Million Dollar Christmas Bride - Holly Rayner Page 0,16
but it was too late for his marriage. Mom never saw that side of him. To her, he must have seemed cold and calculating, valuing his business opportunities more than their relationship. If my mother thinks I’m like that, she’ll just figure I’ve turned into a version of him. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but—”
“It does,” Bianca said with a nod.
He felt relieved. She understands, he thought.
“People make unconscious associations all the time,” she went on. “I see it at my job all the time. It’s not like I only care for the elderly; I care for their families as well. I’ve learned a bit about family dynamics over the years.”
“So what do you think?” Jackson asked hopefully. “Will you help me? It would entail going to one dinner, this Saturday night at the Heritage Manor, and playing the part of my fiancée. After that, you’d be all done, and we could call it even in terms of our car accident. You wouldn’t owe me a cent.”
She bit her lip.
Jackson continued. “A few hours at a dinner… that’s it.”
“But it’s a lie,” Bianca said, obviously grappling with this fact. “I hate lying, Jackson. It makes me sick to my stomach.” Her big green eyes met his, and he could tell how genuine she was about this.
It made him like her even more.
“It’s for a good cause,” he said. “It’s hard to explain, but that old house means a lot to me. It’s a piece of my past, and I don’t want to lose it. Your help could turn everything around. My mom would just love you, I know it. And the food at these charity dinners is always good.”
She reached up and tugged on a stray strand of hair.
A few seconds of silence passed. Jackson could almost hear her weighing the pros and cons in her head.
He decided to sweeten the pot further in order to tip the scales. “How about this. I’ll give you ten thousand dollars if you help me out with this. That’s how much it means to me. Ten grand, for just a few hours of work. What do you say?”
Her eyes widened slightly. “That’s a lot,” she said. “Just this Saturday night?”
“That’s all,” Jackson assured her.
She hesitated for another split second, but then nodded her head. “Okay. I’ll do it. I can’t turn down an offer like that.”
“Great,” Jackson said, just as a soft bump reverberated through the boat—they’d reached the dock. From the corner of his eye, he saw a server approaching.
Jackson reached for Bianca’s dessert plate, then stood and held them out for the waiter. “We’ll take these to go,” he said, before helping Bianca up.
She was quiet as they waited for the boat to dock, accepted their to-go boxes, and then thanked the crew. He wondered what was on her mind but didn’t want to pry.
Once in the car, he turned on music to fill the silence. It wasn’t until he was a block from Bianca’s street that she spoke. “I feel sort of foolish for assuming this was a date,” she said softly.
Jackson turned to look at her.
She met his gaze and spoke again. “I was so excited that you’d asked me out to dinner. But this was what you had on your mind the whole time, wasn’t it? This ruse that you want to pull on your mother.”
Jackson lifted the corner of his mouth in a relaxed smile, his eyes peeled for the correct street sign. When he spotted Robin Lane, he took the right turn and then glanced over at Bianca. “Actually, I would probably have asked you out whether I needed this favor or not,” he said. “You’re beautiful.”
He saw a smile flit across her pretty lips. It encouraged him. “Even if it wasn’t for this thing with my mom, I would have wanted the chance to get to know you.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “You said you don’t like first dates… but I actually enjoy them. It’s a chance to get to know someone new… enjoy pleasant company.”
He eyed the houses that passed, peering into the darkness in search of Bianca’s single-story home. When he spotted it, he slowed. “It’s usually not until about the fourth or fifth date that I freak out,” he said with a soft chuckle, as he put the car into park.
She eyed him. “So you’re one of those guys who’s afraid of commitment, hm?” Her fingers slid across the leather of the door’s interior until they landed on the