Page 4 of Kane: One Night with a Biker

4

ABILENE

Iwasn’t too proud to beg, and based on the way the buff biker’s jaw tightened, he was about to give me a major brush off.

“There’s this guy at the office. He’s the owner’s son, and he’s been hounding me for the past couple of months to go out with him. I tried telling him I was seeing someone, but he hasn’t backed down.”

Kane glanced up. His eyes looked almost black. “You want me to kick his ass?”

“Gosh, no. I was hoping you’d pretend to be my boyfriend on this trip. If I don’t go, I won’t get the promotion I’ve been working toward.” I tightened my grip on his hand. “And if I go alone, I’m afraid this guy will make my life a living hell.”

Kane slid his hand out from under mine. “You should have bid on someone else. No one would ever believe the two of us are together.”

“Why not?”

He leaned closer. Close enough that I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. “You’re the pastor’s daughter.”

I tried to take in a shaky breath. “So?”

“I’m bad news, sweetheart. Didn’t your daddy ever warn you about guys like me?”

I wasn’t about to tell him what type of things my dad had said about him and some of his foster brothers. “I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions about who I date.”

“Is that so?” His eyes crinkled up at the edges. He didn’t believe me. He thought I was some weak pushover of a girl who had no idea what she was getting herself into.

But I needed him. I’d been spinning tales about having a boyfriend for months now. If I showed up without a guy in tow for the trip, Judd would know I’d been lying all along. Unless I wanted to confess and subject myself to Judd’s unwanted advances, I needed Kane. Which meant I’d be willing to do just about anything to get him to agree to be my plus one.

“What do you want?” I forced myself to keep the nerves out of my voice. “There’s got to be something I can offer if an all-expenses paid trip isn’t enough.”

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Then they narrowed, and he rubbed his hand over the scruff on his chin again. “I’m not into playing games, little bird.”

“I’m not either. You give me five nights as my fake boyfriend, and I’ll give you five nights as your real girlfriend.” I’d been saving myself for true love, but after twenty-three years, I had little hope of finding it. At least giving myself to Kane would guarantee my first time would be with someone who knew what he was doing. Besides, if my love life kept going the way it had been, I’d probably die a hundred-year-old virgin.

“My real girlfriend, huh?” Kane lowered his chin. “Can I assume being my real girlfriend comes along with all the perks I might expect?”

I steadied my shaking hand by pressing it deeper into the soft fur on the puppy’s back. “Yes.”

Kane shook his head. “I know I’m going to regret this, but fine. I’ll go on your trip and pretend to be your boyfriend.”

Relief flooded my system. I reached out and threw my arms around his neck, nearly toppling both of us over. “Thank you.”

He wrapped one big, thick arm around my middle and held me against him as he stood. “If we’re going to make people believe we’ve been dating for a while, we’re probably going to need to get to know each other a little better. When do we have to leave on this trip?”

I bit down on my lip. “The boat leaves from Galveston on Tuesday.”

“As in this Tuesday?” He set me on my feet and bent down to pick up the dog. “You could have started with that. I’ve got too much going on to be able to take off on such short notice. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to find yourself another guy.”

“I can’t. I’ve already tried.” I’d already been bolder than I ever imagined I could be. I had nothing left to offer.

He held my gaze for a long moment. “I’m sorry, Abilene. If I had more notice…”

Nodding, I shrugged off his jacket and handed it back to him. “It’s okay. I’ll figure something out.”

He held the door for me, and I ducked back into the gym. Convincing Kane to be my fake boyfriend had been a long shot. It was time to own up to my lie and deal with the repercussions. If I wanted any chance of getting that promotion, I had to go on the trip, but maybe I could head Judd off before he made a pass.

“How’d it go?” Valera asked from behind me.

A surge of disappointment swept through my chest. “He can’t get away on such short notice.”

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