Charming Deception

by Jaine Diamond

“To the game,” we all chorus grudgingly and clink glasses. “To Granddad,” Graysen adds. “May the best man, or woman, win.” Damian smirks. “We’re not playing against each other,” I point out.

“Additionally, may I remind you that the Vance family’s privacy should remain paramount at all times. Aside from the people in this room—and this part is underlined—you cannot discuss the game with anyone or tell anyone about the challenges.”

Certain parts of my brother’s world always make me nervous. This part. The successful, wealthy part. Though I seriously didn’t know Cole was this wealthy.

“Some of it. Some was here long before I came along. Gardening… They say it’s cheaper than therapy.” He winks

at me. “If someone’s paying you to do it, even better.”

My brother is such a jock, he’s like a hyperactive golden retriever, always expecting you to play with him. “Go fetch a ball or something.”

Cole’s “best friends” are always people he’s just met. They come and go from his life as fast as the women do. And usually, in my opinion, they’re nothing but fanboys. Guys who glom on to my brother because of his fame, just like the women do.

I just hope he’s doing as well as he seems to be. Trusting men is sort of a sore spot, and unfortunately, my brother helped form that wound.

I left town without Troy knowing, so he couldn’t try to stop me. I wasn’t scared of him. Not physically. But I was broken down by his endless manipulations, his selfish orchestration of my life, and his bottomless black hole of need and insecurity that he expected me to fill for him.

Jameson’s blue eyes burn into me as he settles back in his chair. The word penetrating was invented for this man. I’ve never been eye fucked so casually in my life. I swear, it’s the same look he gave me in the street.

Wanting another life? I created my own escape, especially during the endless winters when I was stuck in the apartment so damn much.” It really hits me as I say it out loud: how much I resented living in Crooks Creek.

Passions should be celebrated, not kept secret. Be proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished.”

Holy fuck. This man has the bossy-alpha thing nailed. Jameson’s tone is so irresistibly commanding, it strikes me what a bad idea it is to get hired by a boss this hot. I pick up my unfinished champagne and take another swallow, knowing I’m probably going to tell him anything he asks.

Silence falls, and my mind reels as I try to make sense of what’s happening right now. Then it hits me. He’s listening. Troy never listened.

If anyone ever told me I’d be explaining my nerdy books to a super-hot billionaire who looks like he and his abs belong on a movie poster for the next comic-book action blockbuster, I’d tell them they needed to lay off the mind-altering drugs. But here we are.

desk all day? Anyway, I haven’t wasted my whole day stalking Cole’s sister. There’s not much to be found about her online anyway. No other press besides the few photos taken when she’s attended some hockey game or fundraiser with Cole over the years. No gossip. Her life couldn’t be more different from mine that way.

It was a given he’d crash here while his house was being finished. That’s what best friends are for. But this… this is the only thing he’s ever outright asked me for, and I can tell it’s important to him. She’s important to him. But wealth builds walls, right? That’s practically the Vance family motto. I don’t have to let her in. She doesn’t have to be important to me.

Then he pronounces, “She’d do.” “And you know this, because…?” “Because she’s not afraid to get dirty, or to stand up to you. You think any of the discardable bimbos you screw is going to make a good wife?”

“Fake or real,” he growls, like a man who has way more important shit to deal with than standing here arguing with me about my sex life, “I give less than zero fucks, Jamie, okay? Just make sure it’s convincing. You’re Prince Charming and she’s your Cinderella.” With that, he stalks out of my office, probably wishing he were an only child. The feeling is mutual.

Later, I’ll be able to look back and understand what I felt when I first heard that Megan was gone. In the moment, it feels like a sudden and all-consuming madness, which isn’t far off.

that. Sadly, as cautious as I’ve been, it hasn’t saved me from getting hurt. Nicole went to the big city to expand her life. I stayed put, stayed safe—in theory—and suffered for it.

“One question. What if it turns out that this Jameson guy checks off all the boxes on your list?”

Jameson Vance has the body of a superhero and the face of an angel, and how the hell he’s single, I’ll never know. There are stunningly beautiful women out there, too, and there’s no way they aren’t all over this man every time he leaves his house.

And there he is, staring at me.

“Then what do you want?” He studies me, a crease forming between his brows. “I want you to come back.”

