Free The Fiancée Fiasco by Alyssa Kress Page A

excuse yesterday because we had to get this proposal out. But a man has to do a better job of entertaining his fiancée than leaving her at home while he's at the office, doesn't he?"
    "Hmm." Roseanne stabbed up a forkful of pancake. Win wanted to play engaged now—but only because it was helping his company's stock prices. Of course, that had been the whole idea, more or less, hadn't it? Why did she feel so perversely miffed?
    She fit the forkful of pancake into her mouth. Then, sensing Win's intense stare, she looked up.
    "Well?" he asked, all eagerness. "What do you think?"
    He meant, she slowly realized, the pancakes.
    "They're delicious." They really were. "What did you put in them?"
    Looking every inch the gratified chef, Win was not shy to divulge his secrets. "Bananas and almonds. And a little vanilla. That's my secret weapon. You really like them?"
    "Yes." She switched for a moment to her coffee. Even she could get fat eating Win's cooking. "Where did you learn how to cook?"
    "I taught myself. Mostly in college."
    "I can barely scramble an egg, myself." For no good reason at all, Roseanne wondered if Winthrop had cooked breakfast like this for his ex-wife, Sylvia. He probably had, she decided, but had probably served the luscious Sylvia her meal in bed.
    "Oh, anybody can learn to cook," Winthrop remarked absently, cutting into his own stack of pancakes. "About today. What do you think we ought to do?"
    Roseanne leaned back in her seat, cradling her coffee cup. "Good question. Let's see, what could we do that might drive the price of your stock even higher?"
    Winthrop reached for more butter. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about the stock. It'll go up all by itself. Just think of something you'd actually like to do."
    "How generous of you." The price of the stock would go up all by itself. "Anything I want?"
    "Anything." Win smiled, all innocence.
    Roseanne smiled, all innocence, back. But there was no innocence inside of her. She knew she was still operating on that perverse pique, but she also knew this wife-deserter deserved no mercy. "In that case, I'd love to go shopping."
    His face immediately fell. "What?" His voice kind of quivered as he added, "Shopping?"
    "That's right." Roseanne smiled smugly. "I need to buy a dress."
    Winthrop looked disgruntled enough to pacify Roseanne's brief ruthlessness. "You need a dress?"
    "Have you forgotten my grand finale as your fiancée is supposed to take place at the Sons of Texas ball? Something tells me this event is formal wear. Am I wrong?"
    He shook his head morosely. "You're not wrong."
    "Well, I certainly did not think to pack a formal gown for this little jaunt. I'm going to have to buy one." She paused, forked up some more delicious pancake, and added artlessly, "You're welcome to come along."
    Chagrin battled with something less definable in Winthrop's eyes. "All right," he decided. "I'll come."
    Roseanne nearly dropped her fork. "What?"
    "It's perfect, really," Win went on, beginning to muse. His eyes drifted past her shoulder. "Man buying his fiancée a fancy gown. Very romantic, don't you think?"
    "Oh, sure." Roseanne regarded him narrowly. "Don't try to tell me you'd enjoy shopping, Win. What's the deal here?"
    "No deal." His eyes, which she'd once thought so cold, returned to gaze at her with warm laughter. "I think it might be kind of fun—with you."
    "Right. Seeing as how you can imagine the stock points rising along the way."
    Winthrop lifted his white coffee cup. "You have a rather limited view of my imagination."
    Meeting his eyes, she suddenly wondered if this were true. There was something far too knowing in the blue depths of his eyes, as though he might have a way to turn her game against her.
    But no, Roseanne thought. That was absurd. So far the man had barely given her a moment's competition. "Fine," she said aloud. "Let's go shopping. Right after breakfast." She took another bite of pancake. "I don't suppose you know where to go?"
    Win dropped his gaze to