“I can’t believe that with eleven seconds on the clock, you guys still ran that play,” Josh was telling Chris in between bites of his second burger.

Anna was finishing up her own hamburger that Janie’s catering staff had grilled up for today’s picnic at a neighborhood park, pretending that she knew what they were talking about, when a text came in on her cell phone.

It was an alert from a source she’d used a few times in the past saying he had something hot if Anna was interested. With Chris sitting far too close to her to be able to text anything in private, Anna excused herself from the table and walked a few feet away to call the guy instead.

“Jeff? It’s Anna. What do you have for me?”

There was a shuffle on the other end and she guessed that Jeff was finding somewhere to talk to her in private. Jeff was an aide to one of the local state senators and was one of her best assets with his rare but juicy gossip, all of which, so far, had turned out to be one hundred percent accurate. Like the state congressman who had an illicit affair with his campaign manager despite his wife recently giving birth to twins. Or the wife of a conservative anti-immigrant televangelist, who had donated thousands of dollars to several state senators and had been caught stepping out with their strapping young Honduran landscaper.

Anna needed a win, and she held her breath with the hope this could be the break she needed.

“I just caught wind that Senator Hartley is suffering from some personal health issues and there’s talk that he’s going to be announcing his retirement next week.”

Senator Hartley retiring? That was news since the guy was a polarizing figure in local politics. His announcement would galvanize half of his constituents with relief and the other half with bitter disappointment. Hmm. She was going to need to confirm this with someone else, maybe—

“There’s something else.” He waited, and his voice dropped. “There’s been some mention that the party has already approached a prominent local figure to run, and that this person has agreed, but he’s asked that nothing go public until after this week.”

“Who is it? Do you know?”

“Not yet. I’ll keep working on it. But the party thinks the guy is on his way up, some political legacy.”

Legacy? “Okay. Thanks, Jeff. I owe you big.”

Anna hung up the phone but didn’t return to the group as she considered what Jeff had said. Big name. A local guy. Couldn’t announce anything until after this—

No way. It couldn’t be.

But her gut instinct was telling her not to dismiss the possibility. She glanced over to where he was sitting.

Sure enough, Nick St. Claire was watching her with undisguised curiosity. He’d been doing that since the minute she got here. She’d thought he was paranoid, that it was a reflection of how things had last gone down between them. But maybe it was something more. Maybe Nick had a secret and that was why he was so determined to watch her closely.

Okay, that was a lot of ifs and guesses and hunches. The only way she was really going to know was if she asked him. Or at least hinted at it, giving her a chance to gauge his reaction.

Pocketing the phone, she returned to the group, where everyone was digging into a pile of decadent-looking brownies. Instead of taking her seat next to Chris, however, she continued on past Jake and Megan, who seemed to be hitting it off, and over to the other side of the table. She stood next to him, waiting for him to notice her standing there, which he did after another few seconds. Begrudgingly, he moved a few inches over so she could sit on the corner of the bench.

“How was your lunch?” she asked, deciding now was as good a time as any to start gauging his responses for honesty.

“Delicious. How was your call?”

“Illuminating.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should be paying more attention to the bride and the events going on around you, not taking phone calls that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with what we’re doing here. I mean, as you said, you are here for Janie. Because she means so much to you, right?”

His tone suggested he thought she was full of it. She could play the same game, however. “Right. I mean, now that Janie and I have found each other, it goes without saying that we’re going to be spending a lot of time together in the future. Her new family and the events going on in their lives are going to affect her and, by extension, me. Wouldn’t you agree?”

That was pretty ingenious. The way she turned it around on him like that, and she congratulated herself on getting closer to where she needed to go with this questioning, hoping to move on to what new events he, as Janie’s brother-in-law, might be getting involved in.

“No, I don’t agree,” he said bluntly. “Since we both know that once you get whatever you’re angling for here, you’re going to be pulling up those roots you pretend to be nurturing and heading back to your life, with barely a thought to Janie or anyone else. So, no. Nothing that Janie’s new family may or may not do is likely to make any difference in your life.”

Darn. Why did he have to be so suspicious? Anna glanced around the table, worried that someone might have overheard the jerk and might now be looking at her just as suspiciously. But everyone was caught up in their conversations and gave them no mind. Well, everyone but Sara, but she was too far away to have heard anything.

