A Deal With the Devil Read online

  Her eyes widened, her voice just below a shout as she said, “So you want to use me to—”

  “No!” He said. “No. My plan wouldn’t be using you. It’s just…you know…he’s always liked you.”

  She scoffed. “Like I said, you’re using me.”

  “I’d put it another way. I chose you because you’re the only way a fake engagement will look real.” She looked about to let loose a fiery response, but he held up a hand to stop her. “And it’s not using you if there’s something in it for you too.” He figured it couldn’t hurt to try some reverse psychology at this point, so he added, “Look, you don’t want to marry me any more than I want to marry you. So trust me, if you agreed to fake an engagement, I’d make it worth your while.”

  Amanda lowered her gaze and brushed her palms on her jeans. A few moments later, calm and composed, she stood and fixed him with an icy stare. “Sorry Jake. The answer’s no.”

  “You’d be very well-compensated.” He tried his best to sound persuasive as she started toward the stairs. “Name your price,” he called after her, hating the desperation in his voice. “Seriously, just name it.”

  She maintained her composure and kept walking.

  Jake strode to her side and reached for her arm as he pulled out the only card he had to play. “Mand, this could be your ticket to that year in Paris you always dreamed of.”

  She snatched her arm away and anger erupted behind her eyes as she said, “What did you say?”

  He swallowed hard, but didn’t blink. He couldn’t back down now. His entire future now seemed to ride on her agreement. “I know how much Paris meant to you and your mother. It’s your chance to live the dream—for both of you.”

  She glared at him.

  He smiled and tried to sound persuasive. “You have to at least consider it.”

  “I have to . . .”

  Sparks shot from her eyes. And not the passionate ones he remembered so well. If he’d been within reach, she probably would have slapped him. Instead, she smacked him down with her tone.

  “You’re an ass.”

  “How does my offer make me an ass?”

  “You know how I feel about Paris. Mom and I always dreamed of it.”

  He shrugged and spread his arms wide. “I know. That’s what makes this idea so perfect. You had to put the plan aside when your parents died. Now you can live your dream. How often do you think someone gets a second chance like that?”

  Her chin lifted and she sniffed, “Paris isn’t important enough to me to fake an engagement with you.” Her mouth twisted. “And besides, it’s a dream I’d realize only after I lie to your grandfather and pretty much everyone else I know; a lie that would mean I have to deal with you for the next year.” Her laughter sounded harsh and hollow. “Thanks, but I’ll take a pass.”

  Amanda stalked up the stairs, her back ramrod straight and with every step, Jake felt his own dream slip farther from his grasp.

  At the top, she leaned over the rail. “Your family’s millions can’t buy me! I’ll get to Paris—and whatever else I choose to do in life—on my own dime. I don’t need your help with anything. And don’t you ever mention my mother again!” She stomped into the bedroom and slammed the door so hard it rattled.

  Jake stared at the closed door for several minutes and then flopped onto the sofa.

  Smooth Lowell…real smooth.

  He needed to give the idea more thought. Faking an engagement with Amanda might not be his only option, but it’s the best he’d come up with so far. Granted, she didn’t seem too open to the idea, but he’d figure out how to persuade her. He had to. Whether it made any sense or not, Amanda Wilson now appeared to be his only real option.

  * * *

  When Amanda woke up, the bedroom looked dark and gloomy. It perfectly suited her mood.

  She’d barely slept and exhaustion only added to her bad temper. She snatched her cell off the nightstand and pressed the display button to check the time. Noting the ten missed calls from Kate, Amanda tapped the phone against her lips and contemplated the wisdom of calling her friend back. She shouldn’t. Not until she calmed down a little. Still, she was pretty sure her mood would only worsen until she gave Kate a piece of her mind. It was payback time.

  Amanda rearranged the pillows against the chocolate colored padded headboard as she plotted the verbal tongue-lashing she’d deliver. Ever since they’d met freshman year at Northwestern, the girls had been as close as sisters, but Kate’s upper crust southern belle ways frequently clashed with Amanda’s practical Midwest middle class upbringing. It kept things lively to say the least.

