Bachelor By Design: Bachelor By Design / Too Hot For Comfort

She leaned toward him, her pink tongue darting out to moisten her lips. “No idea at all?”

He shook his head, his throat dry. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was purposely tormenting him. But Chloe could have no idea of the effect she was having on him. Trace had always prided himself on maintaining the upper hand in all his relationships—especially the romantic ones. Perhaps Kimberly had resigned herself to life in a convent because he’d been too good at hiding his feelings.

She settled back in her chair. “You’re aware that your aunt reads coffee grounds?”

He sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“What you don’t know is that she read my coffee grounds—and yours.” Her brown eyes flicked over him. “For some inexplicable reason, she thinks we’d be a perfect match.”

He groaned low in his throat as she confirmed his worst fears. “Impossible.”

“I quite agree.” She tucked an errant chestnut curl behind her ear. “Madame Sophia didn’t want to tell me about it at first, because she believes romance should take its natural course. But then…” Her voice trailed off.

He looked at her. “But then…what?”

“But then she saw how upset I was after I’d heard you’d fired Ramon. I believe I might have even called you a few unsavory names in the heat of the moment.”

“Such as?”

She blinked innocently at him. “I’m sure I don’t remember.”

He was sure she did, but he let her continue her story.

“Of course, that made Madame Sophia worry that I’d be prejudiced against you before we even met,” Chloe explained. “So she told me about the reading and how we’re destined to be together, and that fighting against destiny only makes the journey harder.”

He set his jaw. “I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

“Your aunt seems like a very determined woman.”

Determined was an understatement. She might not literally be able to move mountains, but she’d definitely caused a few avalanches in her time. If she was set on bringing Trace and this D’Onofrio woman together…He suppressed a shiver. He didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

Of course that same wily determination had saved his butt more than a few times. And one time in particular. If it wasn’t for Sophie, Trace might not even be here right now, ready to turn down Chloe D’Onofrio’s incredibly tempting offer.

She seemed nice enough, for a D’Onofrio. But it was appallingly obvious that she was completely wrong for him. He frowned up at her, mentally listing all her flaws. A sassy mouth. A killer body. A classically beautiful face. A quick temper, judging by the sparks he’d seen in her big brown eyes. And worst of all, a brother named Ramon.

He sat back in his chair with a sigh. No, Chloe wouldn’t even make it as a runner-up on his list for the perfect wife.

“Well, what do you say?” she asked. “Do we have a deal?”

Despite her obvious flaws, he found it harder to turn her down than he’d expected. “I’m flattered, Miss D’Onofrio….”

“Call me Chloe,” she reminded him.

“Chloe,” he echoed, mentally adding another flaw to the already long list. She had an annoying tendency to interrupt him when he was speaking. “I’m flattered, Chloe, by your very generous offer. I admire your loyalty to your brother and the lengths you’re willing to go to help him. But I’m afraid I can’t…”

“I’d do anything for Ramon,” she said, interrupting him once again. “Family is very important to me.”

“Me, too,” he muttered. Family loyalty rated very high on his list of wifely requirements. He’d seen firsthand how betrayal could tear a family apart. But one plus didn’t make up for all the glaring minuses that still tipped the scales against her.

“How important?”

He blinked. “What?”

“Exactly how important is your family to you?”

“What does that have to do with your offer to sleep with me?”

She stared at him. Then the corners of her mouth quivered until she couldn’t contain herself any longer and burst out laughing. “Sleep with you?”

He scowled, wondering what was so damn funny. “Yes. In exchange for hiring back your brother.”

“This is too much,” she said, her laughter finally subsiding. She took a deep breath to compose herself. “Just what kind of woman do you think I am?”

“I…I…”

“And what kind of man would even consider using a woman that way?”

This had gone far enough. “I think you misunderstood me. I had no—”

“You know,” she interjected, “I’ve met some male chauvinists before, but I didn’t realize men like you still existed.”

“If you’d just let me get a word in edgewise,” he said between clenched teeth, “you’d find out I had absolutely no intention of taking you up on your offer.”

But instead of mollifying her, his words actually seemed to offend her. Sparks lit her eyes. “So not only did you believe I was willing to prostitute myself, you have the nerve to sit there and tell me you’re not the least bit interested!”

“I never said that,” Trace growled. “I’m very interested. I’m so interested I can barely sit up straight. In fact, if you’d like me to prove it to you, I’ll be more than happy to oblige.”

“That won’t be necessary,” she said primly. “Because I’m definitely not interested. Now, may we please return to the subject at hand?”

He was both disappointed and confused. “What subject?”

She settled back in her chair, visibly calmer now. As much as he hated to admit it, she was just as appealing to him in the heat of anger. Maybe even more so. A rosy blush stained her creamy cheeks. Her brown eyes sparkled. His own blood raced in anticipation of what she might say or do next.

“Family loyalty,” she replied evenly. “Ramon is the only reason I showed up here tonight.”

He stifled a groan. Ramon. Why did she have to remind him? Although, perhaps it was a good thing she had, considering the directions his thoughts had taken just a scant moment ago. She was a D’Onofrio. Which meant she was off-limits.

She tilted her head to one side as she studied him. “So are you interested in my proposition?”

He scowled. “Maybe you’d better explain exactly what you mean by proposition.”

“Fine. I’ll talk slowly this time so you understand.” She leaned forward. “If you’ll hire my brother back, I’ll pretend to like you.”

“Be still my heart,” he said dryly. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

She arched a brow. “I thought you said family loyalty is important to you. Are you really willing to disappoint your aunt? She was almost in tears when she heard my tirade against you.”

“Tirade? I thought you just called me a couple of names.”