The Stakes of Faking It by Joanne Rock

Author:Joanne Rock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-08-11T16:09:42+00:00

* * *

Anger whipped through her as she stared into Chase’s gray eyes.

Not just because he hadn’t bothered to explain half of his schemes to her. Also because their time together had changed exactly nothing between them, and she was fast regretting giving her body to a man who couldn’t bolt from her bed fast enough.

He had the audacity to nod, as if she’d made some obvious observation of little concern. “It’s very simple, actually—”

“Don’t.” She pointed a finger at him, her abandoned chair rolling back. “You don’t get to mansplain this to me now when you’ve been deliberately evasive all weekend about what I’m doing here.”

“I didn’t know how much I could trust you.”

“That’s why you took off my clothes rather than talk to me?” She shoved away from the desk to storm around the library, a book-laden man cave from another century.

The whole place screamed wealth, from the humidor holding some of the world’s best cigars to the bottles of Macallan and Chivas on the bar cart. Rare old volumes graced the bookshelves. It was a world she’d seen many times while she’d been an unwilling part of her father’s schemes. And she had no desire to return to it. Whatever she possessed now, she owned because of her hard work.

“That’s not fair,” Chase said quietly, still seated at his desk while she walked off some of her agitation. “I thought we both wanted to be there. Very much.”

She pivoted to face him, needing to see his features to gauge his sincerity. He sat with fingers steepled, studying her. She held her silence, though, determined to wait him out.

“I will allow,” he continued, “that I should have made time to discuss this with you in detail. But the chemistry that kicks in sometimes between us...you have to admit it’s potent. Distracting.” His brow knitted, as if he couldn’t possibly account for their connection. “It threw me.”

“Explain that to me,” she demanded, not backing down now. “What do you mean it ‘threw you’?” Her heart did a little leap at his words even as she told herself that was ridiculous.

More time with Chase could only lead to heartache and disaster when she knew he wanted vengeance on her family.

“Tana, you know perfectly what it means. You were there with me. Today stirred old memories. For a little while, it felt like old times, and we both know that’s dangerous terrain.” His jaw muscle flexed. “You don’t want to revisit the past any more than I do.”

She bit back a half dozen retorts to that loaded statement.

“We’re getting off track,” she said finally, determined to finish signing the papers as soon as she understood the language of the documents that required her signature. “Just tell me what’s happening with Warren Carmichael’s land. Why isn’t it included in the real estate transfer that I’m signing over to you?”

There’d been separate paperwork for those forty acres, and Chase’s lawyer had told her not to sign it yet. Confused, she’d asked for clarification, and that had held up the whole meeting.

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