You would have thought Stephan was a movie star by how flustered the secretary became when he addressed her. Who could blame her? He belonged in a calendar gracing any month that represented HOT. He didn’t even have to get undressed to make women drool. He had the kind of animal magnetism that worked on the female libido regardless of what he wore.

Nicole turned another page of the magazine.

That was part of Stephan’s problem. He expected women to fall at his feet.

“Nicole,” he said as he stood above her, about a foot away.

“Oh, Stephan. You’re here. Great, I told the secretary not to announce us until you arrived.”

“I expected to come here together.”

Poor Stephan. He didn’t look very happy about being ditched. Nicole fought back a smile. “I had a few places I needed to go this morning.” She laid the magazine down and stood, watching Stephan’s reaction and hoping. The dark blue dress she’d chosen for the day was perfectly acceptable for a business meeting, but it also hugged her lean frame and left just enough of her legs exposed that she felt sexy in it. Another perk of having money was that with one phone call she’d found a makeup artist who was willing to meet her that morning and give her some tips on how to subtly accentuate.

The effort proved worth it. Stephan leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You look incredible in that dress, but I’d love to see you out of it even more.”

She looked up at him from beneath her now long lashes and teased, “Has that line ever worked on a woman?”

He went a sudden shade of pink. “Yes,” he said defensively.

And she burst out laughing at the expression on his face.

He didn’t share her humor.

Nicole didn’t gloat long. Stephan leaned forward, his hot breath tickling her ear before his words did, “So, that dress isn’t for me? You didn’t imagine how my hands would feel as I slid…”

Further conversation was halted by the inner door of the office opening and Gavin Burke, Nicole’s personal lawyer, coming out to greet them. Despite the interruption, it took a moment for Nicole to shake the image Stephan had whispered. Her skin quivered in anticipation of his hands sliding her already short hem higher, cupping her, pulling her against him. She prayed the light flush that spread across her chest would go unnoticed.

Gavin took both of her hands in his. He was several inches shorter than Stephan, but attractive in a cute-boy-next-door-moves-to-NY-and-becomes-a-corporate-lawyer sort of way. There had never been any chemistry between them, but Stephan didn’t know that. Gavin gave her a kiss on one cheek then stepped back and held her hands away from her sides to appreciate her transformation. “Wow. Look at you. You look good.”

Nicole graced him with a huge smile. Gavin had always been kind to her. No legal request was too small. He was only in his late thirties, but he’d made a fortune by helping influential people find creative ways to interpret documents. He could have tried to use their acquaintance to facilitate a connection with the powerful men in her family, but he never had.

And that was why she trusted him.

“I thought it was time for a change,” she said.

He held her hands a moment longer. “You were always beautiful, but now you’re glowing. It’s nice to see you smiling.”

Nicole felt her face flush as she remembered exactly which comment had put that glow on her cheeks.

Stephan stepped closer, looking less than pleased at their conversation, “Stephan Andrade.” Somehow he made his name sound like a threat. He slid a possessive hand onto the small of Nicole’s back.

Gavin released Nicole to offer his hand to Stephan, “Gavin Burke. Before we start, I’d like to make it clear that I represent Nicole’s interests. You might want to have your own people read the contract over before you sign it.”

Stephan shook his hand, but Nicole could have sworn she saw Gavin wince when he did. Stephan said, “I have every intention of doing just that.”

“It’s probably also not a good idea for anyone outside of this office to know that your engagement isn’t real,” Gavin added.

In response to Stephan’s look of displeasure, Nicole said, “I told Gavin the truth. I trust him.”

“Apparently,” Stephan said, not making an effort to hide his disapproval. His hand dropped from her back.

She and Gavin shared a quick look, the kind that makes you giggle in church. She bit her lip and shook her head. Stephan did take himself a bit too seriously, but nothing would be gained by annoying him to the point where he walked out without signing the paperwork.

Gavin led the way to a table where he had the paperwork laid out. After they were all seated, he said, “It’s pretty cut and dried. This is essentially a pre-prenuptial. Read it over. Stephan you’re agreeing that in the event of your engagement to Nicole ending, you will give her the right of first refusal at the same price that you purchased Corisi Ltd. You’re also agreeing that for the extent of time that Corisi Ltd is owned by you, Nicole Corisi will be the acting CEO unless she resigns the position. Nicole, by signing this contract you are going forward with your father’s initial acceptance of Stephan’s buyout offer. The company and it’s profits will be solely Stephan’s until such a time that you either break off your engagement or you marry. Marriage will revert the company to a co-ownership status without the necessity of monetary exchange. Are the terms acceptable to you both?”