“Look, Nick. I don’t know what you want from me. I’m here, I’m trying to do the right thing by Janie, making sure she gets the dream wedding, the dream sister, the dream everything that she’s ever wanted. I think you can cut me a little slack.”

“Really? You think you’re doing everything you can here? Because I think you’ve been doing the bare minimum to get by. You don’t think I—or Janie—noticed the way you escaped the party early last night or how you skipped out on breakfast? Or how, whenever Janie hugs you, you look like you’re willing yourself not to flee? You’re passing time here on your way to something else and we both know it. A story, perhaps? Is that it? You’re supposed to be using your connections to get the dirt on Janie and her friends?”

Holy crap. Had she been that obvious? Nick had just laid it all out there, seeing through her like plastic wrap. But she was nothing if not a good denier.

“You’re wrong. Completely wrong. I left early last night because I was exhausted, having spent hours surrounded by people I don’t know, all of whom were likely judging me, wondering why Malcolm never embraced me or even acknowledged me as his daughter during his life, and I needed some quiet time to myself.” Time to wonder the very same questions, not to mention wonder who she was going to stab in the back for her story. “And this morning I freaking slept through the alarm—hardly intentional. But I’m here and smiling and trying to make the best of the situation, trying to act like I belong, so I would love it if you would lay off me for two seconds.”

Anna didn’t know where that had come from, but she knew that although she’d started her explanation as a way to weasel out of his accusation, somewhere in the answer, she found herself stating something closer to the truth.

People were judging her, wondering why she was here. Wondering what was wrong with her, and it was exhausting, not helped by the fact she was being duplicitous, trying to work her way into their graces for a bit of truth that she was going to use against them.

At this rate, she wasn’t going to make it to the end of the week. She didn’t know if she’d make it through the freaking day. A suspicious heat hit her eyes, and she blinked quickly, hoping that Nick didn’t see what had been the start of tears.

Getting up, Anna grabbed her phone out of her pocket again and walked a few feet away, keeping her back to the group. She needed a moment to pull herself together, and if she was lucky, should anyone be watching her, they might think she was simply responding to a text.

What the heck was coming over her? She didn’t cry. She was tougher than that.

It was all Nick’s fault. He was the one pushing her, making her feel crummier with his pointed questions. Making her even feel…guilty.

* * *

The tears that rose to Anna’s eyes had been unmistakable. Combined with the truth of what she’d said, of people, not just him, suspicious of her motives for being here, made Nick feel about one inch tall.

He got up from the table and followed her to where she was standing. “Hey. I’m sorry.”

She didn’t look up. “You should be.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I still think you’re up to something, that’s true. But I failed to take into account that being here might be costing you something personally, too.” He paused, struggling. “Look. We can’t keep butting heads like we’re doing, not if we’re going to survive this week without bringing everyone into our drama. We need to reach some sort of compromise if this is going to work.”

“Compromise? Like what?” she asked, raising her gaze to his.

Yeah, they’d been tears. But even the pink tinge around her eyes couldn’t take away from their lovely blue depths.

Time to be up-front. “I guess the best way to figure that out is if we each lay our cards on the table as to what we want, what each of us needs this week for us to see it as a success. Only then can we negotiate.”

“Good idea. So what do you want, Nick? What is it that I could possibly do here that would put an end to your suspicions?”

That one was easy. “I want this week to be the most memorable and happiest week of my brother’s and his fiancée’s lives, without any snafus, without having to worry that anyone might be trying to undermine them or their happiness by, say, selling them or their friends out.”

“Really? That’s all you want,” she said in a tone that suggested she didn’t believe him. “That call I took earlier? It was from one of my most reliable sources. Someone who seems to think that the sleeper election season that everyone is expecting might become more spirited after a certain long-term state senator gives his retirement announcement next week.”

He put on his poker face. “Really? Anyone I know?”

“I believe so.” She tilted her head as she studied him. “But that’s not the kicker. There are rumors that the party has already found their candidate to run for the seat and that they’re ready to throw all their support behind this guy. Some legacy as I hear it. Are you sure you don’t know anything about this?”

