It did sound like a ridiculous scheme. An absolutely ridiculous scheme. And one he would never agree to if he hadn’t had ulterior motives. “We don’t have to,” he said, trying to convey a sense of bleak resignation. “It’s not fair to ask that of you, just to make it easier for me.”
“I’ll do anything you want, to make it easier on you.” Kelly’s eyes were wide and earnest. “Seriously, Peter. If you think that would help you, I can pretend for a little while, as long as it doesn’t go on too long. Neither of us should be trapped in this marriage for too long.”
Trapped in the marriage. Evidently, that was how Kelly viewed it. He ignored the pain in his heart to push on toward his goal. “It doesn’t have to be long. Just a month or two would help.”
“Okay.” She was nodding, thinking hard, staring at a spot in the air. “That’s okay. At least it would delay Grandmama’s horror about my breaking up with a Blake. What about we stay married until after graduation. That would be a natural end point, if we were going to call it quits for real. I counted the days up early this week. It’s forty-five days now until graduation. We can give it that long, and then get annulled or divorced.”
Peter nodded. “Are you sure? I know it’s kind of crazy.”
“This whole thing is kind of crazy. I just want to make sure neither of us suffers too much because of it. So…so are we going to…to live together?”
“We’ll have to,” he said gently, starting to wonder if he was an asshole after all, tricking Kelly into something unfair. “It wouldn’t be convincing otherwise. No, we shouldn’t do this. It’s not fair to you, to put you through this, just so that I can—”
“No! I want to. I want to do this, if you think it’s best for you. I don’t mind moving into your place for a little while. We hang out there a lot anyway.” Before he could agree to this, she gave a little jerk. “Wait, I can’t leave Grandmama on her own. We’d have to live with her.”
Peter gulped at the thought. “Okay. Whatever works for you.”
“Okay. Surely, it won’t be too bad. If we’re both practical and honest about it, I think we can get through with no problem.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah.” She smiled at him. “I’m sure. Let’s do it.”
Peter was still conflicted, wanting it desperately but not sure if it was the right thing to do to Kelly, no matter how willing she seemed. But before he could say anything else, a phone started to ring from the main room of the suite.
Kelly stood up. “That’s mine.” She hurried into the room and picked up her phone from the floor. Peter stood in the bathroom doorway and watched as she checked the screen. “It’s Deanna.”
“She probably heard about us.”
“Right.” Kelly took a deep breath. “Okay. Here goes. Day One of a forty-five day marriage.”
Peter couldn’t believe she’d agreed, and he couldn’t believe she was so casual about the whole thing, as if it was a little game they were playing.
It was probably best she thought that, though. She couldn’t know how he felt.
She wasn’t ready to know it yet. He would lose her for good.
At least this was something. He had forty-five days to win her over, open her eyes, make her fall for him.
Forty-five days was a long time.
Anything could happen by the end of it.
Four
Kelly felt like a different person as she walked into her family home, late that afternoon. There was no reason to feel that way, since she’d been gone for less than two days. But the old house seemed smaller somehow, slightly unfamiliar, as if she didn’t fit into it the way she had just the morning before.
She didn’t like things to change. She especially didn’t like to feel like she had changed.
She brushed off the feeling and smiled over her shoulder at Peter. “You ready for this?”
“Of course.” Peter had been remarkably calm and casual about this whole situation. It was probably not as important to him as it was to her. She couldn’t really be offended by this fact. He was her friend. He’d always been her friend. And, once he’d grown accustomed to the idea¸ he obviously saw no reason to treat their current circumstances with anything other than his normal, reasonable friendliness.
If something in the back of her mind kept screaming at her that they were now married, Peter obviously didn’t hear the same voice.
At the moment, he was looking around the grand entrance to the house—lovely polished staircase, newly restored chandelier—with a slight smile on his face. His brown hair looked almost gold in the sun from the windows, and he was lean and masculine in his jeans and T-shirt, a bag slung over one shoulder.