“I play to win,” he murmured without moving his lips. “Besides, this is your idea, my dear. I’m just following your plan.”
“You are purposefully misunderstanding my plan—” I whispered angrily.
“It’s only temporary,” Grant pointed out, pretending to kiss me on the cheek. “And it’ll be worth your while. You’ll be able to accomplish so much in such a short time—haven’t you been saying all along what you’d do with the company if you had the clout? Well, now you will. Besides—” His eyes cut to the side, indicating the crowd. “Are you really going to let all these nice people down? They live such boring, stilted lives of spreadsheets and financial quarters—let them have a little romance.”
I could care less about giving some vicarious thrills to a bunch of desk jockeys, but the company…All those jobs, everyone counting on us, counting on me…
I made the mistake of looking out at the crowd. Their eyes were wide as dinner plates, their shoulders tense as they waited with bated breath.
They were waiting for me.
I looked back at Grant, his dark blue eyes so open, so vulnerable.
So fake.
But we did make a good team.
I smiled sweetly and mouthed You’re a bastard at him. Alarm flashed in his eyes, but before he could do a single thing I turned to the crowd, gave the biggest, most genuine smile I could muster—
And cried, “Yes!”
If I’d thought the applause was loud before, it deafened me now, breaking over my ears like a falling wall.
Flashbulbs went off like lighting, and the two of us were engulfed in a crowd of well-wishers, hugging and thumping backs and planting loud smacking kisses on our cheeks. It was a whirlwind—hell, it was a tornado—and I felt like I was going to be swept away in the undertow.
I would have been swept away in the undertow, if it hadn’t been for Grant’s strong arm around my shoulders, and the gentle way his hand stroked my arm, calming me. Once, the press of people became so great that I almost tripped, and he caught me, sliding the engagement ring onto my finger.
The diamond glittered under the lights, and seeing it there suddenly made this real.
I was engaged. To Grant Devlin.
What the hell just happened? Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?
Or the best?