  She burrowed into the deliciously soft high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and pulled the down-filled duvet around her waist as she punched in her friend’s number.

  Kate answered on the second ring. “When did y’all get back?” Her sugary Alabama drawl sounded bright and cheery and just a tad devilish—the tone she always used when up to no good—and it only irritated Amanda further.

  “When did you lose your mind? Because I can’t think of any other reason you would’ve sent him.”

  Kate continued, sounding unfazed by Amanda’s crankiness. “I called all night long. Why didn’t you pick up?” Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper, tinged with mischief as she said, “He’s still there, isn’t he?”

  If Kate had been in the room, Amanda might have strangled her. “Thanks to you, we’re both still here.”

  She heard Kate’s sharp intake of breath. “Why are you still at the cabin? He promised to bring you right back.”

  “We tried to leave, but it didn’t work. I won’t even go into that whole dramatic series of events. Suffice it to say we’re stuck here—and for God only knows how long.” She expelled a long-suffering sigh. “Seriously Kate, what were you thinking?”

  “I was worried about you.” Kate sounded wounded.

  Amanda knew better than to fall for Kate’s southern belle routine—all syrupy sweetness and feigned innocence with a hint of the martyr thrown in—she’d known her for too long. “Worried? You got me into this! I wanted to stay in Chicago, remember? If it weren’t for you, I’d be home in my comfy little condo right this minute, screening calls and ordering takeout from Mr. Wong’s.”

  “You needed to get away and the cabin seemed perfect. Isn’t the décor fabulous?”

  It was fabulous, but just then Amanda couldn’t have cared less. “It would’ve been perfect if he hadn’t come.” Her anger faded and silence stretched between them for several moments as Amanda tried to figure out why she always let Kate off the hook so easily. She sighed and then said, “Please tell me this isn’t some horrifyingly elaborate attempt to get us back together.”

  “You’re crazy,” Kate giggled. “I swear, Mand, where do you get this stuff?”

  “Where do I get it?” Amanda looked up at the ceiling and began the count. “Hmmm, let’s see. First, we experienced Drunk Guy. Then, Klepto Guy—”

  “You don’t know he’s a kleptomaniac.”

  “The police who cuffed him seemed to think so. But you’re right; I took a pass on the trial, so who knows?” Amanda said. “Oh, and then we have my personal favorite—Married Guy.”

  “He didn’t seem married when I met him in Dominick’s.” Kate sounded defensive.

  “Just because a guy wanders through the produce aisle, isn’t wearing a wedding band and lets you have the last ripe avocado, it doesn’t mean he’s single,” Amanda sniffed. “It also doesn’t mean you should fix him up with your best friend. His mere presence in the fresh produce section should’ve been the giveaway. Bachelors don’t tend to buy perishable items.”

  “Now you’re stereotyping.”

  “Maybe,” Amanda said. “But clueless as I may be when it comes to men, even I know; if you want to find single guys at the grocery store, you look in either the beer or chip aisles. Any other aisle and they’re likely either gay or married.”

  “You really think I’d go to this much trouble.”

  “Think? I know you would. I was forced to date those three winners in just the last six months. Do we really need to sashay down memory lane?

  “Whatever,” Kate said breezily. “I won’t let your negativity bring me down.”

  Her friend never owned up to her ever-present matrimonial plotting. “You should’ve opened a matchmaker service instead of an interior design business,” Amanda said. “You’d be loaded by now. Or have your own reality show on Bravo. You know how you’d love to whoop it up in the Bravo clubhouse with Andy Cohen.”

  “Don’t try to change the subject,” Kate said. “I swear; I’m not trying to get you two back together. If so, I’d just invite you both to dinner now that he’s back.”

  “No you wouldn’t because you know neither of us would show up,” Amanda said. “Oh and by the way, thanks for telling me he was back.”

