Free Fiance by Fate by Jennifer Shirk Page B

didn’t know what was going on anymore.
    “Um, of course.” She pushed back from the table and stood, her legs still feeling like rubber after that kiss. “I’ll be right back,” she told Jack.
    Jack reached for her hand. “Don’t be long. I want to pick up right where we left off when you come back,” he said, holding her wrist against his warm lips for an exaggerated length of time.
    Her lips felt swollen, and as she remembered the underlying passion of their impromptu kiss, her cheeks ignited. She tugged her hand away and shot him a warning look in return. What was Jack doing? He was laying it on way too thick. And worse, she was halfway to believing it.
    David seemed oblivious to her and Jack’s silent argument. Thank goodness. She slipped her arm through his and let him lead her out of the dining room, feeling more than a little relieved to get away from Jack and his all-too-consuming lips. She needed this time away from him to refocus on their plan and what they were doing. Because as much as she knew that kiss between her and Jack was nothing more than anger and wrongly channeled fake emotions, a small part of it had begun to feel real.
    And that was something she definitely couldn’t let happen again.
    Chapter Six
    Sabrina followed David into the dimly lit bar and pulled out a soft leather stool to sit down. He remained standing, holding a meditative look across his boyishly handsome face. She shifted uncomfortably. She felt like one of his patients and the prognosis looked bad.
    It probably gave David the shock of his life to see her out with another man. Hands fisted in her lap, she decided to wait him out and let him speak first. For once since their breakup, she had some advantage. He was the one out with another woman and all she did was…turn a simple dinner out with a man she barely knew into a bad soap opera audition.
    Oh, Lord . What on earth had possessed her to kiss Jack like that? Her own eager response shocked her. She didn’t want to think about how warm and sweet his lips felt against hers or the way Jack seemed to savor each and every moment of it as much as she had.
    No. It was all wrong. She was just…lonely and Jack had just…been there. That feeling was a minor blip on her radar and nothing more.
    Sabrina took a deep breath and met David’s gaze. David was who she wanted, who she was in love with. Don’t blow this , she reminded herself.
    “So that was the infamous Jack?” he finally said. “Your friend from the office?”
    She swallowed. “Yes, but—”
    “I had no idea you meant Jack Brenner when you mentioned you were getting advice from a Jack at work. Wow, this is obviously all my fault.”
    “I— Wait.” She stared at him closely. “What’s all your fault?”
    “You out at dinner with him tonight. You’re the perfect pickings for a womanizer like that.”
    “I am?”
    “Of course you are. We’ve separated and now he’s suddenly pretending to be your friend. You look beautiful tonight, by the way. No wonder that guy had his hands all over you.”
    She blinked in astonishment. She couldn’t remember the last time David paid her a compliment like that. That had to be a good sign.
    David began pacing the small corner of the bar. “However, I was talking to Rose about it before I came over to your table, so I feel good about this.” He nodded more to himself. “Yes, it’ll be okay now.”
    What? No punch in the gut could have been delivered with more accuracy. She looked down at her hands folded tightly in her lap and sighed. So much for holding out for hope and good signs. David couldn’t care less. No, that wasn’t true—he actually seemed pleased she was lip-locked with another man. What a fool she was.
    “It’s fine because I’m glad I saw it and can warn you,” he added. “Thank God he’s not your type or else I’d be worried.”
    Her head snapped up. “Wait. But you should be worried. Uh, very worried. Didn’t you see the way Jack kissed me?