A Tricky Proposition(39)

Whom was she kidding?

For the past two weeks, she’d been deliriously happy and anxiety-ridden by turn. Every time he slid inside her it was a struggle not to confide that she was falling in love with him, and her strength was fading fast. Already she was rationalizing why she and Jason should continue to be intimate long after she was pregnant.

It was only a matter of time before she confessed what she truly wanted for her future and he’d sit her down and remind her why they’d made love in the first place. Then things would get awkward and they’d start to avoid each other. No. Better to stay silent and keep Jason as her best friend rather than lose him forever.

“If you’re worried about Jason, Max texted me and said he’s on the upper deck with Nathan and Sebastian.” Rachel gave Ming a reassuring smile.

“I’m not worried about Jason,” Ming hastily assured her as she sagged in relief. She mustered a smile. “No need for me to be. We’re just friends. Have been for years.”

A fact Rachel knew perfectly well since the four of them had gone out numerous times since she and Max had gotten engaged. Ming had no idea why she had to keep reminding people that she and Jason were not an item.

“Jason’s a great guy.”

“He sure is.” Ming saw where this was going and knew she had to cut Rachel off. “But he’s the sort of guy who isn’t ever going to fall in love and get married.”

Rachel cocked her head. “Funny, that’s what I thought about Max and yet he lost his favorite car to Jason over a wager that he wouldn’t get married.” Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “What’s to say Jason won’t change his mind, too?”

Ming smiled back, but she knew there was a big difference between the two men. Max hadn’t found his father trying to kill himself because he was so despondent over the loss of his wife and daughter. And after getting the scoop about how Max and Rachel had met five years earlier, Ming suspected the reason Max had been so down on love and marriage was that he’d already lost his heart to the woman of his dreams.

“I don’t know,” Ming said. “He’s pretty set in his ways. Besides, you weren’t around when my engagement to Jason’s brother ended. It made me realize that I’m happier on my own.”

“Yeah, before Max, I was where you are. All I have to say is that things change.” Rachel nudged her chin toward her soon-to-be-sisters-in-law. “Ask either of those two if they believed love was ever going to happen for them. I’ll bet both of them felt the way you do right now.”

Ming glanced toward the back of the limo, where Emma, nine months pregnant and due any second, and Missy, four months pregnant and radiant, sat side by side, laughing. They had it all. Gorgeous, devoted men. Babies on the way. Envy twisted in Ming’s heart.

She sighed. “I’m really happy for all of you, but love doesn’t find everyone.”

“If you keep an open mind it does.”

The big diamond on Rachel’s hand sparkled in the low light. Ming stared at it while her fingers combed her hair into three sections. As she braided, she mused that being in love was easy when you were a week away from pairing your engagement ring with a wedding band. Not that she begrudged any of the Case women their happiness. Each one had gone through a lot before finding bliss, none more so than Rachel. But Ming just wasn’t in a place where she could feel optimistic about her own chances.

She was in love with a man who refused to let his guard down and allow anyone in, much less her. Because she couldn’t get over her feelings for Jason, she’d already lost one man and almost made the biggest mistake of her life. And as of late, she was concerned that having Jason father her child was going to lead to more heartache in the future.

Ming mulled Rachel’s words during the second half of the forty-five-minute drive from downtown Houston to the Galveston marina where the men would be waiting. Maybe she should have gone home from the club like Rachel’s sister, Hailey, instead of heading out to meet up with Jason. They’d made no plans to rendezvous tonight. She was starting to feel foolish for chasing him all the way out here.

If Jason decided to stay on the yacht with the bachelor party instead of motoring back to the dock on the launch with Max and his brothers, would she be the odd girl out when the couples reunited? Her chest tightened. Ming closed her eyes as they entered the marina parking lot.

The limo came to a stop. Ming heard the door open and the low rumble of male voices. She couldn’t make her eyes open. Couldn’t face the sight of the three couples embracing while she sat alone and unwanted.