Page 7 of Seduced by Her Billionaire Fake Fiancé

“Would you mind?” She asked, moving one hand to the ring and holding it. “This was my mother’s. She wanted me to have it. To wear it if I ever—when I—,” but she couldn’t finish the sentence. Max nodded curtly, striding to stand behind her, using one hand to catch all of her flaxen hair and scoop it over a shoulder, his fingertips brushing the soft flesh at her nape as he took hold of the chain. His hands were big and they felt more so against the delicate necklace and even more delicate neck. She was very fine-boned, he realized, standing this close. Her breasts were large, giving her the appearance of being more statuesque than she actually was. Up close, he could see that she was almost out of proportion, with a slim frame and curvaceous chest, leading him to wonder if they were synthetic. But there was something so natural about her. She wore no nail polish, minimal make up and her hair, up close, he could see was naturally blonde. The idea of her having breast implants seemed unlikely.

He ignored a strange, totally inappropriate flash of desire to reach around and cup her breasts for himself. The very temptation galvanized him to work faster. He undid the necklace, carrying both ends of it to his palms, and removing the ring from the chain. It was a simple solitaire diamond, large enough though not bigger than two carats. The sentimental importance of the jewel overrode any other concerns, such as the fact he might have chosen a far more spectacular ring for his real fiancée.

“Here,” he said, gruffly. “Give me your hand.”

“I can do it,” she murmured, not meeting his eyes, her skin betrayingly flushed.

“But we have to practice acting like a couple,” he pointed out. “Let’s start with this.”

Slowly, reluctantly, she lifted her hand towards him and with a discernible lack of reluctance on his part, he took hold of it by the fingertips, holding her steady as he carried the ring towards the tip of her finger then slid it down. Her eyes were transfixed by the gesture and a single tear rolled down one cheek.

“If you hate this so much, why did you suggest it?” He asked, wondering at the churning in his gut.

“It’s not that.” Her eyes pierced him, making him feel something totally new and foreign: sympathy. “I’m just used to seeing this on my mother’s hand. I’ve worn it on my necklace every day since…since we lost her. It’s…hard,” she said finally.

“When did she die?”

“A couple of years ago,” Andie murmured, clearly doing her best to get her emotions under control. “You’ll sign the contract?”

“Leave it with me,” he murmured. “Where are you staying?”

“In Rome.”

“We’ll fly to New York together tomorrow.” He reached for his phone, handed it to her. “Put your number in here.”

She nodded, eyes glinting now with determination. He couldn’t help but admire the way she was throwing herself into this. He’d always been a problem solver himself. He watched as she typed her number then pressed dial, so her own phone began to ring.

“I’ll text you the flight information once it’s been arranged.”

“Okay.”

“And we’ll use the flight to get to know one another,” he said. “Just the biographical details we’ll need to pull this off.”

Her eyes widened, as if that hadn’t occurred to her, but then she nodded again, gaze dropping to the ring on her hand in a way that made his pity for her grow.

“Andie?” He asked, walking her towards the door, noting again how fragile, yet ethereally beautiful she was.

“Yes?”

“You made the right choice. I can already tell we’re going to make an excellent team.”

* * *

“Absolutely not!”She shouted, shaking her head in disbelief. She was crazy to be doing this. Crazy to have gotten into bed with this man, so to speak. Crazy because every instinct had told her he was as ruthless as the reports stated, that he wasn’t someone to be trusted. And here they were, half-way to Manhattan, and he was already moving the goal posts.

“Fifty-one percent,” he said emphatically. “It’s the only way I can get my sister and brother to sign off on this.”

Andie floundered. “I will not yield control of my company to you.”

“I’m fronting up billions of dollars,” he pointed out. “Surely that buys me more than my name on a door in your office.”

“Yes, it buys you a position as general manager. Except I see you’ve changed that too—Executive Director?”

His nostrils flared. “And if you read the new contract, you’ll see that your position as CEO is guaranteed for a five-year period.”

“Gee, how magnanimous of you to allow me to continue operating as head ofmy parents’company.”

“That is quickly becoming worthless,” he pointed out.

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