Delilah was so high with happiness, she felt as if she
floated across the parking
garage toward her car. She sighed. Theyโd finally kissed.
She lifted her fingers to
her lips. They still tingled from the warm contact. It had
been as wonderful as sheโd
dreamed it would be. Heโd tasted so masculine, felt so
strong. Itโd made her feel
feminine, sexy even.
She shook her head and grinned. She was going to marry Chas
Regan. Amazing.
All this time sheโd been pining away for the guy andโwho
knew?โheโd been doing the
same thing for her!
Since heโd returned to the family business a year ago, moved
back to Houston from
Boston, they had formed a companionable friendship. Based
mostly on their shared
interest in charity work. He was very much involved in
funding for cancer researchโhis
mother had died of a rare form of it a little less than two
years agoโand that was one of
Delilahโs pet charities as well.
Once theyโd met up again at a charity benefit, become
reacquainted, theyโd started
sharing meals together several times a week, sometimes twice
in the same day. Heโd
even begun confiding in her about his devastation at his
motherโs sudden illness and
death, a thing, she was sure, he didnโt speak of with
others. And the more she learned
about him, the man heโd grown up to be, the more sheโd
fallen in love with him.
Of course, she, being the fat one in her family, never
thought for a second that he
could ever think of her in any romantic way.
She stopped walking and thrust her hand out in front of her.
The ring sparkled, even
in the dim light, and the fit was perfect. He must have done
some sleuthing to get it just
right. The thought of him planning for weeks such a romantic
proposal gave her a giddy
feeling in her chest. He loved her! Oh, he hadnโt said the
wordsโhe wasnโt the sort,
she knew. So many men werenโt. At least thatโs what sheโd
read in loads of womenโs
magazines. But she hoped that one day, somehow, sheโd
finally get him to say them
aloud.
She started to walk again, and then it became a jog, and
then a full-out run, which
wasnโt easy in her floral print slim lined dress. She
couldnโt wait to tell her stepmother
and half-sister! Wouldnโt their jaws drop to the floor! Not
only had she managed to pull
their family back into the financial realm theyโd been in
before her fatherโs imprisonment,
but, she, Delilah Perrault, had snagged the one perfect
prospect her stepmother had
pegged to be her skinny, beautiful half-sisterโs future husband.
* * *
Chas hung up the phone. Relief washed over him. The
creditors were going to give
him until a week from this coming Monday to wire them the
money now that he had
access to some funds.
He sat back and gnawed on a piece of dead skin next to his
fingernail. Okay, asking
Delilah to marry him hadnโt been the noblest way to deal
with his dilemma. But heโd
been desperate. Heโd briefly thought of simply asking her
for the money, but heโd
quickly nixed it. He needed this all kept under wraps, and
keeping her in the dark about
it while he โborrowedโ some of her moneyโjust long enough to
swing things back in his
favorโseemed the best plan of action.
His already burning stomach twisted into a knot and he
popped several antacids into
his mouth. Okay. He admitted it. Heโd taken advantage of a
sweet girl who had a crush
on him so that he could keep the hounds at bay a little
longerโand get hold of those
funds he needed.
Heโd pay her back. With interest. And heck, he just might go
through with the
marriage, too. If she really wanted him. He liked her a lot.
She was a good friend. And
easy to talk to. Most times, made him feel calm and settled
inside. His stomach hardly
ever gave him grief when he was with her. That was
something, wasnโt it?
She was pretty, too. Electric blue eyes, dark silky hair,
long limbs, but soft and curvy.
At five-eight, she was just right for his own six-three height.
And, dear God, that kiss theyโd shared! It had sent shock
waves all the way through
him. No, it wouldnโt be such a bad match. Not such a bad
match at all.
Except, he needed her to be on his arm over the next few
months while he proved to
his creditors that he was a responsible sortโthey could
trust him with their money. So,
heโd best spend a little less time at the office and spend
some real time with her. Not in
bed, of course. He wouldnโt be that much of a bastard. Once
heโd paid back the money,
then yes. After that kissโhell yes. But not until then.
His gaze dropped to the ring box on his desk. Good thing his
last fiancรฉeโthe fourth
to be exactโhad over-nighted that ring to his office eight
months ago. It had come in
handy.
* * *
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