Read Online Save the Date by Jenny B Jones - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jenny B Jones
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do dinner, you occasionally smile at me and try not to drip your venom on my golf shirt. After we date a short period of time, I will ask you to marry me. In a public place. There will be cameras. The whole world will see it. You pretend to by my fiancée for the duration of the campaign. Two months after the election, we go our separate ways. I leave with my new state office and you leave with a big fat check.”
Lucy pushed her potatoes around on the plate. Nothing made sense. She saw Alex’s lips move. She heard the words come out. But they refused to translate into anything logical in her head. “Alex, this . . . is absolutely the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I mean, I know you football players aren’t typically Mensa members, but even the village idiot would concede this is just wrong.” She had been praying for a miracle, but she’d never dreamed it would be hand-delivered by the president of Club Sin and Depravity.
“I dominated on that football field. And I know I can do the same in Congress. I just need a chance to get there. My opponent is running a total smear campaign, and my image has taken a severe beating.”
“Those mean ol’ cheerleaders. Darn them for expecting a commitment out of you.” She pressed a napkin to her lips. “All twelve of them.”
“Now see, you’re gonna have to stop those little remarks.” He’d spent the last eight years in New York, but his voice was still as Southern as Dixie. “My future wife is supportive. Doesn’t believe everything she reads. Loves me with my faults. Probably even bakes me cookies from time to time.”
“Your future wife must’ve had a lobotomy because nobody is going to go for that.”
“Five months. That’s all.” Alex draped his arm over the back of his chair as he lounged back, lazy as you please. As if he were discussing the weather. Instead of a dishonest farce. “Think of it as a long-term acting job.”
The moral ramifications charged through her head like a running of the bulls. She would be living a lie. It was making a mockery of the political system. Of marriage. Of her life. “I can’t. I just can’t do this.” And there was Matt. He had just come back into her life.
“But you’re tempted.”
“Not even a little.” The lies. They were reproducing like roaches. She was desperate for Saving Grace to go on. Those girls couldn’t lose their home. It was so much more than a place to sleep for those women. But what Alex was suggesting . . . it was like something from a movie on cable. Starring Tori Spelling. Or one of those Olsen twins.
He pulled his chair closer. His hand brushed against hers. “Lucy, I talked to Roger at city council today. Your building sold.”
The ground shifted beneath her. “But Mr. Greene—he said he would honor the rest of our lease. He promised.”
“A promise. Are you really that naive? Your agreement becomes null and void with a sale—with or without a promise. You know the city isn’t going to honor that lease. They need the property.”
This was so unfair. Why was everything falling apart? “We’ll find another place.”
“Your time is running out. You said yourself you only had months. I’m offering you the golden ticket here.” His brown eyes lingered on her face before focusing on her eyes. “Take it.”
“This is just about winning to you, isn’t it? Are you truly that warped? The political race—and certainly marriage—they’re not just another game.”
Alex unclenched his jaw. “I do want to win, make no mistake about that. But this is about a lot more than victory.”
Lucy shook her head. She wasn’t buying it for a second. “You can’t stand to lose. Everyone knows that about you.”
Alex spiked his fingers through his hair. “Lucy, I . . .” He closed his mouth and drummed a hand on the table, as if weighing a decision. “I want to win for personal reasons, okay? Can we just leave it at that?”
“Nuh-uh.”
He gave a growl that had probably
Lucy pushed her potatoes around on the plate. Nothing made sense. She saw Alex’s lips move. She heard the words come out. But they refused to translate into anything logical in her head. “Alex, this . . . is absolutely the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I mean, I know you football players aren’t typically Mensa members, but even the village idiot would concede this is just wrong.” She had been praying for a miracle, but she’d never dreamed it would be hand-delivered by the president of Club Sin and Depravity.
“I dominated on that football field. And I know I can do the same in Congress. I just need a chance to get there. My opponent is running a total smear campaign, and my image has taken a severe beating.”
“Those mean ol’ cheerleaders. Darn them for expecting a commitment out of you.” She pressed a napkin to her lips. “All twelve of them.”
“Now see, you’re gonna have to stop those little remarks.” He’d spent the last eight years in New York, but his voice was still as Southern as Dixie. “My future wife is supportive. Doesn’t believe everything she reads. Loves me with my faults. Probably even bakes me cookies from time to time.”
“Your future wife must’ve had a lobotomy because nobody is going to go for that.”
“Five months. That’s all.” Alex draped his arm over the back of his chair as he lounged back, lazy as you please. As if he were discussing the weather. Instead of a dishonest farce. “Think of it as a long-term acting job.”
The moral ramifications charged through her head like a running of the bulls. She would be living a lie. It was making a mockery of the political system. Of marriage. Of her life. “I can’t. I just can’t do this.” And there was Matt. He had just come back into her life.
“But you’re tempted.”
“Not even a little.” The lies. They were reproducing like roaches. She was desperate for Saving Grace to go on. Those girls couldn’t lose their home. It was so much more than a place to sleep for those women. But what Alex was suggesting . . . it was like something from a movie on cable. Starring Tori Spelling. Or one of those Olsen twins.
He pulled his chair closer. His hand brushed against hers. “Lucy, I talked to Roger at city council today. Your building sold.”
The ground shifted beneath her. “But Mr. Greene—he said he would honor the rest of our lease. He promised.”
“A promise. Are you really that naive? Your agreement becomes null and void with a sale—with or without a promise. You know the city isn’t going to honor that lease. They need the property.”
This was so unfair. Why was everything falling apart? “We’ll find another place.”
“Your time is running out. You said yourself you only had months. I’m offering you the golden ticket here.” His brown eyes lingered on her face before focusing on her eyes. “Take it.”
“This is just about winning to you, isn’t it? Are you truly that warped? The political race—and certainly marriage—they’re not just another game.”
Alex unclenched his jaw. “I do want to win, make no mistake about that. But this is about a lot more than victory.”
Lucy shook her head. She wasn’t buying it for a second. “You can’t stand to lose. Everyone knows that about you.”
Alex spiked his fingers through his hair. “Lucy, I . . .” He closed his mouth and drummed a hand on the table, as if weighing a decision. “I want to win for personal reasons, okay? Can we just leave it at that?”
“Nuh-uh.”
He gave a growl that had probably
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