Fiance by Fate by Jennifer Shirk

nowhere in sight. Jack’s large frame, on the other hand, she’d have to be punched in both eyes to miss. No wonder Mrs. Metzger reacted the way she did. Taking up almost all the room in her tiny kitchen, Jack stood there tall and menacing with his shadowy beard and gruff expression. The look in his blue eyes practically screamed, I’m about to blow at any second . It almost made her take an involuntary step back.
    However, on second glance, Jack’s disheveled hair combined with the tomato dripping from his chin and chest had her biting back a laugh despite her aching head.
    His angry glare now aimed in her direction. “This isn’t funny.”
    “You’re right,” she agreed, struggling for composure. “Having V-8 thrown in your face first thing in the morning isn’t the least bit funny.” She set down the bat on the counter and folded her arms at him. “But I’d like to know what you’re doing here.”
    Jack took the stack of paper towels Mrs. Metzger handed him and began blotting his face. “You invited me to stay, but I can see I got more than I bargained for here.” He cast a meaningful glance at her landlord.
    Sabrina’s mouth dropped open. “I did what?”
    “Excuse me,” Mrs. Metzger broke in. She stopped wiping the floor and inspected Jack. She seemed to like what she saw. “Who are you, anyway?”
    He held out his hand, suddenly all business. “Jack Brenner. I’m the new boyfriend.”
    Oh, no. Sabrina gingerly held a hand over her eyes. The lies continue …
    “Boyfriend?” Mrs. Metzger looked at Sabrina for confirmation, and she could only manage a slight shrug. “Oh, I’m very sorry,” she told him, shaking his hand. “I didn’t hear you two come in last night. Had I known Sabrina was going to bring home a…a guest, I wouldn’t have attacked you like I did.” She set down her mug and leaned slyly into Sabrina. “You did good,” she said with a wink. “I’ll go change now, but there’s more juice in the fridge.”
    After Mrs. Metzger walked past them, Sabrina pinned a hard glare on Jack. “Why in the world would I ask you to stay?” she whispered heatedly.
    “We both had too much to drink last night, so you told me to stay, and you’d drive me to pick up my car in the morning.”
    “Oh.” She vaguely remembered that now, as she rubbed her forehead. It kind of made sense.
    Without warning, Jack tore off his damp T-shirt in front of her, making her legs tremble a bit with anticipation of what might come off next. She stared at his bare chest, feeling even more off balance when his hands traveled to his bellybutton. Jack paused, then looked up at her with a hint of amusement. A rush of heat seized her cheeks, and her gaze shot to the wall behind him, then to the counter, then to the floor. She had a sneaking suspicion Jack knew his body was impressive, so she was not about to give him the satisfaction of ogling it. Yet somehow—despite her will—her eyes kept being drawn in to catch peeks of his dark chest hair. It seemed to be distributed along those sculpted pecs of his with absolute perfection.
    Suddenly curious, Sabrina looked down at herself. She was still wearing the same black dress from last night. That also made sense. But something else kept nagging at her as she thought about three adults staying in her one little apartment.
    She looked back up, willing her eyes on his and not his body. “Uh, Jack, where exactly did you sleep last night?”
    A lazy grin swept over his rugged face. “With you.”
    She was afraid of that.
    She lunged for the bat. “I should have known,” she spat.
    Jack quickly held up his hands, trying to control his laughter. “Take it easy, will you? Jeez, you’re touchy. I slept with you in your room, but on the floor . By the way, my back’s paying for that one.”
    “Oh.” She didn’t want to think about why she felt a trickle of disappointment at that. Jack had been a gentleman. That was…good. But she had to wonder if he even tried