The Tycoon's Fiancée Deal. Katherine Garbera

it. Why wouldn’t she agree to it?

      After that kiss she had another reason to think twice about his proposition. This wasn’t as straightforward as it had been when Derek had first sat down at her table in the club and made his offer.

      But she didn’t regret the kiss.

      How could she?

      “Don’t you think?” her mom asked.

      “What?”

      “You aren’t listening to a thing I’ve said. Are you okay, sweetie?”

      She shrugged. “Yes. But I have a decision to make and I’m not sure what to do.”

      “Can I help?”

      “No!”

      “Well, I was just offering.”

      “Sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean it like that. This is just something I need to decide for myself. And it’s weighing on my mind. I didn’t mean to ignore you. What were you saying? Something about Dad and a motorcycle?”

      Her mom took a sip of her sparkling water and then reached across the table, putting her hand on Bianca’s and squeezing it. “When I was trying to figure out if I should give up my job and be a stay-at-home mom like everyone expected me to, I spent a lot of time mulling things over. And in the end, well, you know I chose the morning news job.”

      “I know. That must have been hard, Mom,” Bianca said.

      “It wasn’t as hard as living with the decisions afterward. The first three or four months I second-guessed everything. Should I have been home when Diego fell off his skateboard and broke his arm? Was my job the reason it happened? All of these were making me crazy and I was very unhappy. But your poppa pulled me aside one night and sat me down and said no matter what decision I had made, not picking the other choice was going to haunt me. He told me to commit to the decision I had made. And enjoy my life.”

      Bianca hadn’t thought she needed to hear anything from her mom tonight but as always, her mom had found the exact right thing to say.

      “Thanks, Mom. Every time I think I’m all grown up and know what you are going to say you surprise me.”

      “Good. Keeps you on your toes,” she said with a wink. “Want to talk or watch a reality show?”

      “Reality TV, please. I need some fake drama in my life,” Bianca said.

      They spent the rest of the evening watching TV until her dad and Beni got back home. Beni was dozing in her dad’s arms and her father carried the little boy up to his bedroom. After her parents left, Bianca changed him into his pj’s and then lay down on the bed next to her son, watching him sleep.

      She wanted to say yes to Derek’s proposition. And if she was very careful maybe he could be the transition between this and the next phase of her life. He wanted temporary and she had the feeling temporary was all she could really handle right now.

      Plus, it was Derek. He was one of the few men she could count on always having her back and usually not expecting anything in return. And he had never asked her for anything before. She was intrigued and knew that she wanted to do it.

      Why was she hesitating?

      The last time she’d followed her gut, it hadn’t worked out so well, she admitted.

      * * *

      Derek had taken the long way back to the clubhouse and now was headed to the billiards room—which was just what the club called one of the fancy private rooms that had a pool table.

      “What’d she say?” Nate asked as Derek walked into the room.

      What had she said? He hadn’t thought of anything but that kiss and how complicated she really was. So much more than he’d anticipated when he’d first thought of asking her to help him out. But he realized now that even though they were friends there was a lot about Bianca he didn’t know. He was intrigued—he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t. And a part of him was worried that if she said yes she’d be a constant distraction. The other part of him was concerned if she said no that he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about the kiss and he’d go after her.

      And his track record with long-term wasn’t the best. So that would mean losing her completely from his life when they were done with their arrangement. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was he did wrong with women but generally speaking he wasn’t friends with any of the women he’d slept with.

      “D? Something wrong with your hearing?” Hunter asked.

      Derek gave him the finger while he opened a bottle of Lone Star beer and took a deep swallow.

      “She’s thinking it over,” Derek said, turning to face the room and his brothers. Ethan and Nate stood near the table, while Hunter was racking the balls.

      “That’s not really much better than a flat-out no. Are you sure about this?” Hunter asked.

      Hell, yes. If he’d had any doubts they had been amplified the minute her lips had melted under his. He rubbed the back of his neck, glanced at his watch and realized only forty-five minutes had passed since he’d left her. How was he going to make it until eight the next morning when time seemed to be moving so incredibly slowly?

      But telling his brother that wasn’t something Derek wanted to do.

      “Yes. I’ve never been as sure of anything other than that I am the best surgeon in the world.”

      Hunter clapped him on the back. “Okay. But you know we are going to tease the hell out of you about this.”

      “How would that be any different than what you always do?” Derek asked. “You’re forgetting that you have a honeymoon and a wedding night coming up. I think you’re in for your share of teasing.”

      “But you also have the bachelor auction,” Hunter added. “You and Ethan are going to be representing the Carutherses. Don’t let us down. Or are you going to use your engagement to get out of it? I wouldn’t blame you one bit.”

      “That’s a good idea. I should line someone up. We need to bring in the big bucks like we always do,” Ethan said. The auction raised money for the women and children’s shelter.

      “We don’t always beat everyone else. The Velasquez boys beat us last year. And the Callahans think they are going to have a better shot this year because of Nate and Hunter being taken,” Ethan said. “Liam was bragging about it over at the Bull Pit last night.”