Page 44 of An Engagement for Erica

She returned it and realized maybe he just needed the hug for comfort.

If it felt better than any other contact she’d had with a man before, her lips were going to remain sealed.

How do you compare a fully clothed hug to being intimate with past lovers that you’d had a relationship with?

You couldn’t. Yet here she was wondering what she’d just gotten herself involved in.

Hours later, she was walking in the door with a pizza in her hand. Her sister was working upstairs. Erica had taken over her father’s office downstairs. Harmony snagged a spare bedroom next to her room to work out of, but her sister often ended up all over the house.

It was as if her sister smelled the food when Erica hadn’t even said she was bringing it home.

The feet came pounding down the stairs.

“Dinner! You’re the best.”

Seemed to be the day to be told that.

Before she’d left Tucker’s office he’d commented on her being the best too.

She just smiled and went about her day trying to figure out what they were going to do if this charade continued.

Sixty percent of her wanted to get a text from him later tonight to say not to worry, it didn’t come up and they were in the clear for now.

The other forty percent wanted to see where things went.

How crazy was that?

“I am that today,” she said. “I’m dying for greasy fattening food. I thought my sister would share it with me.”

“Always,” Harmony said. “What’s the reasoning? Things crazy at work?”

“A bit more than expected. Everything was cooling down and getting under control until TC had his stroke. Now there is crazy panic as if the doors are going to close tomorrow with Tucker in control.”

Harmony frowned. “That sucks for him. You said he’s been making great changes.”

“He has so far, but the employees are run by fear. I’ve seen it happen enough. You can’t always reason with someone when they are motivated by something beyond their control.”

Which just about summed up Tucker asking her to be his fake fiancée.

He was controlled by his concern for his grandfather’s health.

She was positive it didn’t have anything to do with the worry of the business but for the man who was one of the most important figures in his life.

“That always makes it hard,” Harmony said, taking a piece of veggie pizza out of the box. “So much for fattening food. Where’s the meat?”

“Sorry,” she said. “This is what I was craving.”

“It’s all good,” Harmony said. “Any time I don’t have to cook, I love it. How about we go out for a drink tonight? I want to celebrate.”

“What’s going on? What did I miss?”

Harmony started to dance around the room. “I just got two big jobs.”

“Two?” she asked. “That’s wonderful.”

“They are both referrals from people I worked with in Manhattan. I hated to reach out to my contacts there, but you were right and it worked. I sent over the contracts today and hope to get them back signed by Monday. I’ll be busy for a few months.”

She hugged her sister. “I’m so happy for you. Are they local or do you have to travel?”

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