Fiancé by Fate
by Jennifer Shirk
BLURB:
Their
fake relationship is a twist of fate.
Sabrina
Cassidy believes in fate. So when her fiancé breaks off their engagement, she’s
convinced they’ll get back together eventually. But fate was not on her side
when it brought Jack Brenner into her life—and work. Frustrating, gorgeous, and
cocky, Jack has an offer that Sabrina can't refuse. Not if it means getting the
life she’s always imagined.
Despite
being one of the town’s most eligible bachelors, Jack has a reputation that’s
working against him. He has to convince his father—and his company’s board—that
he’s ready to settle down if he wants a promotion. But convincing Sabrina to be
his fake girlfriend turns out to be the easiest part. What he didn’t count on
was their intense attraction and how easily their lie would escalate.
Sabrina’s
still hung up on her ex, and Jack will never settle down.
But
fate has other ideas…
Excerpt
Jack gazed across the table at her. Sabrina seemed intent on
playing with her dessert and hadn’t noticed him watching her. The night was
chockfull of surprises. It wasn’t every woman who knew just as much about
baseball as he did and even enjoyed discussing it. This was the most mellow
he’d seen her. Usually she was all wrapped up in anxiety and spreadsheets,
which was why he couldn’t resist egging her on whenever he had the chance. She
made it almost too easy. And way too much fun.
There
really was nothing sexier to him than a woman all riled up with anger. It was
just another form of passion in his book. And Sabrina seemed to have more than
an average share. Especially when she looked like she could melt an iceberg
with the heat radiating from those baby-blue eyes of hers. The way her cheeks
flamed pink and those soft, generous lips of hers pouted and got all—
Uh-oh.
Where’d that thinking come from?
That kiss.
Mother of
mercy, who knew she had such deadly precision with that mouth of hers?
Something had ignited between them from the moment their lips had touched. He
knew it was wrong, yet here he was wishing those lips were on his again. What
an idiot he was. He couldn’t involve himself with her. Hell, she barely liked
him. And she was engaged.
Sort of.
Jack
continued to study her. There was something mesmerizing about the way the
candlelight reflected in her dark hair—how it flowed just slightly past her
shoulders and looked smooth and glossy, like rich, melted chocolate. He was
struck with an irresistible urge to reach out and feel it.
And that’s
when he decided to call it a night.
“All right,
let’s get you home,” he announced.
Sabrina
didn’t lift her eyes from her dessert she was making fork tracks through. “What
about the check?” she murmured.
“It’s
already paid.”
She
frowned. “But I told you I wanted to go Dutch.”
Jack
sighed. Doesn’t this woman ever turn it off? Four sheets to the wind and she
was worried about paying her share. “No, friends go Dutch. Fake girlfriends get
their meals paid for by their fake boyfriends. Now let’s get out of here.”
Sabrina
finally looked up with huge innocent eyes, the corners of her mouth sagging
south. “Didn’t you like your dinner?”
“Of course
I liked my dinner.”
“Then why
are you so crabby?”
Because I
can’t stop thinking about those mouthwatering lips of yours and the way they
moved against mine. Happy? Although, if he confessed that little nugget of
truth, he doubted she’d be happy at all. “Um, you didn’t offer me any of your
cheesecake.”
She let out
a beautiful laugh. “You had your own cheesecake.”
The way her
smile burst through like sunshine had the direct opposite effect on his mood.
“What can I say? I like to eat,” he said tightly. “Come on.”
“Is David
still here?” she whispered.
“No, he
left about twenty minutes ago.”
Her fork
dropped with a clank. “What? Did he look forlornly over here before he left?”
“I don’t
know,” he mumbled. But the truth was David had stared at them all evening. Jack
didn’t know why he didn’t feel like sharing that information with her. Maybe
because he found David’s actions rude. If Jack were dating Sabrina for real, he
would have gone over there and made it known to him.
“How could
you not know?” she asked. “You’re supposed to be my eyes and hears.”
He rolled
his eyes. “You mean eyes and ears.”
“Oh.” She
thought about it and nodded. “Yes, that’s better.”
He had to
smile. “I thought so.”
She glanced
at her watch, and her eyes widened. “I should have called my landlord. I didn’t
think I’d be out this late.”
“Your
landlord has you on a curfew?”
She shook
her head, and it flopped back and forth like a rag doll. “She’s having her
apartment painted, and I told her she could stay with me. She’s probably asleep
by now anyway.”
“Well,
aren’t you Miss Congenial?”
She stared
at him with a confused look. “No, it’s Miss Cassidy,” she slurred.
He couldn’t
help but chuckle. The woman was adorable—too adorable. “I need a cigarette,” he
murmured.
Her little
nose wrinkled. “Ugh. You smoke?”
“I used to.
Gave it up a few years ago, but still get the urge when I’m stressed. Started
smoking in college. Probably the least of my bad habits back then.”
“Why did
you start?” Sabrina rested her chin in her hand and gazed at him, all dreamy
and sincere—and intoxicated. His eyes drifted to her mouth for the second time.
She was doing that sexy-pout thing again.
Jack had to
clear his throat. “I don’t know. Probably because it got me through my mom’s
death a little.”
She gasped.
“You were so young. How did she die?”
Jack
frowned. Sabrina obviously didn’t realize he never talked about his mom with
anyone. There were certain lines you did not cross with people unless invited.
Ever. And she most certainly had not been issued an invitation. But as Jack
continued to stare into her soft blue eyes, a small chip of his resolve was
taken out.
“She
committed suicide,” he finally answered.
“Oh, no,”
she whispered in horror. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,
but you don’t have to tell me that. It was a long time ago. At least it wasn’t
messy. She took some pills and never woke up.”
“It was a
long time ago, but you still must carry a part of that with you. Something like
that you can’t simply turn off.”
Her
conviction made him think she spoke from experience. But he didn’t want to
share any more of himself with her tonight. He preferred fun and
detached—unemotional. He feverishly tried to brush off the way the warmth in
her eyes was making him feel. “No, you can’t turn it off, but you can break the
nozzle.”
The look on
her face told him that line was an instant party killer. But he didn’t want to
spend time pouring his heart and soul out to her. It left him too vulnerable.
Something he hadn’t been since his mother died.
“Let’s go,”
he said shortly and stood up.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jennifer
Shirk has a bachelor degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all helped her
with her writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows
romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.
She
writes sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain Publishing,
Montlake Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the RWA
2006 NYC's Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, THE
ROLE OF A LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden
Quill Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
Jennifer will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B&N GC plus an ebook of first Bliss romance book: Kissing Kendall to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
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