Fiancé by Fate
by Jennifer
Shirk
BLURB:
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
“Will
you relax,” he told her. “You’re making me anxious, and I’m never anxious.”
Although he was anxious to get their plan started, but he was also hungry. He
opened his desk drawer to his new stash of beef jerky he had on hand for such
an emergency and pulled some out.
Sabrina
threw her hands up in the air. “Oh, great. This is so completely fitting with
you. While I’m stepping into a web of lies, you’re stepping into a Slim Jim.”
He
looked at the beef thoughtfully, then held it out to her. “I’m sensing you need
this more than I do.”
“I’m
a vegetarian.”
“Now
that explains a lot.”
She
bristled. “That’s it. Forget it. This is so stupid. We’re never going to
convince anyone that we like each other, let alone that we’re dating.” Shaking
her head, she was on her feet before he could blink and looked about ready to
hightail it out of his office.
“Wait,”
he said quickly. Where was his normal finesse when it came to women? She had a
way about her that brought out his worst. But she was right. If he didn’t watch
himself, he’d ruin everything.
“I’m
sorry, Sabrina. This will work. How about we both try to keep the smart
comments to a minimum?”
She
sat back down but her shoulders were still stiff. “All right then. Let’s just
figure this plan out so I can get back to work.”
Damn,
there was a lot of pent-up energy going on in that tight little body of hers.
It was kind of amusing to watch, especially the way she tried to quiet her
hyperventilating breaths so he wouldn’t notice. Call him a jerk, but he
noticed. Her chest was going in and out like a runaway steam engine and it was
all he could do not to stare. And he liked what he saw.
“What
do you want me to do?” she asked, breaking into those thoughts. She nibbled one
corner of her lip, her hair hanging loosely as she cocked her head to the side.
“Well,
I…” Their gazes met and held.
Have
her eyes always been that blue? Hell. He knew she was pretty, but he never
realized she was that pretty.
He
cleared his throat and reached for more beef jerky.
“You
do have some sort of agenda, right?” she asked.
“Agenda?”
“A
list of dos and don’ts.”
He
rolled his eyes. Sabrina was definitely not a play-it-by-ear kind of woman. He
should have known she’d want an itemized list of how he expected her to act.
She
licked her lips. “Nothing over the top, I hope. Oh, and I guess I should have
mentioned this before, but I don’t want to have to, uh…”
“Don’t
want to have to what?” he asked, popping another piece of jerky in his mouth.
“Kiss
you,” she finished.
Jack
froze midchew, then swallowed. “What?”
She
shifted in her chair. “I don’t want to have to kiss you.”
“Absolutely
not. That’s nonnegotiable. You have to kiss me. What kind of fake girlfriend
are you, anyway?”
She
lifted her chin. “One that doesn’t believe in public displays of affection.”
“That’s
ridiculous.”
“No,
it’s not. Look, you’re the one who wants to change your reputation. Kissing and
any other type of manhandling—fake or not—in front of people is not a way to
show them you’re in a serious relationship. I won’t be treated like all your
other bimbos. We’ll just have to be convincing in other ways.”
Jack
sat back and grunted. Little Miss Perfect had a point, as per usual. Kissing
was not something they could be caught doing at work, and even if they were out
on a fake date, at their age, they wouldn’t be lip-locked at some restaurant.
But the idea still didn’t sit well with him. Who knew that he’d actually be
disturbed he wouldn’t be able to kiss her?
And
the more he thought about how it disturbed him, the more disturbed he became.
AUTHOR BIO AND LINKS:
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.
Lately she's been on a serious
exercise kick. But don't hold that against her.
Feel free to follow her on Twitter
(http://twitter.com/jennifershirk) or become a friend on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/people/Jennifer-Shirk/100000745044647)
Website: https://www.jennifershirk.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jennifershirk
Sign up for her newsletter: http://jennifershirk.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=5dcb9356ee9c77b69a835f0ea&id=3199d4b772
GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
