Page 27 of Deal with Mr. Cruel

Chapter 12

Mae

The next day in the office, Mae sat at her desk, holding her hand in front of her face. It still hadn’t hit her that she was engaged. No,married. Of course, it wasn’t real. She somehow had to keep reminding herself of that every now and again, but this ring wasreal.All ten carats of it. The solitaire emerald-cut stone was set in a simple gold band, and cast a hundred flashes of light around her office. Jonas did well. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he picked them out himself. But he had people for that.

Still, when he placed the rings on her finger last night, she couldn’t help but feel something between them. It was his silent, almost nervous composure. The slight shake of his hands as he held hers that sent warmth through her whole body. There was a stillness in the room, as if time had momentarily stopped just for them.

“Jonas. This is too much,” she had said, staring at the ring as it gently rested on the hand in her lap.

He shrugged modestly. She admired the ring a moment longer before holding out her hand expectantly.

“What?” Jonas raised his eyebrows.

“It’s your turn. Give me your ring.”

He slid his hand into his back pocket and handed her a small velvet box. Maybe it was the champagne or getting caught up in the moment, but Mae got on her knee and opened the box. Jonas let out a laugh and shook his head.

“Jonas Lee Matthews. Will you marry me forallthe wrong reasons?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

“I would love nothing more,” he said, holding back a laugh. Mae slid the simple gold band on his finger and pulled herself up onto the couch. They poured two more glasses of champagne and celebrated this outrageous plan that, for a moment, felt real. It almost felt like it did all those years ago.

There was a knock at Mae’s door, pulling her from the memory of last night, and she abruptly lowered her hand and opened her laptop, trying to look busy. “Come in,” she called out.

The door opened and Braydon stepped in. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. How was she going to hide the giant ring on her finger? They hadn’t announced their engagement to anyone yet. Jonas wanted to wait until the charity festival, but insisted they wear their rings so their story panned out. Still, Mae wasn’t prepared to answer questions, especially from her nosy boss.

“Hi, Braydon,” she said, a little too enthusiastically.

He gave her a look before gesturing to the chair across from her desk.

“Yes, please. Sit, sit.” Mae nodded.

“I was hoping we could talk about the upcoming festival.” Braydon eased himself into the chair.

“Sure,” Mae said, placing her hands on her lap and out of sight. How in the world was she supposed to keep this up?

“Can you pull up the guest list for the chairmen?” Braydon nodded toward her laptop.

“Mhmm.” She angled the laptop in front of her and began nervously opening documents. “Here it is.”

She turned the laptop quickly to face Braydon and covered her left hand. But not quickly enough.

“What is that?” Braydon eyed her hands.

“Hmm?”

“That. The huge diamond that just momentarily blinded me.”

Mae felt panic run through her, leaving her speechless. She should have been more prepared for this.

“Mae! Did you get engaged?” Braydon asked, his voice rising.

She nodded slowly and gave him a nervous smile. “Married, actually.”

“When? How? Who?” Braydon stood from his seat excitedly.

“Calm down. Before you give yourself a heart attack,” she said with a laugh.

Braydon scoffed and placed his hands on her desk, leaning in. “Tell me everything.”

---