Page 13 of Bargain Match

Or how much I appreciate the way his white shirt clings to his broad, wet shoulders.

My belly clenches. I shouldn’t be looking at him like that. And I definitely shouldn’t feel any kind of attraction—let alone desire—for him. He’s my best friend, for crying out loud. And my business partner. Feeling anything other than that for him can only complicate this already tricky situation.

Still, there’s no sense in denying the truth.

Burke is a sexy man. And someday, he’s going to make a lucky person very happy.

“So,” Glynis says as she arrives at our table in the Great Hall to add more wine to our glasses. “We’ve been keen to know. How did the pair of ye meet?”

I open my mouth, ready to invent some fantastic tale about how Burke rescued me from a bear while I was out for a hike inthe wilderness—or maybe that I fell into a stream and he dove in headfirst to pluck me from the crashing currents.

But Burke speaks up before I can decide on which story to weave.

“We met at school.”

I frown, disappointed that he’s gone with the truth.

“Oh, childhood friends turned into romance.” She rests a hip against the table. “Or was it love at first sight?”

Again, Burke beats me to the chase. “I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.”

I blink in surprise. Okay. Clearly, he’s decided to go with a mix of lies and the truth to sell our story and make it convincing. I guess that’s what all the conmen say in the movies. You have to have some truth in your lie. Otherwise, no one will believe you.

And we need people to believe us if we’re going to convince them we’re in love and earn our stipend and prize money.

“I don’t blame ye.” Glynis beams at us in approval. “With all those reddish-gold curls and those dark blue eyes. Yer a bonny lass. Ye look like a sunset over the River Isla.”

My cheeks flush at the compliment. I lift my wine glass to hide some of it.

“And yer a handsome lad.” Glynis gives Burke a thorough once-over. “Why, I bet ye could toss a caber with the best of them during the Highland Games.”

Burke chokes on his wine. His cheeks are every bit as red as mine. Good.

“Anyway,” he clears his throat. “Hadley was new in town. She and her mom had just moved to Alaska. She seemed a little… out of her element.”

“That’s an understatement.” I give a short laugh. “We moved up from Las Vegas, and nothing about living there prepared me for life in the Alaskan wilderness.”

Glynis’s eyes grow wide. “I should imagine not.”

“But Burke took me under his wing.” I smile at him from across the table. “He showed me how to hike a steep incline without breaking my neck and all the best spots for fishing. Pretty soon, I loved it almost as much as he did.”

“She was a natural.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I swirl the wine around in my cup. “I seem to remember getting tangled up in a fishing wire on at least one occasion. And I remember having to accept a piggyback ride home from a certain burly young man who was the center on the high school’s football team.”

His lips twitch. “Yeah, well, you’ve done a lot to help me out over the years too.”

“Right, I’m sure.”

“You’re the one who talked me into starting the business.”

“Which is something we’ve yet to see pan out.”

“But we will.”

“Oh, the pair of ye are in business, too.” Glynis clasps her hands together happily. “That’s just like me and m’Malcolm. Did ye hear that, Malcolm? These young ones are in business too.”

“Aye, mo chridhe.”

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