Darcy Maguire - The Fiancee Charade

“Stay,” Alex whispered. “We can talk this through. You can tell me what an idiot I am. Please.”

Jess warred with herself. Hell, she was starting to feel for the guy. Sure, he was a messed-up individual, but with parents like his, and with a head that hardly fit through a door for the size of his ego, she understood him.

She shook her head and forced her legs to move. She had to go. She couldn’t stay. She was starting to soften to his cause, to feel his pain, to see his heart….

Darcy Maguire spends her days as a matchmaker, torturing tall, handsome men, seducing them into believing in love and romancing their socks off! And when she’s not working on her novels, she enjoys gardening, reading and going to the movies. She loves to hear from readers. Visit her at www.darcymaguire.com

Books by Darcy Maguire

HARLEQUIN ROMANCE®

3745—HER MARRIAGE SECRET

3754—ACCIDENTAL BRIDE

3801—A PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT*

3805—THE BEST MAN’S BABY*

3809—A CONVENIENT GROOM*

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

EPILOGUE

‘YOU won’t believe this.’ Kath slapped down a women’s magazine on the bar in front of Jess Thompson, the pages open.

Jess lowered her cocktail and stared at the full-page picture, her breath catching in her throat.

It couldn’t be.

No way.

She touched the glossy surface gingerly, tracing the name printed in bold letters at the top of the spread, shaking her head slowly. How much more was this guy going to torture her?

‘Alexander Calahan,’ Kath purred close to her.

It was him. The man that Jess had thought about incessantly for the last four years.

She stared at the image filling the page. He looked wider in the shoulders than she’d imagined, and far more handsome.

She’d hoped he’d look like the weasel he was, but there was no justice in the world. He was far cuter than he deserved to be, considering the person he was—and what he’d done.

She chewed on her bottom lip. Maybe he’d had the shot touched up to wipe out his warts, scales and horns. After all, no female executive flicking through would hire this guy for the advertising needs of her company if he looked like the creature he was.

‘It’s new today.’ Kath slid onto the stool beside her, smoothing down the blood-red dress that was clinging to her ample body. ‘Saw it on the way here and had to buy it for you.’

‘Thanks,’ Jess whispered tightly, pushing an errant lock of brown hair back from her face. Seeing this guy in a magazine was the last thing she needed, yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

The watch at his wrist looked as if it was gold, the tie was Italian silk, and the tailored suit he wore had probably cost more than her father’s car.

His clean-shaven good-boy image was corrupted only by the intensity in his stormy blue eyes.

Jess shivered. He looked human, but she knew better. He was the devil in a black dinner suit.

‘I know you’ve had a lot on your plate, what with Dean and all.’ Kath raised a hand, tossing her short black bob back from her face and signalling the barman. ‘But we can’t exactly ignore this. Our company is struggling to stay afloat here.’ She slapped the magazine, her bracelets jangling. ‘And this is disastrous.’

Jess ignored her colleague’s panic, staring at the image in front of her. ‘He’s not as handsome as they all like to make out.’

Kath sighed, sagging against the bar. ‘Why don’t you tell him that?’ She stabbed her finger onto Alexander Calahan’s face, which was smiling seductively up at them. ‘I’m sure he doesn’t hear it often.’

Jess lifted her chin. ‘I could.’

‘Go on, then. This is your chance to tell the King of the ad world exactly what you think of him.’ Kath swept her hand in front of her as though trying to swat a fly. ‘And if at the same time you could knobble him a bit, it would help.’

She should tell the arrogant jerk exactly what she thought of him—but what would it accomplish? He didn’t even know she existed, let alone her and Kath’s little ad company, Kingston and Co, which was struggling to win any attention from a business world with the Calahan empire dominating the marketplace.

Kath ordered a cocktail from the barman and swung to face Jess, her eyes bright. ‘You can’t let him get away with this blatant stunt to pull even more attention for him and his company.’

Jess shook herself. What? There was more to his photo plastered over the highest-selling magazine than selling his company? She swallowed hard, tearing her attention away from his picture to the words below.

‘“Eligible bachelor seeks bride,”’ she read slowly, the words ricocheting around her head like a stray bullet. No. ‘He can’t be serious. He’s selling himself?’

‘Hell, no.’ Kath stabbed at the article on the facing page. ‘This is just a way to brag himself up and pull in more of the women’s advertising out there in the market than he already has.’ Kath shook her head. ‘And ruin us all in the process.’

Jess opened her mouth but couldn’t speak, her blood roaring through her body like molten lava. There was no way she could let him get away with it. Not again. He’d pulled just about all the dirty tricks in the book and she’d had enough.

She jerked to her feet, straightening her taupe suit jacket over her white silk organza waistcoat, her heart thundering in her chest. She flexed her fingers. They had to do something.

Kath slid Jess’s drink across to her other hand. ‘So, what are we going to do? Call a newspaper and try to give them dirt on the guy? Or issue a public challenge to his motives?’

Jess stared at the man in the photo, trying to sort her thoughts out from the tangle of emotions sizzling through her.

What did she want?

She sank back onto the stool, her hands clenched by her sides. She wanted to tie the guy up and steal away his most coveted clients while he was incapacitated—for the guy to get what he deserved and to have the world know what a cunning liar he was.

Kath combed down the stray wisps of hair escaping her bob. ‘Or try for false advertising? There is no way on the planet that man is looking to settle down.’

‘All good ideas,’ Jess said as calmly as she could manage, taking a deep, slow breath, her mind running through the scenarios. She flicked the page, scanning the article. ‘But there’s not much we can do.’