The Fix Up Read Online Free Page B

enough to get his cash in hand. Then he’d be free to continue his no-strings lifestyle.
    “So you’re going to take it seriously?”
    “Yes.” His tone is unequivocally confident and leaves no room for doubt.
    I don’t know his motivations, whether they’re for love or money, but if he wants to do this, then I’ll be here to help him. I have a big job ahead of me, and suddenly I want to do it well, to help him as best I can, unconventional as it may be. It gives me a small measure of peace that I haven’t had over this whole situation, and I’m grateful.
    Our meal arrives, and as we eat, I find the small talk flows easily between us.
    Between bites of tender steak, Sterling fills me in on the basics. He moved to America when he was fourteen. His father had been relocated for work, and so off they set for the good old US of A. He met Noah in boarding school in Connecticut, and they’ve been best friends ever since. He’s close to his mother, but makes a sour face when I bring up his father, so we move along, avoiding that topic.
    I wipe the corners of my mouth with my cloth napkin, careful not to wreck my berry-colored lipstick. “I’d love to hear more about what you’re looking for in a wife.”
    Sterling coughs into his napkin as though the word is a shock. “That’s a good question.” He sets down his knife and fork and pushes his plate away. “And I’ll answer it as long as you agree to play along.”
    “Meaning?”
    “This will be an even exchange. If you want me to open up and share, you’re going to have to do the same, love.”
    “And why would I do that?”
    He smiles wryly at me.
    “And don’t say because I said so ,” I add, pointing my fork in his direction.
    “Trust goes both ways,” he says in that cheerful accent of his. “If we’ll be spending time together, working together, I want to know what makes you tick. I need to know that you’re not just in this for the bonus money that was promised.”
    My cheeks heat because that’s exactly why I initially agreed to take on this assignment. But I’m hoping Sterling can’t see through me.
    “I’m a professional in everything I do. I’ve taken on your assignment, and you can rest assured, I will not back out.”
    “I didn’t say you would. But as long as we’re discussing it, if you’d like to know what I want in a mate, I think you should have to disclose the same.”
    I roll my eyes at him.
    “Humor me,” he says.
    “Fine.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean back in my seat. “I want someone driven, motivated, and hardworking. Someone who’s easy to talk to. Reliable. Trustworthy and honest.”
    I take another sip of wine. It’s all true, even if I didn’t admit the most important, yet secret quality I hold in my heart.
    Flashbacks of David seep into the edges of my brain. I knew from the start he wasn’t my Mr. Right, but he was an alluring Mr. Right Now . Obsessed with working out, he was muscular and fit beyond belief. My friends teased me that he was a meat-head, and maybe he was. But I didn’t care, wasn’t concerned that he waited tables and washed dishes for a living. I was caught up in the idea of him, and didn’t bother to pay attention to the fact that he wasn’t interested in building a life with me, that we weren’t actually compatible in real, deep ways.
    “Your turn,” I say.
    “A woman who works hard, knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid of a challenge.”
    Sterling’s gaze is deep and penetrating, and I find it hard to dismiss that he’s looking at me with deeper meaning than just a cursory glance. It’s unnerving. But I shrug it off.
    “I’ll find her for you.” My voice is tiny and unsure, but Sterling hasn’t so much as blinked, and I can’t escape the feeling that he’s thinking, Maybe I’ve already found her .
    After a moment of tense silence, Sterling drains his last drop of wine. “How do you propose this will work?”
    I dab my mouth one last time with my