Sweet Deal

“You’re breaking my hand,” she muttered, trying to extricate her fingers from his. “Geez, Jake.”

“Sorry.” He released her fingers and dragged a hand through his hair, trying not to look at Gia

“Are you okay?” Shelby demanded in a low voice, though she kept a smile firmly in place.

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” He was sweating as if he’d just run 20K of a triathlon.

“My boss is over there,” she whispered. “Let’s go say hi.”

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Let’s get this the hell over with and get the fuck out of here. But what if…what if…

And then his “what if” became reality as Shelby led him over to—Gia

“Hi, Andrew.” Shelby stopped in front of them. “Hi, Gia

Gia

“I want you to meet my…boyfriend, Jake Magill.” The hesitation was barely perceptible. “Jake, this is Andrew Haddon, my boss, and his wife, Gia

“We know each other,” Andrew said, his expression wary.

Jake plastered on a smile. “Andrew! Gia

“You’ve met?” Shelby repeated, a cute crease between her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Long time ago,” Jake said breezily, waving a hand, still smiling so hard his face hurt. He did not want to get into all that old shit right then and there. Jesus. Sweat trickled down his back and his underarms prickled. “How are you?”

“Great,” Andrew said, though he kept looking back and forth between Jake and Shelby. “I can’t believe Jake is your new boyfriend, Shelby.”

Shelby smiled and Jake had to hand it to her—out of all of them she was the only one who seemed relaxed and at ease. She was apparently a talented actress. He, meanwhile, was totally screwing this up, flummoxed by learning who her boss was.

He flicked a glance at Gia

She fucking felt sorry for him!

That was hard to swallow. He’d tried to so hard to be big about the whole thing, to not let on how heartbroken he’d been when she dumped him. He’d tried not to stand in the way of “true love”, had stepped aside as graciously as he could so they could be together. But still, she pitied him? Argh. That really blew.

The tension was as thick as chowder, but Shelby chatted on about the beautiful day and the great turnout, thankfully not asking questions about how he and Andrew and Gia

“I thought you weren’t coming,” she said to Gia

“Oh?” Gia

“Oh, uh…” For the first time, Shelby stumbled. “Something Andrew said.” She quickly changed the subject.

Finally Jake got a grip on the situation. He wasn’t helping Shelby much, standing there with his mouth open. He dragged his gaze away from Gia

Andrew’s scowl could have singed his hair, startling Jake. What the hell was he upset about? Jake was the one who’d been dumped. Betrayed. Now Andrew was trying to cheat on Gia

Well, there was no fucking way Andrew was going to cheat on Gia

This was so screwed up. How the hell had he gotten himself into this mess?

Shelby smiled brightly as she made casual party chit-chat with the other couple.

“The food smells really good,” she finally said and smiled up at Jake. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

He smiled back at her. “Good idea, Shelby Rose.” He looked at Andrew and Gia

“You too, buddy.” Andrew wore a faintly puzzled frown as he said good-bye.

As they walked hand in hand toward the tables loaded with food, Shelby blew out a long breath. “That was awkward.”

“No shit.”

“Um…how do you know them?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Long story. Ancient history.”

She nodded and he knew she was curious but didn’t ask anything more, thank god.

“‘Shelby Rose’?” she murmured.

He gri

She shook her head, smiling, but then as they stood in line waiting for hot dogs, she went onto her tiptoes and whispered, “Thank you so much.” Then she bit her lip, casting an anxious glance back at Andrew. “He looked kind of a

“Yeah.” Jake’s voice came out flat. “He did. You were right, Shelby. He did not like seeing you with me.”

She lifted onto her toes again—wearing flip flops, she was so little, it was kinda cute how she had to stretch up—and kissed his jaw. He slid his arm around her again and pulled her up against him, bending his head to kiss her mouth. And he hoped like hell Andrew and Gia

Chapter Four

Jake’s mouth brushed over hers, his lips warm and firm and whoa, heat washed down through her in a shocking rush. Even though she knew it was an act, and she hoped Andrew was watching, having Jake’s arm around her and his mouth on hers felt really, really good. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest, nerves stretched tight at the importance of convincing Andrew she and Jake were a couple, but also with the sexual tension buzzing between them. Dammit.

Jake released her with a sexy smile and she blinked and tried to focus.

She’d been prepared for Andrew to be a

And with his wife standing right there beside him! Though Gia

They moved forward in the line, filled their plates with hotdogs, salads and potato chips, accepted plastic cups of beer from the makeshift bar set up, and found a place to sit at one of the wooden picnic tables, sitting across from one another.

Shelby studied Jake as he lifted his hotdog to his mouth. He’d looked so disturbed. Was it because Andrew had been so a

She looked down at her plate momentarily, feeling strangely emotional. This whole situation was stressful. Her coworkers, while not openly hostile toward her, weren’t exactly friendly. She had to force herself to act all cheerful and friendly, while her insides were tight and knotted. Added to that, the stress of introducing Andrew to Jake, anticipating how displeased her boss was going to be, and she was strung as taut as the finish line at the kids’ races. Jake’s support in a world where she felt out of place and unwelcome made her go all mushy and warm inside.