The Agreement (An Indecent Proposal) by J. C. Reed, Jackie Steele Page A

sure.”
    He looked so unconvinced, my heart
dropped. Or maybe it wasn’t conviction, but disappointment with my answer.
Maybe he hoped I’d say that we were making a mistake.
    There was my answer.
    I crossed my arms over my chest
and regarded him coldly, waiting for him to take the first step.
    “What?”
    “Nothing.” I shook my head slowly.
“Look, if you don’t want to do this, it’s fine. You don’t even need to tell me.
Just get up and leave, and I’ll get the message. There won’t be any hard
feelings.”
    His hard expression softened a little. “I never said that.”
    “What are you trying to say, then, because I sure as hell
don’t understand you. Do
you want out? Is that why you’re here?”
    “I—” His words failed him. I could see it from the various
expressions crossing his face. Something bothered him. Something he didn’t want
to share with me. I hadn’t known Chase for long, but for some reason I could
sense that he was torn—confused, even.
    For a moment, silence ensued between us. I bit my lip hard
until it burst between my teeth. My tongue flicked over a drop of blood inside
my mouth.
    “How did you even know I went shopping?” I avoided the word
‘dress’ on purpose. Chase shook his head grimly, but remained silent.
    There was only one possibility.
    “Jude told you,” I said. It wasn’t a question; it was a
statement. “Either that, or you followed us.”
    Chase looked up and our gazes met, and for a moment
something shimmered in his eyes. “I didn’t follow you.”
    The dull pain in my head roared to
a full throbbing pulsation. So she had told him.
    I didn’t like the fact that my
best friend was telling him things behind my back. Maybe she was way more smitten with him than I had realized. Or maybe she
hadn’t dropped the idea of asking him to help with the wedding costs. Either
way, I didn’t like it.
    How dare she not tell me?
    “She shouldn’t have talked to
you,” I said.
    “She wouldn’t have if I hadn’t
called her.”
    A pang of jealousy hit me in the
pit of my stomach. “Why did you?” I asked, even though it was none of my
business. I didn’t own him. We weren’t even in a relationship. His silence
worried me. Suddenly I could imagine Chase smiling at Jude with the same
passion he had invested in my smile, asking her on a date, or sending her
flirty messages.
    “Chase?” My voice sounded choked.
“Why did you call her?”
    “Because I wanted to surprise
you.”
    My heart began to pound harder as
I leaned back in shock, then surprise. A minute passed in silence, followed by
another.
    “With what?” I narrowed my eyes,
not trusting him.
    His lips twitched at the corners,
and for the first time his anger seemed lifted, giving him the carefree
expression I had glimpsed before. And then it disappeared again and a frown
took its place. “Doesn’t matter now.” Sitting back, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair, hesitating again.
    He still hadn’t answered my
question why he was here. The realization bothered me.
    “Just so that you know, Chase. You
don’t need to go through with it, you know. I promise you I’ll understand if
you want out.”
    For a moment his expression brightened and I thought I saw
relief in his eyes. He wanted out. The realization hurt me more than I cared to
admit. I smiled bitterly as I realized just how much I had wanted to go through
with it all. Was it so bad that I had been looking forward to marrying him,
even though it was all fake, arranged to suit a purpose?
    Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
    How could I have been so stupid
and let my guard down like that when it wasn’t even real? I should have trusted
my feelings. I shouldn’t have believed it was too good to be true. Too easy. I
should never have gone shopping for a dress. So many should and should-nots,
but the knowledge didn’t ease my anger.
    Interpreting his silence as
agreement, I nodded.
    “All right.” I sighed. “Then let’s
call it all off,” I