“Because your brother and I are tight. And I want to apologize for what happened this afternoon.” “You mean, firing a very nice man so you could give me his job, and not telling me?” There it is again. That subtle fire of hers. The one that makes my fingers twitch with the need to tangle themselves into her hair and squeeze until she gasps, opening her mouth for my⁠—

stare at her, oddly perplexed, as my cock throbs. How can one woman be so effortlessly cute and fucking sexy at the same time? It disarms me. I’m not sure I like it.

My molars grind. The thought of her flirting with random guys at the bar… Fuck, no. I can’t have that.

And besides that, Megan Hudson is clearly not a woman who needs some “cute boy” in her life. What she needs is a man. Doesn’t she realize that? I inform her, “I have a question for you, Megan.” “Okay…” “What if we got engaged?”

to be ending anytime soon, so I prompt, “You need a fresh start to your life. Am I wrong?” “You need a fiancée?” she says, clearly confused. “Yes.” “Why?” “It’s a family obligation,” I summarize. “An expectation.”

damp. “So… you want me to act like your fiancée, in public? To please your family?” “You’d be my fiancée. You won’t need to act.”

I don’t want her to feel insulted. Used. A woman like her, she deserves to be appreciated by her man. Adored. Lavished with attention and affection. Praise and devotion. If it wasn’t for Cole, I’d lavish her with all the sexual affection she deserves—maybe put her on her knees and teach her some manners, too; show her what it’s like to be with a real man, maybe help her get over her shithead ex and whatever other little boys are in her past.

“Getting engaged is very serious for me.” It is. It’s not something I thought I’d ever do, so there’s that. “I mean… you’d be romantic if I wanted you to?” “Yes. Of course.” “Fake romantic.”

“You’d be my fiancée. That part would be real. There would be a ring. And money you’d have access to.” “Money?” she echoes softly. “Yes. Two million seems reasonable. Unless you think it doesn’t.”

can take care of her. Maybe I failed to make that part clear. “You’ll have a home, access to any funds you need to get back on your feet. Without having to ask your brother for it or share an apartment with a bunch of people.” Wasn’t that what she wanted, ultimately?

“I’m looking at what I want right now. And, fair warning, I will try to get it.”

I’m not one to back down from something I want, Megan. I’m looking at what I want right now.

Clearly, Megan Hudson is not like the other women I’ve known. But, interestingly, Graysen never told me I should get engaged to any of those women. The more I think about it, the more interesting it gets.

Megan impressed Graysen, without even trying. Without even being aware of it. And that’s not an easy feat. Graysen Vance is not easily impressed or won over. He’s not warm and fuzzy. And he’s definitely not trusting of outsiders. But he liked Megan.

His eyes burn into me. “I didn’t realize we were in a relationship.” I take a deep breath. “I’m here to accept your proposal.”

He studies me. “I was beginning to think I’d never win you over.”

“Honestly, everything you’ve done since I quit and walked out of here has won me over.” I

“Yeah. I needed to start over. And I know I can do this on my own. But the thing is… The more you reached out to me and tried to convince me to give your offer a chance, the more I realized that I really have no good reason to say no.”

“You want a choice,” he says simply, “and you want to feel safe in the choice you make.”

Honesty, not to mention mutual respect, should be part of the arrangement.

Any woman of mine is a woman I protect.”

“Can we agree that checking out other guys in public is not cool? You’re with me. My fiancée. You’re mine. We’re newly engaged and other guys are off the menu. You’re in love with me, remember?” “Right.” I swallow, because every word he just semigrowled at me is making saliva flood my mouth and something else flood my panties. “I’ll just look at you.”

just keep thinking about everything she said tonight. How cute she is. And how fucking brave. I’d like first dibs. You can touch me if you decide you want to. Fuck me. Why the hell did she have to say that shit? I like an honest woman. Actually, there’s probably nothing I value more in a relationship with a woman than mutual trust. But shit. She’s so sweet and earnest. So kind and considerate.

Not only did he steal from her, he cheated on her, too. She could be bitter and broken, guarded as hell from the shit she’s been through. Like me. But she’s not.

“Hi,” she says, those eyes drifting over me in my charcoal-gray three-piece suit and tie. I’ve never felt more like a man than when she looks at me like that. The result is a shot of pure testosterone to the spine.