, you know it.”

  Yeah, he did. Her all-time favorite movie was An Affair to Remember. She’d first introduced it to him when they were in high school and he’d absolutely hated it. Since then, any time she chose the movie, that’s the one she went with. He didn’t hate it now—hell, he could say the thing word for word. If she enjoyed it, that’s all that mattered.

  “Go pack your stuff and I’ll take the flowers,” he told her. “I’ll meet you at my house.”

  “Deal.”

  She practically skipped from the room and Reese couldn’t help but feel a niggle of worry deep in his gut. Spending more time alone with Josie had never been an issue before, but his hormones had never entered the picture before, either. At least, not like this. Now she was coming to his house for the night and Reese couldn’t help but wonder how much more he could take before he snapped and crossed the line they couldn’t come back from.

  He was a jumble of nerves—between the mysterious closet she hadn’t explained, the letter he’d received and the fact that he wanted Josie more than anything he’d ever wanted.

  One night. He just needed to take this fake engagement one night at a time. Surely he could control himself for one night…right?

  * * *

  Josie pulled through Reese’s gate and wondered how she’d let him talk her into this. Granted, she hadn’t put up much of a fight. She’d been tired, worried about her roof, and she really didn’t want to be present when workers started banging around and making more of a mess.

  Still. Was he going to parade around in those little black boxer briefs again? True, she’d seen him in swim trunks, but that was before something had shifted in her mind with the words my fiancé.

  That was before he’d pulled her into his side and caressed her hip like only a lover would do. There was something so possessive, so damn sexy about the way he’d taken charge. Her entire life she’d prided herself on being independent. Yet the way Reese had claimed her had done something to that friend switch and she wasn’t sure she could flip it back to the way it used to be…the way it was supposed to be.

  Ugh. This entire situation had gotten out of control so fast, she was both confused and frustrated. For someone who always had every damn thing in order and under control, her mental state was a complete mess.

  Josie pulled around the circular drive and stopped right in front of the steps leading up to Reese’s insanely large beach house. The man never did anything in small proportions. His house was easily four times the size of hers and he lived alone. His chef and maid came and went—they were hardly ever seen, yet the house remained immaculate and there were always fresh dishes in the refrigerator.

  Reese treated his employees like family and they remained so loyal and went above and beyond to please him. He might be a billionaire mogul, but he was literally the only person she knew with a selfless heart of gold.

  Josie’s cell chimed just as she put her car into Park. If this was another text from Chris…

  She’d totally downplayed how much he’d texted and called because she didn’t want Reese to go complete Neanderthal on her…though proclaiming upcoming nuptials had been pretty caveman of him.

  She opened the text, relieved to see it was from her editor, Melissa, but that relief quickly turned to dread.

  Congrats on the big engagement! We just posted a blog teaser, but I want a Q&A with you and Reese ASAP! This is so exciting!

  With her breath caught in her throat, Josie reread Melissa’s text. Josie had confided in her assistant, Carrie, earlier that morning, more joking than anything, that Reese had claimed they were engaged and her world had been flipped upside down, but she was still getting that column in on time.

  Josie had thought they were just having random chatter and now this? A teaser blog post had already gone up on the site…the site that had hundreds of thousands of hits per day. There was no pulling back from such a dramatic announcement without tarnishing the stellar reputation of not only Cocktails & Classy, but of her own image as well.

  Josie stared at the message, unsure how to respond. She did, however, know who was responsible for this leak. As if following up with her somewhat new assistant constantly to make sure things were done properly wasn’t annoying enough, now she couldn’t trust her.

  And here they’d thought getting rid of Chris would be the biggest issue.

  Obviously, Josie’s assistant would have to be dealt with first thing in the morning. Right now, though, she had one other matter to handle.

  She had to actually fake an engagement to her best friend. This had gone beyond just lying to her ex. Now the public was aware of her personal life, too.

  Josie hit Reply and chose her words carefully. Thankfully, she wasn’t responding in person and dealing with Melissa seeing her shocked face.

  Thanks. I had no idea you would find out this way. We’re still processing the news, so the Q&A might have to wait.

  Josie knew her fans would want the scoop, especially since she was coming off a divorce only six months ago. The outpouring of love and kindness had overwhelmed her and left her feeling a little guilty, considering she hadn’t loved Chris. He’d been a nice guy who’d come along at the wrong time. Why wouldn’t he just let her set him free?

  She prided herself on being available to her readers and really interacting with them, so it was quite understandable that Melissa would want to share the happy news with the world. Unfortunately, the last thing Josie wanted was another public relationship…another failed public relationship. Because this fake engagement certainly wasn’t going to last.

