The Agreement (An Indecent Proposal) (2 page)

“Chase wants to do what?” Jude asked, chewing on her slice
of pizza.

In spite of the clouds of disbelief floating around inside
my brain, I laughed at Jude’s shocked expression.

“He said he’ll marry me. Before my birthday.”

“Without having sex first?” Jude asked incredulously.

I nodded.

She leaned back, still regarding me. “Wow. Who would have
thought he was so old-fashioned? He strikes me more of a ‘wham bam, thank you,
ma’am’ kind of guy.”

The truth was…I had thought that, too.

“Is he religious?” Jude’s voice penetrated my thoughts.

“Not as far as I know.” I shook my head. “He does it to help
me, not because he’s in love or really feeling it.”

“And you said?” Her expression changed from shock to delight
as she drew out the words. I didn’t need to see her sudden grin to know what
answer she
expected
me to give.

“I said—” I stopped, hesitating. Yesterday the though
of marrying Chase had been appealing, but in the morning, during the drive
home, I realized that pulling Chase into the midst of the mess that was my life
might not be such a good idea. Not when I wasn’t sure who had sent the
envelope. I didn’t like Clint watching us, nor the fact that Chase could end up
hurt. The previous day’s decision had been a rash and foolish one. Away from
him, his stunning eyes, and the magnetism he exuded, I knew better than to let
myself fall into the fairy tale attitude that there might be something between
us. Besides, marriage is sacred—a bond between two people, pursued out of
love, not out of need to get something I had always wanted.

“Laurie?” Jude’s voice drew me back in.

“Obviously, I’ll have to give it more thought and—” I
brushed my fingers through my knotted hair, faintly aware of the fact that
if
I was to marry Chase, I’d have to
schedule an appointment with a hairdresser and find a dress and…

Oh, God.

I was officially crazy, because no woman in her right mind
would marry a stranger. Not even one as hot as Chase, especially not after the
previous night and relentless memories of his tongue between my legs, licking
me, filling me with want and need for his hard body. I pressed my legs
together, my mind fighting to suppress the haunting images before my eyes. But
I was so turned on, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was written across my
forehead.

“I can’t believe it,” Jude said, jerking me out of my
thoughts. “You’re getting married, and then you and Chase will end up having
lots of babies and I’ll be Auntie Jude.”

“No.” I slapped her arm gently before she got completely
carried away and started choosing baby names. I had thought hard about it and
eventually came to the conclusion that the shorter we kept the entire
experience, the better. “I’m not
really
getting married, Jude. It would be a fake marriage that would lead to a fake
divorce. I wouldn’t stay married to him.”

Her delighted smile disappeared. “Why not?”

“Because.” I threw my hands up in despair. “There are a
million reasons. Like the fact that we know literally nothing about each
other.”

“You’re using ‘literally’ in the wrong context, sweetie.
Technically, you know more than nothing about him, like his name and how he
earns his living. Then there’s his age.”

Which was true. And I also knew the tattoo hidden behind his
tight shirt. The way he slept. The way he kissed. What he tasted like.

Oh, God.

Why wouldn’t those naughty thoughts ever stop torturing me?

“I got it,” I said, irritated.

“Did you really?” Jude asked, eyes glinting with humor.

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. “The point is, marriage is a huge
commitment. Every second couple is getting divorced, and even if this isn’t
your usual love relationship, I don’t want my future to be marked by it.”

I winced inwardly as I realized how I sounded.

Why was I even bothered by the fact that Chase and I might
get a divorce one day in the near future when it was nothing but a business
proposition anyway?

“I mean, who wants a woman who couldn’t even stay married
for a year?” I added. “It’s a bad stigma, like running away from the altar, or ditching
someone for your job. I don’t want to add ‘unstable’ to my almost nonexistent
relationship résumé. Same for him. I don’t want to jeopardize his future and
ruin the chance of him meeting ‘the one.’”

Even as I said the words, my throat choked up. Eventually,
he would meet ‘the one’ and then I’d be completely out of his system.

