The Engagement Arrangement

by Jaci Burton

  She blamed his amazing hair.

  She blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine. We’ll go out.”

  “It’s not an execution, Brenna. It’s a date. I promise we’ll have fun.”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  “Yes, I can.”

  She’d withhold judgment until said date. Which probably wouldn’t happen anyway.

  “Okay, we’ll see.”

  “We will. And you’ll have fun.” He continued to smile as if he held the key to successful dating. Which he decidedly did not.

  “I’m going inside now.”

  “Good night, Brenna.”

  She walked up the stairs, refusing to continue to gape at him. Because in his jeans and boots and all that . . . hair, she could look at him all night. And what good would that do her?

  “Good night, Finn.”

  She went inside and closed the door, headed up to her room and kicked off her shoes, then lay back on her bed.

  She could not believe she’d just agreed to go on a date with Finn.

  What was she thinking? Wasn’t it bad enough she’d concocted this ridiculous fake fiancé scheme?

  Where is your head, Brenna?

  She sat up and sighed.

  She wasn’t thinking with her head lately.

  And that was the problem.

  CHAPTER

  • • • • • •

  six

  FINN’S PLAN FOR taking Brenna on a date had to be put on hold, because an unexpected repair project got dropped into his lap that kept him working double time. He never minded that because he liked staying busy, but it did put a crimp in his plans with Brenna.

  Though it seemed as if she’d been avoiding him the past several days. He could swear that any time she saw him coming, she’d pivot and walk in the opposite direction.

  They did have three weddings last weekend, so he knew they were busy as well, and her ex-husband and his wife would be showing up at the vineyard tomorrow, so she likely had other things on her mind besides a date with him.

  Which didn’t mean that Finn intended to forget that she’d agreed to it. He’d bided his time—for years, actually. Now he had a chance to show Brenna he was the right guy for her. He didn’t intend to waste the opportunity.

  He’d repaired the broken barn door and repainted both of them, and added new hinges as well so they looked brand new. He fixed some of the fence where the horses grazed, and despite the August heat, it had felt good to be outside.

  Now all he wanted was some of Louise’s lemonade, so he trekked toward the house and walked up the back steps, inched his head inside the door.

  Louise wasn’t in the kitchen so he wiped his boots on the mat and went in, washed his hands in the sink, grabbed a glass and some ice and opened the fridge, his mouth watering as he reached for the pitcher.

  Thank the heavens for Louise, who always had a full pitcher of freshly made lemonade in the summer. He filled his glass and drank greedily, downing the first glass and going for a refill.

  “Thirsty?”

  He looked up and nodded at Brenna as he took another long swallow. “Yeah. It’s hot as hell outside.”

  “I’ve been in the winery all day. A little warm in there, too.”

  You could never tell by looking at her. She wore her hair wound up in a bun on top of her head, and she had on a sundress. Her skin glistened with a subtle glow, but hell, she wasn’t a sweaty mess like him.

  He got out another glass and filled it with ice and lemonade and handed it to her.

  “Thanks.” Unlike him, she took a sip of the lemonade. “Mmm, good. What would we do without Louise?”

  “I’m grateful for her, for sure. How was your day?”

  “Productive. I did some forecasts and put out the call for people for the harvest.”

  “You usually bring in a big crowd for that.”

  She nodded. “I think we’ll have enough. Even the customers want to come out for harvest.”

  “Hey, it’s good times.” He grinned.

  “Yes, it is.” She took another few swallows of her lemonade, her throat working as she did, making Finn tighten. He wanted to stroke the slender column of her throat, then lick the droplets of sweat from her collarbone. And kiss her. She pressed her lips together, then licked her bottom lip. God, he really wanted to kiss those full lips and suck her tongue. Suck her clit. Make her come. He’d bet she was a screamer when she came. He wanted to make her scream over and over again.

  He cleared his throat and emptied his glass, hoping the cold liquid would squelch his lusty thoughts.

  “Are you ready for tomorrow?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I’ll do what I’m told. Stand where you want me. Touch whatever parts of you that you ask me to.”

  He caught the way her breasts rose when she inhaled deeply.

  “There will be no touching. Of any of my parts.”

  “Whatever you say, love.”

  “Just be by my side. Pretend to . . . I don’t know, act like a fiancé.”

  “Never been one of those before. How do they act?”

  “My last one was an ass. Don’t act like him.”

  “Noted. So I should be affectionate, but don’t touch you. And don’t act like an ass. Got it.”

  She rolled her eyes and put her glass in the dishwasher. “It’ll be fine,” she mumbled. “It’ll all work out.”

  He came up next to her and slid his glass next to hers. “It will be fine. As long as you relax around me.”

  She tensed up. “I am totally relaxed.”

  “Yeah, sure you are. Every time I come close you freeze up. How are they gonna believe I’m your guy if you do that?”

  She blew out a breath and grasped the sides of the sink. “You make me nervous.”

  He turned her to face him and swept his fingertips over her collarbone. “Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’ve known me a long time, Brenna. You can trust me.”

