The Business Engagement by Kasi Blake
One engagement can save two reputations… if they can keep their hands off each other.
When claustrophobic Anna gets trapped in an elevator with hunky Skylar, the last thing she expects is to exit an engaged woman. But Skylar insists tongues will stop wagging when people realize she is marrying him and not sleeping with her boss.
Skylar’s father (her boss) invites her to spend Thanksgiving weekend with his entire family in Vermont, and he won’t take no for an answer. She has no clue how she will get through four days under the same roof with the sexy, arrogant Skylar. Then she discovers they expect her to share a room with her fiancé. Now what?
With her job on the line, will she also be willing to risk her heart?
This book is a little STEAMY. if you don’t like that, you can skip those scenes and still enjoy the book. It isn’t erotica, so there isn’t much to skim over. But if you enjoy the love scenes, have at it.
Then the trees parted to reveal a covered bridge. It reminded her of a movie she adored, a sweet love story that made her cry every single time she watched it. Skylar’s arm looped around her shoulders, and he pulled her close. She glanced around to see if they were being watched. The house wasn’t even in sight now.
He took her onto the bridge, stopped in the middle, and pointed out the peaceful water below. A problem with their plan surfaced in her mind. Although she didn’t want to intrude on his thoughts, he needed to know about the trouble waiting on the horizon for them.
“Your grandmother knows we’re lying,” she said.
He scoffed. “No, she doesn’t.”
“When she took me up to your room, she mentioned Clare.” Anna stopped talking when he stiffened beside her. His arm dropped from her shoulders. She rushed on. “I didn’t know who she was talking about.”
“You didn’t tell her that, did you?”
“She caught me off guard.”
Skylar placed his hands on the railing and leaned forward, tension bunching the muscles in his upper body. After a moment a short burst of laughter parted his lips. He took a step back and looked at her, smiling. “Grandma Dot is ninety, and everyone humors her even though we know she’s not as crazy as she acts. My parents let her get away with murder. Just ignore her.”
“What if she tells your mom or dad I didn’t know about Clare?”
“I don’t think they’ll be surprised.” He shrugged as his hands slid into the pockets of his faded jeans. “They know I don’t like to talk about… the past. My family has tried to get me to spill my guts a million times. If anything, they’ll just tell me I need to open up to you before the wedding.”
Anna nibbled on her lower lip for a second, knowing she was about to cross into dangerous territory, but unable to stop herself. “If we were engaged for real, I’d want to know about your first wife.”
“What if I don’t feel like sharing?” His eyes narrowed on her face, and he folded his arms. “Then what?”
“I’d try to get you to open up to me.”
“How would you try? What would you do?”
“I’d tell you that I loved you. But if you can’t trust me, I can’t be with you.”
Stunned expression, he shook his head as if to clear it. “You would break up with me just because I don’t want to tell you everything?”
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes as her insecurities came rushing forward. She reminded herself their relationship was fake. It felt real there for a moment as if they were having a real fight, and it actually hurt that he didn’t trust her enough to open up. But none of it was real. “Never mind.”
She spun around and marched back in the direction of the house, leaving him to follow or not. Part of her wanted to run, but if his family saw, they might start to suspect. Of course, she could always tell them she was mad that he wouldn’t share information about his first wife. He called after her, but she kept going. She should thank him for reminding her that relationships were too complicated, too painful. It was a hard yet necessary lesson to learn. Even though seeing happy couples in love squeezed her heart like a vice, she was better off concentrating on her career.
Kasi Blake learned that writing was her superpower when she was in the third grade. The teacher asked the students to write a short (one-page) story about a pet monster for Halloween. She heard the other kids all saying they were doing vampires and werewolves, so she chose to write about a pet mummy. Her story made the entire classroom erupt with laughter. That's when she realized words had power. Then when she was in high school she had to write a short story for a class and put it off until the last minute. While talking to friends that morning, she scribbled it out and handed it in. The teacher thought she'd plagiarized it. That's how good he thought it was, but her friends backed her up. Later in college, her writing ability saved her from a bad grade in history. It was a writing-intensive course.
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