The Engagement Game (Engaged to a Billionaire) Read Free Page B

where this was going - as long as he didn't say aunt, grandma, or totally chill cousin.   "It's me and Nikki."
    "I guess I should've prefaced with the obvious," I added.   "Do you have a girlfriend, fiancé, wife, or secret family somewhere in Iowa?"
    "Not Iowa," he joked.
    "Sounds ridiculous but you'd be surprised what-"
    "Nikki is my dog," he interrupted.   Check number three.   He wasn't a mooch.   One question left and he'd be first date material.   Though I'd have a hard time convincing Holly it was okay if he had seven zero potential instead of ten.   A first date wasn't an engagement.
    "I guess I just have one question left then."
    "Smooth sailing so far," he muttered.
    "What do you do for a living?"
    Jack's eyes drifted to the side.   No immediate response.
    "I'm kind of in between projects right now," he finally answered.   I sighed, knowing what that really meant.   He was unemployed.   I looked down at his mud-stained shoes and spotted a small stain on his pants.   Red flag!
    "Care to be more specific?"   Maybe if I gave him another chance to explain?
    "It's a complicated situation at the moment."   Damn.
    "Time's up."   I stood up, looking at the clock.
    "Well," he smiled.   "When can I see you again?"
    "Maybe another time," I let him down gently.   Jack frowned.
    "I promise I -"
    "I'm going to stop you right there," I interrupted.   "I'm not really looking for a relationship right now."   A lie.
    "What about a good time?"
    "I'm really late now, sorry."   Another lie.   My foot kicked a wall as I headed to the second floor.   I was starting to think the guy I was looking for didn't exist.   Holly and I had worked hard to find men who complied with the rules .   Holly had come close once.   Okay twice.   The score was zero to two - Holly.   I remember sifting through charts, trying to shake the deep blue of Jack's eyes from my memory.   It wasn't an easy task.   But after a run in with Dr. P, I was back to my usual self.   Boring, single, and dreading my thirtieth birthday even though it was over a year away.
    I lightly knocked with as I opened a patient's door with a cup of meds in my hand.   It had been a long day already and all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch reruns of Friends.
    "Hello Earl," I greeted the elderly man in the hospital bed.   "I've got some medi . . ."   My eyes drifted to the corner of the room where a man sat wide-eyed.
    "What was that dear?" Earl asked.
    "Your medicine."   I handed him the cup and watched him swallow.
    "Thank you," Earl replied.   I nervously swallowed as Jack watched me write in his father's chart.
    "Kat," Jack finally spoke.
    "You two know each other?"   Earl looked a little confused.   I looked in Jack's direction just as he winked.
    "Nope," I blurted out.   Jack laughed.
    "She turned me down Pops."
    "Well good for you," Earl said, squeezing my arm.   I smiled.   "He can barely heat up a can of chicken noodle soup."   That was the very moment I knew I liked Earl and his blunt sense of humor.
    I sit at the same table where Jack and I first met.   Jack glances around.
    "I thought we were having coffee?"
    "Look," I whisper.   "I'm just going to say it.   It doesn't look good."
    "How bad is it?"   Jack's expression softens.   He leans in closer, waiting for an explanation.
    "It spread."   I look down at the table as my heart pounds.   Pressure starts to build behind my eyeballs.   It was almost like delivering news to family.
    "Like 'okay we can manage' spread, or 'start calling the family' spread?"   Jacks eyes glisten as he clasps his hands together.   He takes a breath, then his expression hardens.   "Well, we all knew this day would come.   I just didn't think it would be today ."
    "Jack-"
    "It's okay," he continues.   "Thank you for telling me, Kat.   Pop looks forward to your visits.   You've been extremely kind to him all this time."   The pressure behind my eyes grows stronger.   Before I can