The thought sucked. It made me furious, both with him and
with myself for thinking it.

What was wrong with me? Chase didn’t belong to me, so the
feeling of jealousy came out of nowhere.

“May I remind you he’s the answer to your prayers, Hanson?”
Jude whispered. “This could all be a sign. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s meant
to be.”

“A sign of what?” I asked warily.

“Of bigger things to come.”

I stared at her. “Seriously? Do you really believe in that
stuff?”

“I do. Let me take out my astrology chart and give you a few
pointers.” She grinned.

“That’s interesting. Next thing I know you’ll be reading my
future.”

She sat up, tucking her legs beneath her. “Okay, what’s his
sign?”

“I was being sarcastic, Jude,” I muttered, adding, “Besides,
I don’t know.”

“Well, ask him.” She pushed my cell phone across the table.

“I can’t just call him.”

“Why not?”

I threw my hands up again in exasperation. “Because—”
My brain failed to come up with a plausible reason. Chase had insisted that I
call him anytime—only, people said things like that all the time without
actually meaning them.

Jude raised her brows. “Come on. You really need to know the
significant stuff.”

I laughed out loud. Knowing his astrological sign was hardly
significant. In fact, it couldn’t be more trivial.

“Fine. I’ll text him.” With Jude peeking over my shoulder,
my fingers flew over the touchscreen buttons as I typed the message.

What’s your sign? In
case you ask, Jude wants to compile a personality chart, even though I’m
strictly against it. Don’t ask. I didn’t know she was psychic either.

I pressed the send button before I could change my mind and
put the cell phone aside because it wasn’t important. Even
if
Chase and I married, I didn’t need to know anything about him.
In fact, I even muted the sound so I wouldn’t read his reply straight away.

Jude regarded me with an amused smile on her face.

“What?” I asked, irritated.

She shook her head, all fake innocence. “Nothing.”

Unfortunately, ‘nothing’ was never really nothing with Jude.
A few moments later, the screen lit up with a reply.

I’m a Taurus. Very
passionate lover who enjoys giving and taking in equal measures. If you open up
your heart, I’ll treasure it forever while carrying you on the wings of
passion.

Jude giggled. “He’s so hot.”

“I can’t believe you’re falling for this crap.” I switched
off my phone and pushed it across the table. “Obviously, he looked it up on Google
and now he’s feeding us what he thinks we want to hear. He’s such a player.”

Wings of passion?

Make it more like wings of his fingers.

I drew a shallow breath as I remembered the way his
exploring fingers almost broke my self-control.

For crying out loud.

I had almost slept with the guy. Now, in broad daylight and
with him at a safe distance, I was happy I hadn’t gone through with it, because
who knew…maybe he would have changed his mind about marrying me once he got the
cream, proverbially speaking.

“He’s probably slept with thousands of women,” I added, not
least to convince myself that men like Chase came with a big, fat ‘player’ sign
scribbled all over their face and private parts.

“Maybe, but experience is sexy in a guy,” Jude said, still
grinning.

Experience?

The guy probably had a little black book containing all the
names of his conquests plus pictures so he could remember them all. If we
walked into any bar in L.A. he’d probably know half the female clientele. The
fact that he drove me to a stranded bar so far out of the city for our initial
interview proved that point. The female population he hadn’t fucked was
probably diminishing by the day, and I was one of the few remaining
closed-legged women he had left to chase.

Come to think of it, my legs hadn’t exactly stayed closed,
either.

I slumped against the cushions and rubbed a hand over my hip
where his fingers had dug into my skin to bring my core closer to his talented
tongue.

After twenty-two years of staying out of a man’s bed, even I
hadn’t been able to resist him.

Men like him should come with a warning: danger to your
panties.

“Aren’t you going to reply?” Jude asked.

“Sure.” I sighed, focusing my mind on what to write.
Eventually, I typed up a message, then showed it to Jude.

I’m an Aries and I’m
very much into the whole BDMS thing. In fact, why don’t you send over your ego
right now so I can kick its ass before it can fly away on its wings of passion
.