A knock at the door was followed by an apologetic secretary’s stepping into the room for a moment, “Mr. Burke, I’m so sorry to interrupt, but there is a man here who is adamant that he see Miss Corisi immediately.”

Who would come here?

Nicole held her breath the long moment it took the secretary to add, “He said his name is George Miles. I told him you were busy, but he insists that it’s urgent.”

Stephan spun back to Nicole and asked, “Miles…isn’t he….”

Nicole nodded. “He’s the Vice President of marketing at Corisi Ltd.”

“Did you tell him why you’re here?”

Nicole said, “No.” Then she remembered something. “But I did tell Thomas.”

Gavin didn’t seem to mind the interruption at all. He said, “Send him in. This should be interesting.”

George rushed into the office, his face was red and his forehead glistened with sweat as if he had taken the stairs. “Nicole. Is it too late? Did you sign anything yet?”

Nicole got up to meet him. “George, calm down.” The last thing her month needed was another heart attack.

“Did you sign anything?”

“No, not yet, but I’m going to.”

He wiped his forehead. “You don’t have to.” The glare he gave Stephan made his opinion of him clear to everyone in the room. “When Thomas told me what you were planning, I knew why you were doing it. You’re afraid your brother is going to fire all of us when he takes over, and you think this is the only way you can stop him.”

It is, Nicole thought.

“But it’s not,” George rushed to say. “I’ve invested well over the years. A few of the others have also. If we pool our resources and you take out a partial loan, we could buy Corisi Ltd outright.”

Nicole whispered, “I can’t take your money.” It was a moot point anyway since the only purchaser the will would allow was Stephan.

“Then let Dominic run the company for a while. Even if he fires all of us, we’ll be ok. You don’t have to do this.” And by this he clearly meant Stephan.

“I can’t lose you, too.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but the truth poured out of her in a tone so full of desperation that the room instantly, painfully stilled. Oh, God. Why did I say that?

The older man’s eyes shone with responding emotion. “Is that what this is about, Nicole? I’ve known you since you were five. My wife jokes that you are the out-of-marriage child I never had to pay support for. Do you think you won’t be welcome at my house on the holidays because of anything your brother could do?”

That’s exactly what I think.

Nicole fisted her hands and kept her thoughts to herself.

George stepped closer and laid a gentle hand on one of her stiff arms. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. We know who you are and nothing and no one could change that. Come on. Come back to the office with me and we’ll find another solution.”

No.

Nicole searched Stephan’s face for some hint of what he was thinking. She wasn’t sure what she was hoping she’d see, but she was disappointed when she saw nothing.

In the beginning it had all been about saving the jobs of the people she’d known since childhood, but somehow it had become much more complicated than that. Was she a fool to hope that beneath Stephan’s tough exterior he was still the man she remembered?

She was moved beyond words that George and the others had charged to her rescue. She’d never dared to hope that they could care for her the way she cared about them. She would never forget this day; the day she saw her first proof that some things could survive the Corisi curse.

If all of this was still only about saving the jobs of George and the others, she might have walked out that door and taken him up on his brainstorming offer. However, somewhere along the way, she’d let herself begin to hope again.

She couldn’t walk away from Stephan and his family. Not yet. If she did, there was a good chance she’d never see any of them again. Seven years ago, she’d run back to her father’s house and accepted the loss as inevitable. This time she wasn’t willing to leave so easily, and right now the fake engagement was the only thing holding them together.

I’m not afraid of the fight anymore.

The old her would have chosen to play it safe. She would have gone along with her father’s will and thought there was nothing she could do about it. She would have accepted the superficial intimacy Stephan had offered her and expected him to leave her.

Not anymore.

If she lost her inheritance, it wouldn’t be because she hadn’t fought for it.

And if she and Stephan separated at the end of this fake engagement, she was going to walk away knowing that she had been brave enough to keep her heart open, and strong enough to demand to be treated with respect.

Her decision was made.

Nicole hugged George and said, “I love you for coming here today, George. I’ll never forget that you did this for me, but I’m here because I want to be. Stephan and I fell in love back when I worked for his father, and we’ve been secretly seeing each other for a while now.” She walked over and took Stephan’s hand, smiling up at him to prove to George that there was nothing lascivious going on. “I want to marry Stephan. I love him. Please, try to be happy for me.”

Stephan pulled her into his side and she could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest.

George looked back and forth between them, not quite sure he was willing to believe her. “You’re sure?”

Nicole wrapped both arms around Stephan’s middle and rested her check on his chest. “I’m sure. Go back and tell everyone that we’ll invite them to our engagement party when we have one, so they can celebrate with us.”