  Josie didn’t wait for a reply. She grabbed her purse and suitcase and headed up the steps to the front door. She was going to have to tell Reese about all of this and then she’d have to see how he felt about a real, fake engagement.

  Good heavens, he’d probably do something stupid like really go buy her a ring. And knowing Reese, the thing wouldn’t be subtle or cheap.

  If only she’d kept her mouth shut earlier on the phone. But in her defense, Josie hadn’t had any reason not to trust her assistant. And maybe Carrie was just chattering and not thinking when she told Melissa. Still, the lie was out there and Josie was going to have to deal with the consequences.

  The front door flew open and Reese reached for her suitcase. Josie jumped back at his abrupt greeting.

  “Why didn’t you use the elevator?” he scolded. “I would’ve gotten this for you so you didn’t have to lug it up the stairs.”

  “It wasn’t a big deal,” she replied as she stepped into the open foyer. “I’m quite capable of carrying my own luggage.”

  He muttered something about her being stubborn, but she let that roll off. She was well aware of her stubborn side and she wasn’t apologetic for it.

  “You ready for that movie?” he asked. “We can set up in the theater room or we can go out onto the patio.”

  The outdoor patio with a viewing screen was quite impressive, but she couldn’t focus on the niceties of his house right now. All she could think about was how fast this f
ire was spreading and who else knew she and Reese were engaged.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching for her hand. “Chris—”

  “No.”

  Well, he had texted, but that wasn’t the problem.

  “Then what is it?” Reese insisted.

  Josie smiled and pulled in a deep breath. “How do you feel about picking out that engagement ring?”

  FOUR

  Well, that wasn’t at all what he’d thought she’d say. She’d been upset earlier when he’d joked about a ring.

  “Engagement ring?” he repeated.

  Josie pulled her hand from his and sat her purse on the accent table inside the front door. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she turned to face him once again.

  “It’s a silly story, really,” she began with a nervous laugh. “There was some harmless talk, or what I thought was harmless, on the phone with my assistant about Chris and everything that had happened and then the way you got him to leave. You know…by saying we were engaged.”

  Reese listened, actually rather amused at her jittery state. Something really had her ruffled.

  “We talked about work and moved on,” Josie added, fidgeting with her hands. “When I pulled in just now, I got a text from my editor congratulating me on the engagement and telling me that she’s got a teaser announcement on the blog site and she needs a Q&A from us. All I can figure is my assistant thought I was serious. I mean, I don’t know who else would’ve told my editor and I guess maybe I forgot to mention this info was confidential. I’m sorry this is all just a big mess now.”

  Reese continued to watch as she twisted her fingers, smoothed her black dress, toyed with her hair again. The woman was a bundle of nerves ready to explode. This faux engagement was quickly getting to both of them. Likely she was stressed because her life wasn’t so neat and tidy right now, the way she liked it. And for him…well, he wanted to strip his best friend and feel those curves beneath his touch and he wasn’t sure what to do about those feelings. So, yeah, they had one hell of a problem he didn’t have time to solve.

  “Then we’ll get a ring and answer some questions,” he told her, shoving aside his lustful thoughts. “Is that all?”

  Her eyes widened. “Is that all? That’s your response? We’re not getting married, Reese. I can’t do this again so publicly. I’m freshly divorced from a marriage that never should’ve happened in the first place and you and I are both public figures. I mean, we’re no royal couple, but the media will be interested in this story.”

  Reese wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her on into the house. As they stepped down into the sunken living area, he tried to figure out how to assure her that everything would be fine.

  “Listen,” he started, then stopped and turned to face her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “We play the role. Surely we can pretend to like each other.”

  She glared up at him and met his crooked grin.

  “Would you be serious?” she demanded.

  He leaned in just a bit more. Her eyes dropped to his lips, but she pulled her gaze back up to his and held steady.

  “Oh, I am serious, Jo. We can answer the questions for your editor and make an appearance at my grand opening in two weeks as a couple. We can push through all of that and then figure out what to do after.” He smoothed her hair back and framed her face with his hands. “We can always say we split because we realized we were better at being friends. That’s very believable because people have already seen us together as friends—they know we already have a relationship.”

  “But I don’t want to fail at something else,” she stated. “Not even fake failing.”

  That’s what she was afraid of? Failing? Nothing about faking being in love with him. Interesting.

  “You’ve never failed at anything,” he reminded her. “Not even that marriage you ended once you realized it wasn’t working. And I sure as hell am not going to let you start now. We’ve got this. Together.”

  She closed her eyes and pulled in a breath, her slender shoulders tensed beneath his hands. Reese gave her a reassuring squeeze, needing her to realize he’d never let her get hurt. He was right here by her side.

  “Trust me?”