Damn. Where did she get this stuff? Nick glanced at her phone, almost wanting to sneak it away just to see the name of this so-called source.

But that was beside the point. The point was Anna was on to him and if she kept digging, she’d find the confirmation she needed to blow the lid off of this story, and there would go his hope of letting Dax and Janie enjoy this week in solitude.

“Funny, but I don’t remember breaking political news was something that usually reached the gossip column of The Daily Rundown. That’s kind of far afield of your specialty, wouldn’t you say?”

“News is news. And if this is true, and I bring it to my editor to break before anyone else, then my job will be secure, and I won’t need to dredge up any old secrets from the other attendees here.”

“So I was right. You are here because you need a story.” He hit on something else she said. “Why would your job be on the line, though?”

She paused, as if debating what she wanted to share with him. “Let’s just say that my editor didn’t take it very well when our competitor broke the news about Malcolm Van Hollins’s illegitimate love child before we did—despite my being said illegitimate love child.”

“She was going to fire you over that?” Okay, so Nick had known that Anna was up to something, and for a few seconds, he’d been elated to know he’d been right. She had wanted a story, something to further her career, as always. Only, from the sound of it, she needed something not to further her career but rather to save it.

“Of course she was. It’s my job to deliver scoops on things like that, regardless of my personal interest.”

Nick didn’t know if he agreed with that. There had to be some limits, but it wasn’t for him to say. Instead, he’d focus on working this out so they could stop being at each other’s throats and get what they needed to make this week a success. “What if I told you that I’d be willing to not only go on the record to confirm this tip that you’re working but that I’d give you an exclusive first interview on the topic, one that I know any other newspaper would be dying to get?”

“I’d say…I’m listening. What’s the catch?”

“The catch is that you can’t release this story until after the wedding and after the happy couple have slipped away with perfect memories of their big day, untarnished by reports of my campaign hovering over the week. And…” he added when she smiled too smugly, apparently under the impression that was the extent of his terms, “you are going to tell Janie how touched and honored you are that she asked you to play such an important role in her wedding and that you would love to be her maid of honor.”

He let that sink in for a minute.

She wasn’t smiling any longer, but she also wasn’t throwing the offer back at him. Instead, she seemed to be thinking it over. “So all I have to do is agree to be the maid of honor and hold off on printing the story until after Saturday, and you’ll give me the exclusive.”

He shook his head, grinning. “Not quite. You won’t be just accepting the title of maid of honor, but you’re going to be the epitome of what a maid of honor should be: totally dedicated to the bride. In other words, if Janie asks you to sit next to her on the bus and hold her hand, then you’re going to sit next to her, hold her hand, and offer to rub her back, too. If she wants you to play a rousing game of Truth or Dare, or even sing naked karaoke at some dive bar at her bachelorette party, you’re going to do precisely that, even if it means you breaking into “We Are Family” in your birthday suit. Although, make sure I’m there for that last one.”

He threw that in as a joke to see how fast it took for her right eye to begin twitching, something it seemed to do when she was seriously annoyed. Usually with him. But Nick had to admit, seeing her naked wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Okay, it would be pretty damned good. It was hard to miss the fact that the skinny, hardheaded adolescent girl who had tried to sabotage his senior year had turned into a gorgeous woman with a killer smile, killer legs, and a bra cup now larger than mosquito bites.

He was a Neanderthal. He could own that. “So, do we have a deal?”

She looked thoughtful. “I’m going to need to interview you if I’m going to put together any kind of decent story.”

“Of course. I’ll give you ten minutes every day, provided you’re keeping up your end of the bargain.”

“Fifteen minutes. Starting tonight.”

“All right. Fifteen.” He was nothing but amenable. “We can meet after the bridal shower is over and you’ve shown Janie that you’re here and invested in being part of this whole thing.”

She nodded. “Okay. Then I guess we have a deal.”

Tentatively, she reached her hand out to him and, unable to help himself, he smiled as he took it, enjoying the softness of her skin, the weight of her hand in his, just as he had when they’d danced earlier.

That wasn’t good. This was about a bargain, an agreement. Nothing more.

Keep your head in the game, Nick.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Dax shouted from the field where everyone had congregated since he and Anna started their discussion. “Get out here so we can this game started already.”