  Her eyes were clear and filled with that trust as she tilted her head back to look at him. If they weren’t in the kitchen of her family’s house where anyone could walk in, he’d pull her into his arms and kiss her. But there was a right time for those kinds of things, and when Finn kissed Brenna, it was going to be the right time.

  He stepped back. “Just think of this whole thing as a fun game, and a way for you to stick it to your nemesis.”

  She nodded. “That is a good way to put it.”

  “See? Already better, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  “Happy to help. I gotta go. Just let me know what you need me to do tomorrow, and I’ll be on board.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you at dinner tonight?”

  He turned and offered up a grin. “Do I ever miss dinner?”

  Now she smiled and his world turned upside down.

  He walked out and realized if he wasn’t careful around Brenna, his heart could be in real trouble. He needed to remind himself that she wasn’t invested at all in him, just this whole game she was playing. She might have agreed to go on a date with him, but Brenna was skittish.

  And that meant taking things slow.

  For both of them.

  Thoughts of Brenna stayed in his head the rest of the day, and as he made his way back to his place to clean up before dinner. He almost missed the flash in the woods beyond the house, but he had his eyes open and his ears aware, because he’d always thought of himself as guardian of the family’s property.

  He went into the house and grabbed his rifle. It was still light outside, which wouldn’t prevent someone from breaching the property line. He’d run off teenagers before who were looking for a place to hang out, and this was a nice secluded spot. A verbal warning generally took care of that. But you never knew
who you might run into in the woods, and Finn wasn’t taking any chances.

  He crept slowly around the water and toward the thick trees, ignoring the sweat pooling at the small of his back. As he entered the woods he stilled when he saw the bushes move, raising his rifle.

  “I’ve got a gun trained on you and I’ll use it if you come at me. I’m giving you ten seconds to get the hell out of here.”

  He waited, mentally counting to ten. He didn’t see anyone running. But someone or something started to come closer.

  He lowered his rifle when he saw a dirty creature inching his way.

  It was a dog. He crouched down to see that the poor little thing was filthy and looked like it hadn’t been fed in a while.

  “Hey, buddy, you lookin’ for some food?” He held out his hand, not wanting to scare it into running off.

  The dog came a little closer, whimpering. Finn wrinkled his nose. The dog stank.

  “You need a bath. And a good meal. I’ll bet I can help with both of those. Wanna come to my house?”

  The dog looked up at him with soulful brown eyes that hit Finn right in the stomach.

  He stood, slowly. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  He hoped the dog would trust him enough to go with him. He walked back toward the house, happy to see the dog following him, though he was keeping a respectable distance.

  First, he needed food, so as soon as they got to the house Finn went inside. The dog didn’t come in, but he waited on the porch while Finn filled a bowl with water and took that outside. The dog lapped greedily. While the dog drank his water, Finn went back into the house and looked through his cabinets and fridge. He didn’t have any dog food, but he did have some eggs and bacon. He quickly scrambled up a few eggs and fried the bacon, threw them on the plate, waited for them to cool down some, which only took a minute, then hoped the dog would still be there when he walked out onto the porch.

  The dog was still sitting there. The water bowl was empty, trails of muddy water dripping down his chin.

  “Here you go, buddy. Try this out.”

  He laid the plate down and the dog gobbled up the food like he hadn’t eaten in days. Judging by the ribs Finn could see, it had probably been longer than that.

  Finn crouched down after the dog had licked the plate clean. “Who threw you out like you were nothing but garbage, huh? What asshole would do that?”

  He reached out his hand and let the dog sniff him. He wagged his tail and licked Finn’s fingers.

  “You like that my fingers smell like bacon, don’t you? Wanna come inside and see about having a bath?”

  He got up, took the plate with him and looked at the dog. “Come on, buddy, let’s go inside.”

  He crossed the threshold, figuring the dog would either follow or not but Finn wasn’t going to force it.

  The pup was tentative, but he came in, making Finn’s heart do a little leap. He didn’t know why. Was he actually thinking about keeping this dog?

  Hell yes, he was. No one had taken care of this guy, which meant he was now Finn’s responsibility.

  The dog followed Finn all the way into the bathroom and studied him with his head cocked to the side while Finn turned the water on.

  Okay, he seemed interested in the water. That was a good thing.

  “Wanna get in there? Do ya?”

  When Finn built the house he didn’t put in a tub, figuring he never took baths and wouldn’t need one. So he just had a walk-in shower. Bathing the dog would have been easier with a—

  The dog walked right into the shower and stood under the water as if he knew he stunk like the worst thing Finn had ever smelled.

  “Okay, then. Let’s shower.” Finn knew the only way to get the dog clean was to get in there with him, so he stripped down, grabbed the handheld and made sure the dog was totally wet, then took shampoo and started lathering him up.

  The funny thing was, the dog seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe he was tired of stinking, too.

  After he rinsed the dog, he grabbed a large towel and dried him off. The dog shook himself and water flew everywhere.

  “Thanks a lot, dude.”

