Engaging The Enemy. Reese Ryan

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       Three

      “Are you all done?” Parker sat at one end of the conference-room table, fuming as his father, brothers Blake and Max, and sister, Zora, laughed so hard that tears came to their eyes. “If so, I’d like to get back to the business at hand.”

      “That Kayleigh is a shrewd businesswoman.” His father dabbed his eyes with a hankie, then stuffed it into his pocket. “You have to give her that.”

      He could think of things he’d like to give Kayleigh Jemison. A compliment wasn’t one of them.

      She’d turned him into the family punch line and seemed determined to make the next few months of his life a nightmare. They still had to iron out the details, but he’d have to spend the next few months getting to know her. It’d be like two betta fish being placed in a single bowl.

      “C’mon, Parker, don’t try to act like you’re not secretly looking forward to a little alone time with Kayleigh.” Zora wiped away tears with her knuckle. “It’s no secret you have a little—”

      “I’m not and I don’t.” He addressed his sister—the baby of the family—pointedly. “Now, if we could get back to the details of the contract.”

      “Savannah won’t believe it when I tell her this.” Blake chuckled.

      “Neither will Mom,” Max added, shaking his head. “Once we finally tell her. But I’m sure the prospect of marrying off another one of her kids will thrill her to death.”

      “No one is getting married.” Parker’s voice came out shriller than he’d intended. He straightened his tie and released a slow breath. “I’m glad I could provide you all with a bit of amusement today, but we can finish this around the dinner table on Sunday.” He tapped his Bvlgari Roma Finissimo watch. “Right now we’re on the clock and I need to get the team’s agreement on the details of this contract so I can get it revised and signed before Kayleigh changes her mind.”

      “Parker’s right,” his father said, with one final chuckle. “Time is of the essence. I think I speak for all of us when I say, we gladly accept Miss Jemison’s terms.”

      Of course they did.

      They weren’t the ones sentenced to spend the next three months in hell.

      “So, when were you going to tell me you proposed to Parker?” Savannah Abbott asked as Kayleigh slid into her seat in their favorite booth at the Magnolia Lake Bakery.

      “First, I did not propose to Parker. Second, he said I wasn’t permitted to talk to anyone about the deal, so I couldn’t tell you.”

      “I had to hear it from Blake.” Savannah’s hazel eyes danced. “I thought it was an April Fools’ joke.”

      Savannah was Parker Abbott’s sister-in-law. When she’d come to town three years ago, she’d loathed the Abbotts as much as Kayleigh did. But while carrying out her plan to prove that half of the King’s Finest Distillery rightfully belonged to her grandfather, Martin McDowell, Savannah had fallen for Blake Abbott. In the end it turned out that neither of their grandfathers had been completely honest about what had happened to their partnership all those years ago.

      They’d both fessed up and Joseph Abbott had felt guilty enough to give McDowell and his two granddaughters—Savannah and her younger sister, Delaney—a share of the business. He’d also written Martin a seven-figure check.

      “Honestly, I was kind of relieved that I couldn’t tell you about my deal with Parker. It’s embarrassing to admit that I needed to barter for a date to my friend’s wedding.”

      “Why did you feel you needed to?” Savannah employed the same patient, soothing tone she used when trying to reason with her nearly two-year-old son, Davis.

      “This isn’t just any friend’s wedding. She’s my ex’s younger sister.”

      “The guy you moved to Atlanta with after college?” Savannah looked up from sipping her coffee.

      “Aidan.” Kayleigh confirmed with a nod. “He’s married now. To a gorgeous woman from the right family. Last I heard, they had a couple of kids together.” Kayleigh gripped her mug tighter in response to the tightness in her chest.

      “I’m starting to get the picture.” Savannah squeezed her friend’s hand. “But, sweetie, you were the one who walked away. You have nothing to prove to him or anyone else.”

      “I know, but the thought of being the only one there alone while everyone else on the island is boo’d up...” Kayleigh heaved a sigh and raked her fingers through her curls. “I couldn’t bear for Aidan to look at me and feel like he dodged a bullet by not marrying me. Or worse, that he’d pity me.”

      “If he thinks that, he’s a fool.” Savannah gave her hand one last squeeze before picking up her mug and taking a sip of her vanilla decaf latte. “So I understand why you felt compelled to take someone as your date, but why Parker? I thought you couldn’t stand him.”

      “I can’t.” Kayleigh’s eyes met her friend’s. She blew out a long breath. “But this was going to be awkward, no matter who I brought along. I figured that at least with Parker, I know exactly who I’m dealing with, so there won’t be any misunderstandings. This is a business deal, not a hookup.”

      The corner of Savannah’s mouth lifted in a smirk. She brought the mug to her lips and mumbled under her breath, “If you say so.”

      “You don’t actually think I want to spend an entire week sharing a room with Parker Abbott.”

      Savannah shrugged as she sipped her latte. “You two do have pretty passionate feelings for one another.”

      “It’s pure, unadulterated loathing. Nothing more. Now can we change the subject?”

      “After you answer a few more questions.” Savannah set her cup down and leaned forward, folding her arms on the table. “Since you went for broke and declared that you were bringing your fiancé, won’t it become painfully obvious that you two dislike each other?”

      “Like I said, I may not have been thinking clearly.” She shrugged. “I figured СКАЧАТЬ