Fiance by Fate
Authors: Jennifer Shirk
Tags: #fake relationship, #fake fiance, #enemies to lovers, #boston, #small town romance, #Marina Adair, #sweet romance, #opposites attract, #Julia London, #Catherine Bybee, #Cindi Madsen
Table of Contents
Kissing Kendall
A Little Bit Cupid
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Their fake relationship is a twist of fate.
Sabrina Cassidy believes in fate. So when her fiancé breaks off their engagement, she’s convinced they’ll get back together eventually. But fate was not on her side when it brought Jack Brenner into her life—and work. Frustrating, gorgeous, and cocky, Jack has an offer that Sabrina can’t refuse. Not if it means getting the life she’s always imagined.
Despite being one of the town’s most eligible bachelors, Jack has a reputation that’s working against him. He has to convince his father—and his company’s board—that he’s ready to settle down if he wants a promotion. But convincing Sabrina to be his fake girlfriend turns out to be the easiest part. What he didn’t count on was their intense attraction and how easily their lie would escalate. Sabrina’s still hung up on her ex, and Jack will never settle down. But fate has other ideas…
F
IANCÉ BY
F
ATE
AN
A
NYONE
B
UT
Y
OU NOVEL
J
ENNIFER
S
HIRK
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Shirk. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at
www.entangledpublishing.com
.
Bliss is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC. For more information on our titles, visit
http://www.entangledpublishing.com/category/bliss
Edited by Stacy Abrams and Alycia Tornetta
Cover design by Jessica Cantor
ISBN 978-1-62266-499-3
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition April 2014
This book is for you, Mom, because I know you’ve been to more than a few psychic readings in your lifetime.
Chapter One
You’re not doing anything wrong
.
Sabrina Cassidy took a deep breath and waited for the psychic to shuffle the cards.
You’re not doing anything wrong
.
She repeated the thought again for good measure—and because she liked to hear herself think.
Eating an entire cake? Sure, she could feel guilty. Lying on a résumé? Oh yeah, she’d certainly feel terrible about that one. But asking a psychic for information on her fiancé? Not a chance. She was sure any woman in her position would do exactly the same thing.
Pretty
sure, anyway…
The psychic placed the third Fate tarot card down on the table with such careful attention to spacing that Sabrina was almost afraid to breathe on it. The woman seemed a stickler for details—except when it came down to her name: Madame Butterfly. The psychic was neither Japanese nor even really
female
for that matter, but so far she seemed to know what she was talking about, so Sabrina was willing to let those things slide.
Sabrina glanced at her friend, sitting next to her. Maddie’s eyes were looking sleepy and she was trying hard to stifle a yawn. Sabrina had to admit, watching Madame Butterfly was a little like watching a slug race. They had already been there for more than twenty minutes and were just starting to get to the good stuff.
It was Maddie’s suggestion that they come to get their fortunes told tonight. She thought Sabrina needed some fun, a distraction to help her forget about her recent fiancé problems. But Sabrina took the readings much more seriously than that. From the moment she and David had met, she had known it wasn’t merely by chance. It was something more—the date, the timing. David was her destiny. And although she and her fiancé were on a temporary break right now, Sabrina knew in her heart they would be together again.
Of course, if she could hear that same thing from the psychic, it’d make her feel much better.
“I see a man in your future…” the psychic began in a raspy voice. His—
her
—Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as she closed her eyes and laid her palms on the cards. Sabrina blinked and tried hard to focus on what she was saying and not on the hair of Madame’s knuckles.
“A man. Wow, that narrows it down,” Maddie muttered.
Sabrina shushed her.
Madame Butterfly opened one false-lashed eye and aimed a definitive glare at Maddie, then continued on. “He’s very handsome.”
Sabrina shot a knowing grin at Maddie. David
was
handsome. And smart. And successful. He was just finishing his orthopedic surgery residency at Mass General.
The psychic opened her eyes, tapping a long, painted blue nail on top of one of the cards. “He’s wearing a white coat.”
Sabrina gasped. “David’s a doctor. That could be his lab coat you’re talking about.”
Madame Butterfly nodded emphatically. “Yes, I see that.”
“
Now
you see that,” Maddie added, folding her arms over her chest.
It was Sabrina’s turn to glare at her friend. “Maddie, please. Don’t make me kick you out of here.”
“You can’t kick me out. I’m the one who paid.”
The table suddenly
buzz
ed. Madame leaned forward and blew out her candle. “I’m afraid our time is up,” she said in a regretful tone. “Please exit to your left.”
