Ultimate Engagement Read Free Page A

idea. Actually, it was a very bad idea, because Sloan didn’t know if she could keep herself sane spending that much alone time with Adam.
    She’d run from him, or even worse, confess how much she wanted him.
    “Come on, Sloan. You’re a team player, and we really need you on this one,” Seth said.
    Sloan managed to tear her gaze away from Adam and then looked at Seth, who was her friend, a man she trusted asking for help. Sloan never was able to let people down, didn’t think she’d be able to start now, despite the circumstances and the risk.
    After a long moment, one where she again wiped her palms against her skirt, she lifted her gaze to meet Seth’s and then nodded.
    He smiled, the grin of the cat who’d eaten the canary as he swept his arm out toward Adam. “Sloan, meet your new fiancé.”

2
    T hree days later , when Adam rang Sloan’s doorbell, his heart gave an uncharacteristic thud.
    It took a lot to get to him, and as much as he would have preferred to think it was excitement from beginning a new mission or annoyance at the prospect of having to spend five fun-filled days in the sun, he knew his reaction wasn’t either.
    The prospect of seeing Sloan was enough to make his heart beat a little bit faster, which was more than part of the reason he had avoided her for so long.
    Finding her place had been easy. In fact, he had long known where she lived; that was an extension of the job. He never knew when it might be necessary to find her, and it made sense to keep track of the whereabouts of all members of his team, which he counted Sloan a part of. There was nothing more to it than that, no matter how much the curiosity and excitement about learning more about her might have said otherwise.
    He waited at the door, listening as he heard her approach. A few seconds later, she pulled the door open.
    That thud from earlier, followed by one almost exactly like it, rattled his chest as he looked at her wide eyes, which were now blinking with questions. After a second, she pulled the door open wider, giving Adam a glimpse of her body.
    A nice V-neck T-shirt, nothing of particular note, except that on Sloan’s sinful curves, even a T-shirt was a thing of beauty.
    “Adam?”
    He blinked at the sound of her voice, looked up at Sloan’s eyes, wondering how long he’d been staring at her.
    “I’m here to pick you up,” his voice gruffed out, rougher than he’d intended.
    She’d noticed his tone, as her wide eyes and the stiffening of her shoulders told him. She frowned slightly and then a moment later, she gestured behind her. “Come in.”
    He stepped inside, and waited as she closed the door. After she had, she looked at him, directly meeting his eyes. That was something she’d always done, something that still got to him.
    He could remember it, the very first day he’d arrived at Silver Industries and seen her. He’d spent three aimless years wandering around after retirement and for lack of anything else to do, he’d finally given in to Lucian’s requests to join his company.
    The operation had been small then, just a handful of guys and Sloan in a shitty building downtown. After only two seconds in that building, Adam had felt comfortable, felt like he was home. And Adam had quickly found out it had had everything to do with Sloan.
    “Pleased to meet you,” she’d said, extending her hand with a bright smile on her face, staring directly into his eyes.
    After years of living on the edge, it only took that innocent-eyed beauty just out of college to render Adam speechless. It was only after Lucian had elbowed him that Adam realized how he’d scowled at the girl, but she hadn’t given any hint of discomfort. She’d just stood there, so short, she barely reached the middle of his chest even with the heels she wore, hand extended.
    When he’d reached out and grabbed her hand, he’d felt a spark at her touch. If someone else had told him that, he’d have said they were fucking ridiculous, but