  “I didn’t find out myself until yesterday.” Kate said, without a hint of artifice in her voice. It made Amanda wonder if her friend might be telling the truth. If she wasn’t, Kate would’ve attempted to justify her actions. “Jake surprised us all. He didn’t even tell Sam. He just showed up on our doorstep yesterday.”

  “Really,” Amanda said, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice as she tried to figure out whether to believe her.

  “Yes.” Kate switched tactics and went on the offensive. “Besides, I could’ve told you if you hadn’t turned off your phone,” Kate said, her voice dripping with disapproval. “I tried. And if your phone had been on, I also could’ve warned you about the snow and I wouldn’t have needed to send Jake.”

  “I wanted to get some peace and quiet, remember? Besides, given your history with set-ups, I’m sure you can understand why I’d suspect your motives. You ha
ve to admit, getting snowbound with my ex sounds like a scenario only you could dream up.”

  Kate sighed. “It does sound romantic.”

  “Pregnancy has turned you into a sap,” Amanda said. “And I suppose it would be romantic if we were still together!”

  “I swear, Mand, I didn’t plan this. It’s just…I heard the snow would get bad and when I called, I couldn’t get you. Sam’s plane got delayed in New York. I had to send Jake. I couldn’t think of anyone else.”

  “You could’ve called my brother.”

  Kate was quiet for several beats and her voice sounded uncharacteristically flat when she finally said, “You can’t be serious.”

  “He would’ve come.” Amanda liked to think so, but in truth, she wasn’t so sure.

  Kate’s silence conveyed her opinion of Rob and Amanda knew this wasn’t a topic she wanted to get into with her, so she took a deep breath and moved on. “Anyway, believe it or not, Jake proposed.”

  Kate squealed. “I knew he’d come to his senses once he got back from Iraq. You guys are perfect for each other. You have to tell me everything!”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “Before you get carried away, it wasn’t an actual proposal. He wants us to pretend to be engaged so he can get access to his trust fund. I guess his grandfather changed the terms or whatever.”

  “I don’t get it. Why does he think you’d go along with a dumb idea like that?”

  “Exactly,” Amanda said. “He claimed he’d make it worth my while. He even brought up Paris, saying I could live the dream for my mother or some crap like that.”

  Amanda heard Kate’s sharp intake of breath. “He didn’t. What a jerk.”

  “I know, right? Using my mother to try to manipulate me into agreeing to his dumb plan may be a new low for him,” Amanda said. “But hey, it’s all good. His bone-headed proposal might’ve cured me of him once and for all.” She hoped so anyway. Seeing Jake again had been harder than she’d thought.

  “I’m disappointed in him,” Kate breathed.

  “I passed disappointed eleven months and two days ago.” Not that she was counting.

  Kate said. “He absolutely ruined your twenty-ninth birthday. I could just strangle him.”

  “There’s an idea. Maybe I’ll get around to that this afternoon.” Amanda plucked at the bedspread. “For now, I’m going to avoid him and as soon as the weather even hints its letting up, I’m getting the hell out of here—even if I have to walk back to Chicago.”

  Silence stretched between them. When Kate finally spoke, her voice took on a familiar edge. “Mand, I have an idea.”

  Amanda knew those words and that tone well and also knew the combination usually meant trouble. “The last time you said that, we nearly got arrested and we would’ve been if I hadn’t seriously groveled.”

  “Ancient history,” Kate sniffed. “Let it go.”

  “It was last year. St. Patrick’s Day on Rush Street, remember?” She still wasn’t over the incident and not inclined to let it drop.

  Kate ignored her comment and said, “What if you agreed to do it?”

  “What if I agreed to do what?”

  “You know; what if you agreed to do the fake engagement deal?”

  “What?” Amanda cried. “Are you insane?”

  “Shh! Hear me out. You have a bunch of debt, thanks to your brother.”

  “Yes, b—”

  “Amanda Wilson” —the southern belle morphed into the steel magnolia— “you listen to me.”

  Amanda blinked, stunned by Kate’s instant transformation from airhead to commander-in-chief.