“What? But wait,” Sabrina pleaded. “One last thing. I have to know…do you see us…” She tried to calm her voice. “I mean, will David and I get back together in my future?”
Madame Butterfly studied the cards for several agonizing seconds, then looked straight into Sabrina’s eyes. “Yes. Most definitely.”
I knew it!
Sabrina elbowed Maddie with a grin. “I told you we were meant to be.”
“Ah,” the psychic said, waving a finger in Sabrina’s face, “you must be careful with this knowledge. You are still the creator of your own destiny.” A dry smile slowly kicked at the corners of her mouth. “Don’t overlook the journey, my dear.”
Sabrina frowned.
Journey?
“But I don’t understand. You said David and I would get back together.”
Madame Butterfly stood and threw her heavily ringed hands in the air. “Sorry. You want more information, you need to pay. And also reschedule. I have an appointment waiting.”
Maddie grabbed Sabrina’s arm and yanked her up. “We’re
not
paying more. But thanks for the entertainment. It was a real hoot.”
Sabrina allowed herself to be pulled out the door, even though she was seriously tempted to shill out the extra money. A little “journey” clarification would be nice to have.
Once they were outside, Sabrina turned to her friend. “Hey, just so you know, that wasn’t entertainment. That was for real. Everything Madame Butterfly said was spot-on.”
Maddie snorted. “Easy for you to say. At least you got “white coat.” All I got was “lots of hair” in my relationship destiny. Now I’m going to have to make a guy remove his shirt before I date him.”
Sabrina laughed. “Ah-ha! I knew you believed.”
“I
don’t
.” Her friend bit her lip, then grinned. “Well, maybe a little,” she admitted. “Now I need a drink. Let’s stop over there.” She pointed across the street to a Tex Mex bar and restaurant. “You owe me a margarita after that one.”
“Okay. Deal.”
The truth was, all that spiritual-journey stuff gave Sabrina a headache and she needed a drink, too. Plus, it was unusually warm for an October night in Boston.
Tons of people were out walking along the streets in the Back Bay, and although the restaurant was packed, they managed to snag a high-top table in the corner of the bar. After the waitress took their drink orders, Maddie scanned the crowd and grinned. “I think we struck gold. Lots of hotties here tonight,” she said, waggling her eyebrows up and down.
Sabrina shook her head but glanced around anyway. Yeah, there were some cute guys. But she only had eyes for one. And unfortunately, he wasn’t there. “You can meet your hottie. I’m an engaged woman, remember?”
Maddie pursed her lips. “You
were
an engaged woman.”
“David said this split was just temporary while he figured some things out. Besides, you heard what Madame Butterfly said. We
will
be getting back together. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still engaged.”
Maddie blew her wavy blond hair out of her eyes. “Now I’m sorry I suggested going to that psychic. I was hoping it would get you to forget about David and his ‘I think we need a little separation’ theory.”
Sabrina lifted her chin. “Hey, it happens to be a good theory.”
“Says David.”
“No, says
me
, too. It’s actually very mature when you think about it. Maybe we did rush into our engagement a little. Better to take a small step back now and make sure this is what he really wants. It’s a big commitment and I appreciate that he’s not taking it lightly.” Although a little niggle of doubt—despite what Madame Butterfly had said—wormed its way into her thoughts. She pasted on a bright smile when the waitress brought their drinks and wiped the thought out of her mind.
After the waitress turned away, Maddie lifted up her glass in a toast. “Well, here’s to a hottie for me and good karma for you and David.”
Sabrina smiled. “I’ll drink to that.” She took a healthy sip and swallowed appreciatively. The margarita was the perfect combination of sweet and sour and as she licked the salt from her lips, she enjoyed the heady kick of the tequila. She was such a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
Maddie leaned in with a wicked grin. “Remember when you talked me out of that tattoo for my birthday? Well, I was thinking…” A strange look crossed her face and she trailed off.
“You were thinking what?”
“Nothing.” Maddie’s eyes grew round, then she ducked her head. With a shaky hand, she lifted her margarita to her lips and downed half of it. “I was thinking nothing. Let’s finish our drinks and get out of here.”
“But we just got here, and you said there were lots of hotties.”
“Not that many,” Maddie said, her voice escalating. “In fact, did I mention I needed glasses? Hey, I have a great idea! Let’s go get my eyes examined. I think there’s a Four Eyes around the corner.”