Jude laughed. “You’re a lost cause.”

“I try.” I shrugged and took a deep breath, my mood dimming
as the stack of opened letters on my desk caught my eye—all reminders of
my failure.

“No job yet, huh?” Jude said, following my line of vision.

I shook my head. “Not even the slightest hint of interest.
Just one rejection after another. I’m overqualified for most normal jobs and
not qualified enough for anything related to my degree.”

It was so frustrating, I felt like hitting a wall.

“You could always start your own business.”

“With what money, Jude? Every business needs investment.
Besides, what could I possibly be doing?”

“I don’t know.” She fell silent for a moment and her
forehead creased in concentration. “You have a phone, so you could offer a
phone service, you know, people call in and ask for your opinion.”

Not bad…if only it were realistic and could actually make
money. And then there was another problem.

Google.

“What sort of opinion?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “They could call and ask you
for the time in Alaska.”

“What a fantastic idea. I’ll be able to pay the rent in no
time,” I said, struggling to keep my sarcasm in check. “And then I would never
have to be lonely again, because between you and me, it must be heaven to have
your phone ringing at the most unfortunate hours, and you get to chat to all the
creeps in the world. Really, sometimes I have no idea how you come up with all
those crazy plans of yours.”

Jude’s expression darkened instantly. “At least one of us
can pay the bills, you know.”

I could tell she was pissed by her rigid stance. “I didn’t
mean—”

“If you started blogging like me, and actually invested some
time rather than giving up so easily, then your work might actually get you
somewhere,” Jude said.

Ouch.

“I’m sorry,” I said, ready to back off, because she was
right. Jude was the most inventive person I knew, and probably the most
capable. She always persevered, and when one plan didn’t pan out, the next one
was already waiting around the corner. She had started almost fifty blogs and
worked her ass off trying to hook advertising companies before she found
success with one. For that, she deserved more than just my respect.

“I can’t do that,” I whispered. “What you do, blogging…it’s
amazing, but I don’t have that gift, Jude. It’s not something you learn.”

She heaved a long sigh. “I was just trying to help you. It
doesn’t have to be what I’m doing.”

“I know.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.
“Thank you for watching out for me.” My voice broke at the realization that she
was the only one who did. She was the only thing I had left in the world. While
Chase seemed to be around now, it had been Jude who brought him into my life in
the first place. It had been her who made the impossible possible. For a
change, I wanted to do something nice for her.

“Let me take you out.” I jumped up and pulled her to her
feet.

“No, Laurie.”

“I insist.” The fleeting thought of a maxed-out credit card
entered my mind and left it just as quickly. I wasn’t much of a drinker, and
wherever Jude appeared, guys offered to pay. Some even forked out a drink or
two on me in the hope to impress her with their display of so-called
generosity. The whole evening wouldn’t cost me more than forty bucks. A
hundred, tops. A few
dollars, more or less, wouldn’t really make much
difference to my overexerted bank account. And to be honest, I really owed her.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

Judging from the way she kept fidgeting with the hem of her
shirt, she wanted to come. She wanted it badly; she just felt guilty at the
prospect of letting me pay.

“Clint has left me some money. We might as well spend it.”
The half-lie made it past my lips so fast, I barely had time to acknowledge it.

Yes, Clint had insisted I cash in my allowance check, but it
was for life-threatening emergencies only. Besides, I wasn’t comfortable taking
money from him. He was already too involved in my life, always lecturing me on
the merits of dedication and hard work. I didn’t want to give him the
satisfaction of admitting that my attempts at attaining financial independence
had remained fruitless and would most likely stay that way for a long time.

“In that case—”

I didn’t catch the rest because Jude was already out the
door, and halfway across the hall, heading for her bedroom. I followed and
watched her through the open door as she chose two outfits for us—dresses
so short I knew I’d end up tempted to wear a long coat just to hide my
half-bared ass. Maybe Jude didn’t mind flashing her panties to anyone who
wanted a glimpse, but it wasn’t really my thing having other people staring up
my legs.