  “You have a ton of debt, you want out of corporate life so you can do your own thing and—not to harp on a sensitive subject—but before your parents died spending junior year in Paris seemed a foregone conclusion. If you negotiated right, this situation could be the answer to all your problems.”

  “Or it could mean that a whole new boatload of trouble just docked.”

  “Stop the negativity.” Kate said. “Think. All your debts paid off in one fell swoop—gone, pfft, finito.”

  “For some reason, the word finito sounds less convincing when spoken in Alabaman—something to keep in mind for the future.”

  “No,” Kate said, sounding breathless as her enthusiasm picked up steam. “Really think about it.”

  Amanda often found it hard to stand firm in the face of Kate’s over-the-top gusto. As irksome as her perkiness could be, she possessed a childlike zeal that, at times, could be irresistible.

  Now was not one of those times.

  “I get it. In theory, if I agreed to Jake’s deal, the money could pay off my debts.” But this wasn’t theory, this was her life. And she wasn’t going along with it. The theoretical payoff would come at too high a price.

  “Yes, which is the reason you went to the cabin in the first place.” Kate’s fervor increased. “If you negotiate well enough, you could quit your job and figure out what you really want to do with your life while enjoying everything Paris has to offer. Just imagine…..” Kate clapped and emitted a squeal. “I can’t wait to come and visit with my daughter!”

  “I thought you didn’t want to know the sex of the baby in advance. Did you decide to go ahead and find out?”

  “No, I just know I’m having a girl.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. Undoubtedly, in Kate’s posh Birmingham world of debutante balls and beauty pageants, southern belles only gave birth to little southern belles. “I’m sure you have the tiara all picked out, but don’t get carried away. You’ll go into labor.”

  “No, I still have two more months,” Kate said.

  Amanda reminded herself that —in her friend’s unique and irritatingly meddlesome way—she’d only been trying to help. “Listen, I know this engagement deal could end my financial problems if I negotiated right,” Amanda said. “And it’s tempting. It is. But do I want to lie to everyone I know in order to get the payoff?”

  “That’s definitely a downside,” Kate conceded. “But you’d only have to lie to Jake’s grandfather. And honestly, I think he sort of deserves it. He should’ve been more upfront about his decision to change the terms of Jake’s trust fund instead of springing it on him the way he did.”

  “Can you blame him? He probably wants to ensure Jake settles down with one woman instead of following the same destructive path as his father.”

  “Probably, but more importantly, this could be the answer to all your problems,” Kate said. “Jake would be generous, I’m sure of it. Remember, his grandfather’s absolutely loaded.”

  “I’d rather die than take Jake’s money. “There has to be another way.”

  “This way just arrived on a silver platter. You can’t ignore that,” Kate said.

  “Yes I can.” Furthermore, she intended to.

  “Chances like this don’t sashay by every day. The door opened. You have to walk through,” Kate said. “It’s a sign.”

  At best, it was a sign she should sashay for the hills. Jake broke her heart and almost a year later, the pieces were still scattered about. She hadn’t even attempted to gather them back up let alone put them back together again. “My gut tells me if I try, the door will either slam in my face or smack me in the ass as I walk through.”

  “I swear. You’re such a Negative Nellie today. Can you at least pretend you’re capable of positive thought?”

  “I prefer to think of myself as realistic. Unlike you, Miss Scarlett, your tomorrow-is-another-day philosophy doesn’t work for me. Certain things are better left in the past.”

  “Whatever,” Kate said and Amanda heard Sam calling Kate’s name. “I have to run, hubby’s waiting. Think about it and call me later.”

  Amanda hung up and tapped the phone against her chin as she stared at the ceiling. Maybe Kate was right and Jake’s proposal could solve her money problems. Maybe it was a sign. She pondered the possibility for a few minutes and then shook her head. She didn’t believe in signs or happy endings. She hadn’t since the night her parents died. That night, she’d become a hardcore realist. But two years ago, she’d met Jake at Kate and Sam’s wedding and their instant attraction had fueled dreams she hadn’t allowed herself since she was a young girl. Unfortunately, the dreams died when Jake dumped her, claiming they were too different to make it work.