Read Online The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence) by Christine Glover - Free Book Online

man.
    Zach hadn’t been that man five years ago. Clearly, he hadn’t changed. And she’d become exhausted by the false civility they’d worn like hideous Halloween masks ever since she’d halted their passionate reunion.
    “You read the email,” she said. “Michael wants something decent to come out of the shit trip he’s on.”
    “Nothing good can come out of his illness.” Zach slammed his fist on the desk. “When we get to Asheville, I’ll convince him to back off. He’ll take his spot in the research trials if I have to fly him there myself.”
    Once again, the great and mighty Zach Tanner wanted to control every outcome, every situation with the force of his will. “I know Michael. He won’t back down—not when he’s sure you’re out to destroy me,” Kennedy said. “He expected us to get back together.”
    “You may know him.” Zach gave her a piercing look. “But he’ll listen to me when he learns that you’re an emotional barracuda.”
    A bolt of rage shot through her and belted her behind her sternum. The anger and grief and painful memories ricocheted through her heart, her mind, her soul.
    Yes, she’d pushed him away. Yes, she’d deliberately hurt him. But she’d had no choice. Not when she’d lied to him five years ago. And not when she’d lied to him after she’d broken off their kiss in the kitchen.
    Michael had always known the truth about her infertility issues. If Zach laid this barracuda shit on him, her best friend wouldn’t let it remain buried. But now, more than pride and ego and money had to be considered if she was going to get Michael to stick with the ALS clinical research trial.
    She had to convince Zach to play it her way. “Do you want to destroy his faith in us, too? He’s already losing his speech, his legs, his arms.”
    “I’ll do everything I can to buy him time,” he said. “Give him the tools to live with his disease, make sure he takes his research slot at the hospital. I’ll support his efforts to draw attention and research dollars to find a cure while we’re in Asheville. But I won’t let him continue to try to reunite us.”
    Her throat tangled, capturing her grief in a sticky web, coating her fears in suffocating silk. Dangerous prickling sensations pressed behind her eyes. Everything she’d laid to rest five years ago resurrected and meshed with her despair. The raw pain bubbled and churned inside her.
    Push down the pain. Push down the sorrow. Push down the memories. She fought for control, wrestled the tears threatening to fall and forced them into submission. She swallowed the spidery mass of emotions.
    Her breathing evened. The tension in her throat lessened. A calm resolve bathed her nerves and heart. She’d never let her best friend down. And she refused to let Zach take away her company.
    “Michael is dying,” she said. “And he has this one crazy wish to bring us back together. Your money can’t save him or make him any less stubborn. Truth is, you could lose his friendship if you go through with this takeover. But we can give him hope—a reason to fight.”
    Another muscle twitched in his jaw. “Keep talking,” he said.
    “When we get to Asheville today, we’ll pretend that you positioned yourself to buy out Gibson and Company because we’re involved again. That investing in my company was your way of showing that you care about me.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “You want me to fake a relationship with you to protect him?”
    And me. She crossed her fingers behind her back. “I’m asking you to consider it, yes.”
    “What if he gets better? What if the treatments work?” He pursed his lips. “I won’t pretend to love you for an indefinite time.”
    His declaration stung, but at least Zach was willing to listen. Which was better than she’d had from him five years ago. Not bothering to address his denial of the reality facing Michael, she closed the distance between them.
    “We’ll attend his benefit in Asheville,