Jolie’s gut roiled as if she’d been punched hard. Blood rushed back into her face and her heart surged into gear. She clutched her hands together in her lap, her gaze on her fingers, not Devin, as she forced her disappointment aside. Why had she even dared to believe a man like Devin would be interested in marrying a girl like herself? Fool.
They were worlds apart. While Devin dined on caviar and two-hundred-dollar steaks, she cooked her own meals and ate leftovers. Not that she didn’t make good money as the CEO’s assistant, she just didn’t have the kind of income to throw away on extravagance.
Devin faced her directly. “Fake only to you and me. The rest of the family must believe it’s true in order to convince the paparazzi.”
“Don’t you think they deserve to know the truth?” Jolie asked, glad his focus was on his family and not her. It gave her time to think through her response.
“They will be safer with the lie. That way only the two of us will have to keep up the pretense, limiting the number of people who could slip, blowing our story. It keeps the rest of the family from worrying about making the wrong move or saying the wrong thing.”
Jolie stood. “And if I’m not willing to participate in this lie?”
“Why wouldn’t you? It’s to protect you from a media nightmare and Kendall Communications from a scandal. We keep the focus on something exciting, like a wedding. And not that our family is being investigated regarding the murders. That way, we can continue our own investigation without being too obvious.”
She swallowed hard, a wad of tears clogging her throat. Oh, dear God, don’t let her cry in front of him. Devin hated when women cried. She turned her back to him. “I think it would be best if I quit.” How could she see Devin day in and day out and not fall more hopelessly in love? Especially after the previous night’s indiscretions?
The carpeted floor muted Devin’s approach, but every nerve in Jolie’s body knew he’d closed the distance between them. When his hands descended on her shoulders, she sucked in a breath and held it.
Devin turned her to face him. “The media will crucify you and me if you quit now. I don’t care about me, but I don’t want you hurt because of my mistake.” He pulled her into his arms.
Mistake. Jolie held herself stiff. What they’d done last night was a mistake to him. She let the air out of her lungs and steeled her voice not to shake, as she responded, “I’m tough, I won’t break. Besides, how can we work together now that we’ve done … what we’ve done?” The mistake.
“I could promise not to touch you again, but I hate breaking promises.” He tipped her chin up with his thumb. “Do it for me. Be my fiancée. When the hoopla dies down we can break the engagement and everything can go back to normal.” His blue-eyed gaze bored into hers. His thick brown hair fell down over his forehead as though he hadn’t taken the time to tame it that morning, making him appear more vulnerable.
When he looked at her like that, how could she resist? Damn, she was a mess. “Okay, I’ll do it. But when this ordeal is over, we have to face reality.”
“We will. Later.” His lips tipped upward at the corner. “Ash is gathering the family. I wish Thad was here, but that can’t be helped. We can announce our engagement to them now to quell their uproar at the morning news.”
Jolie nodded and forced herself to smile. “I guess we’re engaged. Sort of.” Her laugh sounded stiff, even to her own ears. “Somehow, I pictured my first proposal differently.” She shrugged, maintaining her pretense of nonchalance when what she really wanted was to find a quiet, dark closet to hide in until her insides quit trembling. She could just imagine her reaction had it been a real engagement.
A long silence stretched between them, with Devin’s hands still resting on her arms.
Jolie’s gaze collided with Devin’s intense blue eyes.
He stared into her face, his forehead wrinkled as it did when he was working out a problem in his head.
“What?” She crossed her eyes in an attempt to view the tip of her nose. “Do I have a smudge on my face?”
“No. It’s just …”
“Having second thoughts?” Her heart stuttered to a stop and she held her breath. Not like the engagement was real or anything. “That’s bad when you’re having second thoughts about a fake engagement. Does the thought of a Kendall marrying a lowly executive assistant go against the grain?” She tried to laugh, failing miserably.
“Huh?” He shook his head. “No, don’t be silly. I was thinking we should seal this deal in some way.” His frown lifted and he leaned closer, his hand rising to cup the back of her neck, drawing her closer. “Perhaps with a kiss.”
Jolie leaned forward, memories of the night before rushing in to fuel the flames building inside. Her breasts touched his chest, the hardened tips rubbing deliciously against the inside of her lacy bra.
Her arms crept up and around his neck, pulling him closer.
Devin’s lips crushed her mouth, his tongue sweeping in to tangle with hers, thrusting and tempting her to forget everything but that moment.
A professional down to the sensible shoes she wore, Jolie had been thrown into the deep end. Kissing the boss in his office wasn’t something a woman did, unless that woman was completely out of her mind in love.
A sound penetrated the back of her thoughts, the creak of a door opening, the light squeal of a hinge.
“Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Jolie jumped back, her eyes wide, her heart thumping against her ribs.
Natalie stood at the door, her face flushed, her green eyes dancing. “I can come back when you’ve concluded your … er … meeting.”
“Bull on that.” Ash pushed his way through the door, followed by the owner and one of the original cofounders of Kendall Communications, Craig Kendall. “We have some serious damage control to conduct and you two aren’t helping by playing tonsil tango on company time.”
Her face burning, Jolie attempted a dash for the door.
Devin, anticipating her move, grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, his hand slipping around her waist. “I’m glad you were all able to join us on such short notice. I’m certain you have seen the morning newspaper?”
Every head nodded.
He stood straighter and faced curious eyes. “Well, I have an explanation for that.”
“I’m glad someone does.” Craig crossed his arms and waited. “Go on.”
“Jolie and I have an announcement to make.”
Natalie’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open. “No way.”
Devin glared at her. “I haven’t even said what it is and you’re already saying ‘no way’?”
“No way!” Natalie clamped her mouth shut and slapped a hand over it. Through her fingers she muttered, “Okay, I won’t say a word, oh, my God, hurry up with it.”
A chuckle rose up in Devin’s chest. “How old are you?”
Natalie dropped her hand. “Twenty-six, will you tell already?”
If Jolie didn’t have a knot the size of a sweat sock lodged in her throat, she’d have laughed out loud at Natalie’s enthusiasm. But the whole situation was surreal, as though it was happening to someone else. Not plain Jolie Carson.
Devin smiled down at Jolie and winked.
Immediately, her world lit and her nerves calmed. She could handle just about anything if Devin Kendall looked at her like that all the time.
“Jolie and I are engaged.”
Natalie