“Of course.” Jared smiled, offering his hand.
“Are you…feeling better?” Kelsey murmured, noting her sister’s sardonic glance.
“A little,” Amy said shortly.
They’d definitely interrupted an argument.
Kelsey stared at her sister and best friend bleakly, a wave of self-recrimination breaking over her again. God, she’d been a twit all these years.
Jared slid his arm around her shoulder, jolting her back to the task at hand. She was here to fix things, if possible.
She glanced up at Jared, approximating a tender, intimate smile, praying her sister’s shock at this announcement wouldn’t blow the whole game. “We just stopped by to tell you some exciting news.”
“Oh, really?” Doug's face was tight and worried.
“Yes,” Kelsey said softly. “Jared asked me to marry him and I said yes.”
“Kelsey!” her sister yelped. “Oh, my God! How wonderful! And you said you wouldn’t date Jared because he’d be too demanding! You sneak!”
Avoiding Jared’s eyes, Kelsey submitted to her sister’s enthusiastic embrace. Damn. She’d forgotten Amy teasing her about her attraction to him.
In the midst of Amy’s stunned, excited babble of reaction and Doug’s stunned silence, Kelsey felt Jared’s arm slip reassuringly around her. She leaned back into him, letting Doug’s shocked incomplete sentences wash over her as Amy continued to exclaim over their news.
“Congratulations!” her sister said enthusiastically. “You never said a word! I knew you were attracted to him, Kels, but how could you keep everything so quiet? This is wonderful! Isn’t it wonderful, Doug?”
“O-of course,” he stammered, his face suffused with red. “I’m just, I’m…surprised. I didn’t realize…you never said.”
Jared bent and kissed her softly, his lips clinging briefly to hers.
For just a moment, Kelsey forgot where she was, his touch leaving her lips tingling. God, his mouth felt good.
He straightened, his gaze tangling with hers for a long moment.
“We kept our relationship quiet,” Kelsey acknowledged, her body registering the strength and warmth of the masculine arm around her despite the gravity of the moment.
Jared brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, his fingers warm against her skin for a fleeting instant. “We didn’t want things to get complicated for Kelsey at work, but now that we’ve fallen in love, we decided what the hell.”
“How romantic,” Amy sighed, hugging them both. “But you could have told me! I wouldn’t have blabbed.”
Amy’s face was radiant with happiness, bringing another twinge of guilt to Kelsey’s heart. She hated to lie to the people she loved. Still, this was the kind of lie Amy loved, the happy ending she’d always predicted for Kelsey.
Her sister beamed at her, laughing. “I should have known Jared would be the one to capture your heart. He’s smart enough to see what a prize you are and tough enough to win you over! We need to make a toast. You keep some champagne in the refrigerator for special occasions, don’t you, Doug?”
“Of course,” he said, still staring at Kelsey, his face pale now.
Bouncing with joy, Amy disappeared into the kitchen alcove, rummaging noises emitting from the refrigerator.
“I’ll help her.” Jared's arm slid from Kelsey’s shoulders.
She brushed aside a second of panic, watching his broad back disappear around the corner. He was giving her time alone with Doug, she knew. This was the moment of truth. She had to lie to her old friend for all she was worth.
“You never even told me you were dating him,” Doug said, disbelief and shock in his eyes. “You showed up with him at the banquet, two days ago, and now this?”
“I know,” she said, shrugging helplessly. “It didn’t seem like a big deal at first, but then—“
“How long? How long have you been seeing him?” Doug interrupted, his voice odd and distant as if he were speaking through a tunnel.
Vague dates wouldn’t do here, she knew. If this thing were to work, she had to make it believable. “We started dating right after New Year’s.”
“That’s impossible,” Doug declared. “You were going out with that guy, Tom Urhouse, in January. I remember distinctly.”
Kelsey looked down, keeping her voice low and soft. “Doug, Jared and I didn’t start out dating exclusively.”
“But what about that other guy in March, the one you were so excited about for a week or two? Hell, James Buchanan last week!”
She resisted the urge to wince. Was she such a lightweight as to be excited about men for only a week or two? “Caleb Witherspoon, the model. I dated him in January. I guess, I was trying to resist my feelings for Jared. Falling in love is scary.”