Jess’s belly tightened. “The last thing I want to do is help. I think I’ve done enough. I think you’ve done enough pretending that I’m your fiancée…. I think it’s time for me to go home.”
“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*
The Fiancée Charade
Darcy Maguire
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
‘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