Chapter Twelve
"Love letter?" Trent's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Who said it was a love letter?"
Chynna blinked, startled by his reaction. "What else could it be?"
He snorted, turning from her. "What your sister and I had together could hardly be called an affair of the heart."
Of course. She knew that. He didn't have love affairs. He had sexual encounters. That was what everyone said.
Suddenly she felt a surge of sympathy for a man who couldn't find someone to love. Reaching out, she put her hand on his arm and looked up into his face.
"Has your heart ever been touched in any meaningful way?" she asked him softly.
His mouth hardened and so did his gaze. "Sure."
She searched in the shadows of his blue eyes. "I don't believe you."
His own hand covered hers, lacing fingers. "Then I'll prove it to you," he said huskily, and he leaned toward her again.
This time she couldn't move. Frozen to her spot, she closed her eyes and felt his mouth come down on hers, felt her own lips part to accept him, felt him slide inside her, felt the urge to melt against him, hold him close, hold him dear.
But it was all a sham and she knew it. Balling her hands into fists, she shoved hard and pulled herself away from him.
"That's not your heart," she said a bit breathlessly, staring up into his dark face. "That's your libido." She licked her lips, trying to deny her own reaction to his seduction but her hands were trembling. "Besides, the blackmailing period is over," she insisted. "I don't have to pretend to love you anymore. And you don't have to pretend to love me."
Their gazes met and locked but in seconds, the spell was broken. The door swung open and six people streamed into the room.
"Oh, there they are!" one of them called out.
Maggie Steward, Kane Haley's assistant, was leading the group. She'd become quite friendly with Chynna over the past week or so.
"Hey!" she cried. "Your secret is out. It's all over the office. Congratulations, you two!"
They looked at the newcomers, slowly realizing what was going on. Obviously, someone who had been at the party the night before had spilled the beans.
"I didn't even know you knew each other!" said Lauren Connor, a secretary at the firm.
"This is so great," Maggie said, smiling at them. "Have you set the date yet?"
Chynna tried to smile back. This had to be countered right away, but she wasn't sure how to do it. "Well, not exactly," she said. She turned to Trent, waiting to let him do the explaining.
He hesitated, gave her a hapless smile, took her hand, and held it tightly against his chest.
"We're thinking about June," he said brightly. "Or maybe a Christmas wedding, if we just can't wait."
"What?" she said with a gasp, but her exclamation was drowned out by the general cries of celebration and well-wishing from the others.
