Jackie Braun - Inconveniently Wed!

“Yes.” At her raised eyebrows, he added, “It’s a lot to ask, I know.”

“A lot? Gee, you’re just full of understatements today. What about my apartment, Jonas?” She motioned wide with her arms. “What about my job?”

“I’ll continue to pay the lease, or if you’d prefer you can sublet it.” The job was more difficult, but he’d anticipated it being a stumbling block so had an answer ready. “As for the job, I think you should quit.”

He hadn’t known Serena long, but in their short time together he’d seen her experience dozens of emotions. Rage was new. And, damn, it looked good on her.

“So you think I should quit?” she began slowly, softly. Both the pace and volume of her words picked up considerably when she continued. “Because you find yourself in a bind, and because your dream job is on the line, you think I should be more than happy to throw in the towel on the only job I’ve ever found that I can see myself doing five years, hell, twenty years from now?”

“Serena—”

She talked over him. “I don’t suppose any of that matters to you. Decorating cakes isn’t rocket science. Certainly it’s not as important as running for public office,” she drawled.

“Serena—”

“Or maybe you share my parents’ attitude that this is just a fad and will wind up as one more gig on my long and eclectic résumé?” She exhaled sharply and her eyes turned bright. “When I told them I wanted to open my own cake shop someday they laughed.”

“I’m not laughing.” Jonas crossed to her, and though he knew it wasn’t wise he touched her, cupping her elbows and drawing her closer. “You told me your dream the other night. I didn’t laugh then. I’m not laughing now. It’s important to you. That’s obvious.” She was wearing the same perfume she’d had on when they met. No florals for her. It was citrusy, bold. It made it hard to think. Jonas forced himself to stay focused. “I’m not asking you to give up your dream.”

“Good, because I won’t.” Her chin notched up. “Even in the short time I’ve been at Bonaventure I’ve made a name for myself. Today I’m meeting with a client who specifically requested me, and that’s not the first time it’s happened—despite my lack of professional training. If I quit now, it would be like starting from scratch.”

“Your current position and the business you’d like to one day own are not mutually exclusive, Serena.”

“One leads to the other.”

“Not with the right financing and contacts.”

That got her attention. Wary green eyes studied him. “What do you mean?”

“What if I could guarantee access to both at the end of our…arrangement?” The word left a sour taste in his mouth, but he plodded ahead. “What if, between now and then, you were able to—I don’t know—maybe take some classes and get some of the training you say you’re lacking? After we…um…wrap things up, I could set you up with a list of potential clients and the capital to start your own shop.”

“That sounds like…” He waited for the word heaven , or something along that line. Serena’s take on the matter was, “Prostitution!”

She shook free of his grasp and marched half a dozen steps away. Rage was back, and though it looked good on her he didn’t want to see it now.

“I realize the oldest profession is legal in some parts of your state, but if I wanted to sell myself in order to open my own cake shop I could do that here, Jonas. No pimp necessary.”

She wasn’t the only one angry now. He wrenched at his tie, since it seemed to be constricting his windpipe. “That’s not the kind of arrangement I’m suggesting!”

She crossed her arms and blinked slowly in challenge. “No?”

“No! What I’m suggesting, what I’m offering , is a business opportunity. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

The shouted words echoed in the tiny apartment. If Jameson, the self-proclaimed king of spin, were on hand to witness the exchange, he would be sorely disappointed in his protégé. Jonas had botched this, and badly. He fully expected Serena to tell him to go to hell and then show him the door.

“Let’s be clear on one thing. I don’t want your money. I’m not looking for a shortcut to a big payday—especially one that involves selling my soul or anything else.”

“I know.” He shoved a hand through his hair and expelled a breath. “I apologize if what I’m offering sounded like payment for services rendered. That wasn’t my intention. It’s just that I felt that since I was getting something of obvious value out of the proposed arrangement, you should, too. And I know how much you enjoy having free creative reign when it comes to decorating cakes.”

“You know?”

“You aren’t the only one who was listening the other night.”

That took the wind out of her sails. “How is it possible that you get it?” she asked softly.

“Excuse me?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I…it’s madness.”

“Would offering you a low-interest loan make the offer more palatable?”

“Jonas, I…I don’t know. God! I can barely think.” She rested her fingertips against her temples. “And here I thought my life had been turned upside down in Vegas.”

“It’s chaotic right now,” he agreed. “But I think we can make it work. In the end, this doesn’t need to be a huge mistake.”

“A huge mistake?” She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “I need time to be sure I’m not making another one if I agree.”

“Of course.” The vise around his heart eased its grip.

“How long are you in town?” The question was slightly muffled by her pose.

“I just flew down for the morning. I have meetings this afternoon, some radio spots to tape. If you…if you decide to come back to Las Vegas I’ll return for you Friday.”

Her hands dropped away at that. The green eyes regarding him were wide and incredulous.

“ This Friday?”

“I wish I could give you more time, Serena. But a civic group called Las Vegas Citizens for Change is putting on a dinner Saturday evening, and my opponent and I have both been invited to attend. Jameson thinks—”

“Jameson?”

“Culver. He’s my campaign manager. He thinks you and I should go to the dinner together and make the big announcement of our marriage there. Take the offensive, so to speak, before anyone else gets wind of it, twists it around and makes more of it than there is.” He felt his face heat. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah.” Her gaze shifted to the wall. “I know what you mean.”

“I’m sorry, Serena. I wish…” Jonas left the thought unfinished. No sense getting into what he wished, since he wasn’t sure he knew.

“It’s not your fault,” she said.

“Yours either.” Most definitely none of this fell on her shoulders. Even so, she tried to take the blame.

“I don’t know about that. I’m pretty well known for acting on a whim and dragging others with me.” Serena motioned toward his conservatively cut suit. “Despite that first…um… crazy kiss in the Bellagio, you still don’t strike me as the sort of man who does anything impulsive.”

“Not usually, no. But I’m an adult, Serena. You didn’t drag me anywhere I didn’t want to go. At the time.”

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