“Okay.” The light disconnected.
Jared returned his phone to his pocket with satisfaction, in no way upset by her irresolution. He was the only man for Kelsey Layton, but he wasn’t foolish enough to expect her to realize the fact. Not yet. She fully anticipated them to divorce a year after marrying. He, of course, had other plans.
Maybe if he got her pregnant.
Jared smiled to himself again, imagining a rounded belly on her slender body. His baby in her arms. Yes, a pregnancy would definitely please him.
He’d have to work really hard to make that a possibility.
***
This had to be one of the crazier things she’d done in her life, Kelsey decided as Jared walked with her up the stairs to Doug’s apartment. She was actually getting married to convince her best friend to get over his infatuation with her so he could fall in love with her sister.
Hardly more than six hours had passed since she’d accepted Jared’s unexpected proposal and here they were taking the irrevocable step of informing Doug. Jared was right to do so immediately. She only had a week, he had reminded her when he picked her up, before Amy took the London offer.
Jared glanced at her, reaching out to take her hand in his. “You okay?”
“Yes. Just a little nervous. Maybe we should have called instead of stopping by.”
He shook his head. “Always more impact with a face-to-face meeting.”
“I suppose so.” They climbed the last few stairs, Jared still cradling her hand in his.
“You know you have to be the one to tell him,” Jared said, meeting her eyes steadily. “You have to be the one to make him believe it.”
“I know.” She let her gaze fall away from his. Acting like she was in love wouldn’t be that difficult. Anyone who’d had seven stepfathers learned how to feign emotion.
Jared led her down the hall, stopping in front of Doug’s apartment door. He knocked.
Kelsey couldn’t shake the sensation of unrealness about this whole thing. Part of her mind still clung to denial. Surely Amy was blowing Doug’s feelings for her out of proportion. She was an ordinary woman, not some femme fatale who snared men’s hearts.
But the memory of Doug’s behavior at the banquet kept reasserting itself, along with the suddenly-significant moments through the last few years. Doug was too available to her, too ready to adjust his life to hers.
Maybe this was his dysfunctional way of avoiding commitment himself. Certainly people found ingenious ways to deal with their fears. But none of that addressed the thoughtlessness of her own behavior, her insensitivity to both Doug and her sister. That was why she stood here next to Jared, waiting to tell Doug of her impending marriage.
She’d used him, unawares. Doug had been a source of security, a sweet, adoring rock amid the sometimes turbulent waters of her life. Still, that didn’t excuse her.
Doug opened his door, just then, his face registering surprise at their presence on his doorstep, followed swiftly by a flash of consternation on his features.
“Good evening,” Jared said, smiling. “I hope this isn’t a bad time, but Kelsey and I have some news we couldn’t wait to tell you.”
“Of course it’s not a bad time. Come in.” Doug stepped back to allow them in, looking a little flustered.
Kelsey smiled at him, meeting his puzzled glance with a strong urge to reassure him things would be all right. Things would be all right, that’s why she was here. Why she was marrying a man who prickled her with his teasing and sizzled the soles of her feet with his kiss. A man who she’d normally skirt with all the caution of an intelligent girl determined not to get hurt.
But she was doing this for her sister. No way could she find another, less-risky stand-in groom in less than a week. Whatever else, the marriage thing had to be convincing and for some reason, she knew Doug would believe she’d fall for Jared more than some of the guys she’d gone out with.
As they stepped into the room, Kelsey caught sight of Amy, sitting on the couch, her body tense, her face pale.
“Amy!” She reached out to hug her sister. What was she doing here, Kelsey wondered in a sudden panic. She’d been prepared to tell Doug about her engagement, but she’d envisioned a more private way to give the news to her sister.
She hadn’t actually decided whether to tell Amy the truth about the engagement. Kelsey didn’t know which was better, trying to convince Amy they’d been having an affair all along or burdening her sister with the knowledge of her marriage’s falsity. But now that Amy was here with Doug, the decision seemed to have made itself.
“Uh, Jared, you remember Amy,” Doug said awkwardly, gesturing toward her as if he had no idea how she’d ended up in his living room.