  Finn dried off, too, though he’d have to take another shower later. The important thing was getting the dog clean. He looked at the shower floor. It was covered in dirt and twigs and God only knew what else. Obviously he’d have to clean the shower, too. But at least the dog looked better.

  He was pretty, if too thin. Finn would take care of that. He’d have to take him in to the veterinarian to be checked out. He didn’t even know if he’d had any shots. He was glad Jason was a vet so he knew the dog would be well cared for.

  The first thing he had to do was get him checked out. If he was microchipped and just lost, he’d have to find his owner and return him.

  And didn’t that hit him like a gut punch. He’d grown attached already.

  If he wasn’t chipped or lost, he’d get food and supplies for him and make the dog feel welcome and at home.

  The dog lay on the bathroom floor and calmly watched while Finn cleaned the shower, then washed himself. After he dried and dressed, he picked up his phone and called Jason, who fortunately answered his cell.

  “Are you at the clinic today?”

  “Yeah.”

  “A stray dog wandered onto the property. I got him cleaned up but he’s really thin. Can I run him in for you to check him over?”

  “Sure. I’ll be here and I’ve got some time.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be there in a bit.” He hung up, got dressed and headed out to his truck. The dog had already decided to follow him everywhere, so he assumed it would be the same, though he didn’t know about riding in the truck.

  The dog hopped right in.

  “Good dog,” Finn said, ruffling the fur on his head. He was yellow and fuzzy and looked to be a cross between a golden retriever and a Labrador. “You’re a damn handsome fella. I don’t know why someone didn’t want you, but obviously whoever it was sucked as a human.”

  The dog leaned over and licked his face. Finn laughed.

  “How about a ride to see our friend, Jason?”

  The dog just looked at him.

  “You need a name, too.” Finn studied him, the way his head tilted sideways, the intelligence and life he saw in those big brown eyes.

  “Murphy. That’s your name.”

  The dog’s ears perked. Finn grinned.

  “You like that name, huh, Murph?”

  His tail whipped back and forth.

  Finn put the truck in gear. “Murphy it is. Let’s go get you checked out and fixed up, then we’ll buy you some food and toys.”

  * * *

  • • • • • •

  BRENNA WAITED ALL through dinner for Finn to show up. When he didn’t, she was at first irritated, then concerned.

  Finn never missed dinner with the family. But she didn’t want to bring it up because . . . well, why would she? It wasn’t like they were dating or he was anyone special to her.

  He obviously just had other plans. But when they were talking in the kitchen earlier that day, he’d told her he’d be there.

  And then he hadn’t shown up.

  So after dinner, instead of going to her office to work, or into the library to read or to do some research, she’d gone up to her room to pace and think and stew and generally annoy herself.

  Just walk down to his place and find out what’s going on, dumbass.

  Right. What if he had a date or something and brought her to his place and you walk in on that? Then she really would be a dumbass. No way was she doing that.

  Instead, she went downstairs to the library and picked up a book on medieval forms of armor and sat in her favorite reading chair, paging through amazing photographs and descriptions. After thirty minutes, she couldn’t remember a single page she’d
read.

  Dammit. She got up, put the book away and walked out the back door, feeling ridiculous the entire walk to Finn’s place.

  He probably wasn’t even home. He was out on a date or something.

  But as she rounded the corner and saw all of his lights on, she had hope. And when she saw him sitting on his front porch, she also saw a flash of yellow bouncing around near his feet.

  Was that a . . . dog?

  When she heard a bark, she knew for sure it was. And when it saw her, instead of running toward her, it ran to Finn.

  Interesting.

  “Oh, hey, Brenna,” he said, getting up from his chair. He put his hand on the top of the dog’s head. “Meet Murphy.”

  “You got a dog.”

  “Well, I found a dog. He was hiding out in the woods. A stray.”

  She arched a brow. “Are you keeping him?”

  “Yeah. I already took him in and Jason gave him an exam. He’s not microchipped and no one’s been looking for him, so I guess he’s mine now. He’s healthy. For sure underfed so I got him some good food and he got his vaccinations and worming today.”

  The dog went over and picked up a toy and brought it to her, his tail wagging back and forth. She took the toy and the associated slobber that came with it. “And toys, too.”

  Finn grinned. “Well, yeah. The poor guy has been all alone. He needs love and attention. And lots of toys to cuddle up with.”

  Her heart did a little lurch at seeing this side of Finn. She knew he loved animals. She’d seen him with Erin’s dog Agatha and how the dog followed him around. But this was new. He’d always talked about his love for animals, how he’d had a dog when he was a kid and how much he’d missed having one around.

  Finn motioned her to one of the chairs, so she took a seat and he sat on the other chair.

  “You’ve got a dog of your own now. How old is he?”

  “Jason said he’s barely out of the puppy stage, not more than a year old. He minds well, so he should be easy to train. I think right now it’s because I gave him food.”

  “And some love. From the looks of him, he hasn’t had nearly enough of that. Have you, Murphy?” She wiggled the stuffed rabbit and Murphy pounced, obviously wanting her to throw it. She did, and he bounded over to grab it, then came back up on the porch and lay down with the toy.