  Her lids lifted as she focused on him. Those deep brown eyes staring at him were usually so good at hiding emotions, but not now. He saw the fear, the vulnerability, the concern. He had all of those, too, but he also had faith enough in their relationship that they would make it through anything…even stepping over that invisible line.

  The one he’d promised himself not to cross.

  Josie ultimately nodded and a wave of relief washed over him. He would care for and protect her at all costs. He could juggle his family, old and new, plus the Manhattan opening, and still make sure Josie came out of all of this unharmed.

  With her eyes still locked onto his, physical need consumed Reese. He leaned in closer, never taking his focus from her. Little by little, he closed the distance until his lips were a whisper from hers.

  “Wh-what are you doing?”

  Barely hanging on by a thread.

  “Practicing,” he murmured. “We need to be believable in public.”

  She licked her lips, but since he’d leaned within a breath of her, her tongue brushed across his bottom lip and Reese knew she certainly hadn’t meant to.

  But whether she’d meant to or not didn’t matter. Just that briefest touch of her tongue snapped something in him.

  Reese covered her mouth, gently to give her an opportunity to back up and stop if this was something she didn’t want. If she stopped, he would have to respect her decision, but now that he’d touched her in such an intimate, non-friend way, he wanted more.

  So. Much. More.

  Careful not to touch her anywhere else, Reese clenched his fists at his sides. The desire to reach for her, pull her even closer to get the full experience, consumed him, but he couldn’t pressure her. As much as he wanted to keep kissing her, to touch her, his first priority was to make her feel secure.

  He had to be patient or he’d risk everything they had.

  When her lips opened beneath his, Reese took that as the proverbial green light and deepened the kiss. Delicate fingers feathered up his arm and sent shivers racing through him.

  When had he last shivered during a kiss?

  Never. He didn’t get all giddy and shaken just from a kiss. He wasn’t some hormonal teenager.

  The woman was potent, more so than he ever could have imagined. When Josie let out a little sigh, Reese reluctantly pulled back.

  Clenching his jaw, along with his fists, he closed his eyes and thought of anything other than how much he wanted to take her into his room and finish this.

  A kiss so powerful without truly touching was only a stepping-stone to something else…and it was that something else he wanted to experience with her.

  “What was that?” she murmured, her hands falling away.

  Trying to lighten the intense mood, Reese smiled. “A hell of a practice kiss.”

  He didn’t want to expose his true feelings, didn’t want her to feel awkward, either. She’d just gotten here and he didn’t want to send her running.

  Josie took a step back and nodded. “Right. Well, you’re a hell of a kisser.”

  Now how could his ego stay low with that type of a compliment? And how could he not want even more? Just that simple taste had his imagination running even more rampant with endless possibilities.

  “Back at ya,” he stated with a grin. “I’ll get your stuff into a guest room and then we can watch that movie. Which room do you want?”

  “Anything with an ocean view,” she told him.

  Reese nodded and grabbed her suitcase, needing to get a minute to himself to get his head back on straight. As he took the luggage onto the elevator, Reese wondered how the hell he could focu
s on anything other than that kiss and how soon they would do it again.

  Because now that he’d had one taste, he wanted another, and his drive to share more intimacies with her was stronger than ever. Judging from Josie’s surprise reaction and then her response, maybe she had similar needs as well.

  Focusing on all of this pent-up desire when he had so much else going on should be silly, foolish even, but all he could think about was how powerful it was and how soon he could kiss her again.

  * * *

  An Affair to Remember was not holding her attention and the lack of interest had nothing to do with the fact that she knew each scene word for word. No, her focus was on her still-tingling lips and the man sitting right next to her on the plush sectional sofa. There were plenty of other seats, but here he sat, right by her side.

  What the hell had he been thinking, kissing her like that? Touching her with only his lips, yet her entire body had felt that touch. That little niggle of desire he’d launched earlier by claiming her as his fiancée had become something more. She ached with a need she didn’t recognize. Never before had a kiss, so simple and sweet, left her wanting to rip someone’s clothes off.

  But Reese had pulled back and she’d been left with confusion and need.

  If that was their practice kiss, she didn’t know what would happen if they had to do the real thing for display…this one had felt pretty damn real.

  Her cell vibrated against the table and she glanced down at the screen. But it wasn’t her phone; it was his. She’d thought for sure it would be Chris again.

  Reese leaned forward and grabbed his phone, stared at it for a minute, then muttered something under his breath before firing off a text.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  He shot her a smile and a nod. “Fine. Just work.”

  “For the Manhattan opening?”

  “No, it’s about some business I have in Tennessee.”

  Surprised, she shifted and put her feet up under her on the sofa. “Does this have anything to do with the trip you just got back from, the one you were so secretive about?”