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Authors: Catherine Mann
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pretty, but Starr wasn’t as busty so the darn thing didn’t fit quite right and the press of Matthew’s knee against hers was starting to make the dress even more uncomfortably tight as her breasts ached for his touch.
She should have been shopping for clothes rather than a ring in order to pull off this charade.
“Brent and I decided I could give you the information just as easily. He has enough to keep him busy.” Matthew clicked open his briefcase and pulled out a printed agenda roster. “I’m slated to speak at a Rotary breakfast in the morning and a stump gathering in the afternoon. On Saturday evening, there’s a harbor cruise fund-raising dinner.”
He paused reading to glance over at her, seemingly unaware of the havoc he wreaked on her senses with just the touch of his kneecap, for Pete’s sake. If only the photographers hadn’t caught those compromising photos, she could have gone on with her life, pissed off at him, certainly, but free of this painful attraction.
“Ashley?” He ducked his head into her line of sight. “Are you with me? Do you have a problem with any of this? You don’t have to attend everything. It’s not like you’re a politician’s wife.”
“Of course I want to come. It’s fascinating to hear all of the political ins and outs up close. And it’s not as if I have a job at the moment. Everything’s at a standstill with Beachcombers until the insurance company finishes its report and cuts us a check.”
She forced her eyes to stay dry when more than anything she wanted to shout her frustration over her out-of-control life.
She liked simple and uncomplicated.
Matthew Landis was anything and everything except simple and uncomplicated.
His handsome face went somber with concern. “I could always float you a loan—”
“Shut up about the money already.” God, he really didn’t have a clue about her values and pride in spite of the ring. Still, she eased her words with a smile even as constant reminders of his affluent world whipped by outside in the shape of waterside mansions and high-end cars. “But thank you for the offer. It’s very generous of you.”
“Don’t overrate me. The amount you need wouldn’t even put a dent in my portfolio.”
She wrinkled her nose and planted her legs firmly on her side of the car—away from his. The leather seats teased at the back of her calves with a reminder of lush accessories she could never afford. “Why did you have to take such a nice offer and downplay it that way?”
“I’m not bragging, only speaking the truth.”
That might be so, but it still didn’t mean she planned to let him open his wallet to her. Taking money from a man she was sleeping with seemed…icky.
She’d already come too close to crossing a moral conscience line with this fake engagement. She couldn’t take one step further. “I see plenty of wealthy people traipsing through Beachcombers who will stiff the waitress on a tip without thinking twice. I know affluence and generosity do not always go hand in hand.”
“Since I already have enough debates on my schedule, I won’t bother disputing your kind assessment of my character.”
She chewed her lip to keep from arguing further and simply listened to the roar and honks of street traffic. The last thing she wanted was to wax on about the wonderful attributes of Matthew Landis. That would do little to bolster her self-control.
He tapped her brow with a warm callused finger. “Penny for them.”
She forced a lighthearted smile on her face. “Come on, surely with your portfolio you can do better than that.”
RICH MAN’S FAKE FIANCEE
15
CATHERINE MANN
SILHOUETTE DESIRE 1878
THE LANDIS BROTHERS
“Touché.” He chuckled low, the rumble of his laugh sliding as smoothly over her senses as his arm along the back of the seat to cup her shoulders.
His touch burned along her already heightened nerves, tightening an unwelcome need deep in her belly. She’d always been attracted to
She should have been shopping for clothes rather than a ring in order to pull off this charade.
“Brent and I decided I could give you the information just as easily. He has enough to keep him busy.” Matthew clicked open his briefcase and pulled out a printed agenda roster. “I’m slated to speak at a Rotary breakfast in the morning and a stump gathering in the afternoon. On Saturday evening, there’s a harbor cruise fund-raising dinner.”
He paused reading to glance over at her, seemingly unaware of the havoc he wreaked on her senses with just the touch of his kneecap, for Pete’s sake. If only the photographers hadn’t caught those compromising photos, she could have gone on with her life, pissed off at him, certainly, but free of this painful attraction.
“Ashley?” He ducked his head into her line of sight. “Are you with me? Do you have a problem with any of this? You don’t have to attend everything. It’s not like you’re a politician’s wife.”
“Of course I want to come. It’s fascinating to hear all of the political ins and outs up close. And it’s not as if I have a job at the moment. Everything’s at a standstill with Beachcombers until the insurance company finishes its report and cuts us a check.”
She forced her eyes to stay dry when more than anything she wanted to shout her frustration over her out-of-control life.
She liked simple and uncomplicated.
Matthew Landis was anything and everything except simple and uncomplicated.
His handsome face went somber with concern. “I could always float you a loan—”
“Shut up about the money already.” God, he really didn’t have a clue about her values and pride in spite of the ring. Still, she eased her words with a smile even as constant reminders of his affluent world whipped by outside in the shape of waterside mansions and high-end cars. “But thank you for the offer. It’s very generous of you.”
“Don’t overrate me. The amount you need wouldn’t even put a dent in my portfolio.”
She wrinkled her nose and planted her legs firmly on her side of the car—away from his. The leather seats teased at the back of her calves with a reminder of lush accessories she could never afford. “Why did you have to take such a nice offer and downplay it that way?”
“I’m not bragging, only speaking the truth.”
That might be so, but it still didn’t mean she planned to let him open his wallet to her. Taking money from a man she was sleeping with seemed…icky.
She’d already come too close to crossing a moral conscience line with this fake engagement. She couldn’t take one step further. “I see plenty of wealthy people traipsing through Beachcombers who will stiff the waitress on a tip without thinking twice. I know affluence and generosity do not always go hand in hand.”
“Since I already have enough debates on my schedule, I won’t bother disputing your kind assessment of my character.”
She chewed her lip to keep from arguing further and simply listened to the roar and honks of street traffic. The last thing she wanted was to wax on about the wonderful attributes of Matthew Landis. That would do little to bolster her self-control.
He tapped her brow with a warm callused finger. “Penny for them.”
She forced a lighthearted smile on her face. “Come on, surely with your portfolio you can do better than that.”
RICH MAN’S FAKE FIANCEE
15
CATHERINE MANN
SILHOUETTE DESIRE 1878
THE LANDIS BROTHERS
“Touché.” He chuckled low, the rumble of his laugh sliding as smoothly over her senses as his arm along the back of the seat to cup her shoulders.
His touch burned along her already heightened nerves, tightening an unwelcome need deep in her belly. She’d always been attracted to
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