With an agreement in place, one that he was sure would give them both what they needed, which would assure him a little peace for the next few days, Nick smiled. “Ready to have your ass handed to you?”

“I don’t know. Are you?” she asked, her hand on her hip.

Let the games begin.

* * *

“One wedding bell. Two wedding bells. Three wedding bells,” Janie hollered, singing the countdown she’d mandated for today’s game.

Nick sized up the competition on team “pink”—or so the bedazzled tee shirts its members wore said, thanks to Janie’s skills with a glue gun. Chris, Josh, Trish, and Anna glared fiercely at him and the blue team as Janie counted. Nick just hoped that Jake and Megan would stop with the flirting and focus on what was happening on the field.

He meant to win this thing.

“Break!”

That was the defense’s cue to charge the other team and the lucky person who might be carrying the ball. In this case, it was Chris, which meant an all-out fight to tag the professional football player, who thought he couldn’t lose. Nick sprinted after the guy who, although fast, had been too cocky and miscalculated how close Nick was to overtaking him.

Or so Nick thought until the moment Chris tossed the ball directly to Anna, who was just outside the end zone. In two seconds, she crossed the line, making the touchdown.

Damn.

Winded, Nick paused to catch his breath, unable to miss Chris charging Anna and picking her up in a roar of excitement. To Nick’s surprise, instead of ordering the hulk to put her down, she laughed out loud, her head falling back as if she was actually enjoying the moment. For reasons Nick couldn’t identify, the action pissed him off.

He gritted his teeth as Chris slid Anna down his side and back to the ground, the blonde smiling and pushing at his shoulder flirtatiously. How the hell had she learned to turn up the charm like that? It was almost like…like she was enjoying the attention.

Ignoring the couple, he joined his team’s huddle, where, with only five minutes left, a winning strategy was the priority. “All right. Remember, get in T formation and do whatever you have to to stop Chris from getting through. Jake? Megan? Be ready.”

They lined up again, Dax ready to count down and put the ball into play. It was hard to miss the shine of excitement that flashed across Anna’s face as she stared directly at him.

Nick immediately had his defenses up. But the ball was in play in the next second and he didn’t have time to think about it as Dax threw it to Jake, their decoy, and Nick raced to get into position. As planned, Jake handed the ball off to Megan, and just when the heat was on her, she stopped, took aim, and threw it back in Nick’s direction.

Taking a few steps back, Nick moved toward the ball, which was still in the air, reaching his hands out to snatch it and—

A smaller, lithe figure jumped up in front of him, snagging the catch and cradling the ball in her arms as she continued her arch backwards until she slammed full force against him, knocking the air—and his center of gravity—out of him. Nick landed on his back, a throbbing pain in his jaw becoming more pronounced from where her head had slammed on their landing.

Wait. Their landing…?

Yep. Anna Blake was now splayed across him, her arm tangled under him and her soft breasts pressed directly against his right shoulder, her other arm clinging to the ball.

Her head bobbed up, and her eyes widened in surprise.

Grapefruit. That was what she smelled like. Vanilla and grapefruit. Fresh and sharp but also sweet and…succulent. Kind of like her.

He blinked. What the hell was wrong with him? That had to be the stupidest thing that had ever crossed his mind. He must have hit his head harder on impact than he thought.

Nick gazed up, aware that the group had gathered around them. Anna must have become aware of them, too, as she rolled off him and onto the ground.

“You two okay?” Janie asked.

“I’m fine. Just trying to salvage my pride,” Anna said, still lying on the ground.

“Nick?” Dax asked.

Nick sat up, rubbing his jaw. “Me, too. Just had the wind knocked out of me is all.”

Chris reached his hand out to Anna and pulled her up in one motion. “That a girl! Looks like you need to take a page from this beautiful woman’s play list, St. Claire. She just successfully intercepted the ball.”

Now that any concerns of real injury were dismissed, a cheer went up among Janie’s team. It was hard to miss the smile of satisfaction on Anna’s face as she glanced back at him.

He nodded his head in acknowledgment, willing to give credit where it was due.

She’d outmaneuvered him. He could own that.

But he’d be damn sure not to let it happen again.