“Good morning, Jane,” he said over Roxy’s bark of hello.
Jane patted Roxy on the head, then looked up at Wade. “Good morning. Well, well, you seem…different today.”
He removed Roxy’s leash. He often brought his dog into work when he had a long day ahead of him. Roxy didn’t like being left alone for too long at his house, so Wade had a doggy door installed at the clinic and had fenced in the back, so she could come and go as she pleased.
“Different?” he asked, shrugging out of his coat. “How so?”
“I don’t know… I think you might have been smiling when you walked in. It kind of threw me.”
“Funny,” he said, giving her a droll look. Then he gestured to the waiting room. “Everything back to normal out there?”
“If you call a guinea pig with a goiter the size of a golf ball normal, then I suppose the answer is yes.”
Wade frowned and looked at the guinea pig’s chart. The owners were here because they were concerned about a growth on Rocco’s neck, which they first noticed about a month ago.
“Okay, maybe not normal,” he said, flipping through the notes, “but it definitely looks more like a veterinary practice and less like Club Supersex.”
Jane chuckled. “Too bad. I miss the entertainment. But the day is still young.”
“If you’re looking for entertainment, you can hold a guinea pig down while I shave his neck. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I might have to actually do an ultrasound on it.” His first time on a guinea pig.
Jane stood and saluted him. “Ready and willing, boss.”
Thirty minutes later, the owners took their guinea pig home, having to ultimately decide if they wanted Wade to surgically remove the tumor, which had the chance to end poorly because he didn’t know if any major blood vessels were attached to it, or let the guinea pig live out his life until they noticed problems with him eating or with his behavior. A guinea pig’s life expectancy was short to begin with, so going through a surgery that might fail wasn’t usually worth the risk or expense. Still, Wade’s heartstrings tugged for their little boy who cradled the carrier so lovingly. When it came right down to it, death sucked no matter whether it was human or animal.
To cut the family a break, Wade hadn’t bothered charging them for the ultrasound.
He filed their paperwork and was about to check on some blood samples when Kinsley breezed into the office. “Hello, big brother,” she said in greeting.
Kinsley had on her usual businesswoman-hear-me-roar attire of a dark, slimming skirt and crisp white blouse. She carried a paper tray of coffees and a bag of doughnuts —that he noted with equal amounts of dismay and elation—were from Judy Tavish’s coffee shop.
“Gift,” she said, placing the tray down on the reception desk.
“Ooh, thanks, Kinsley.” Jane happily took a cup of coffee and began adding sugar. “How’s that new dog of yours?” she asked his sister.
Kinsley kissed him, then turned to Jane. “Potty-trained. Finally. And totally a little traitor. Precious is Team Damon all the way.”
Wade picked up a coffee and rolled his eyes. “Damon does seem to have a way with the ladies.”
“Not anymore he doesn’t,” she said with a huge grin. “And in less than three months, he officially becomes this lady’s one and only.”
Wade snorted. “Like you need a piece of paper and a few hundred witnesses to know that.”
Even through his cynical eyes, Wade saw that Damon and his sister were completely in love and completely devoted to each other. Kinsley had had a rough go of it with her former fiancé before she’d met Damon, so it was nice for her to find love again.
But truth be told, if his sister wasn’t so damn happy, he would have puked from their annoying PDAs months ago.
“So, what do I owe the visit and the gifts to anyway?” he asked, leading her to his back office.
“Oh, just wanted to see how you were doing.” An innocent smiled crossed her lips. “Catch up on things. See what was new with my favorite brother.”
Roxy was curled up sleeping on a giant dog bed but popped up when she saw Kinsley walk in. “And how’s my favorite girl?” his sister said, planting a kiss on her head. Roxy wagged her tail and licked Kinsley’s nose.
Wade shut the door behind him and half sat, half leaned on top of his desk. “Okay, it’s just us now. What are you really doing here?” he asked, smiling.
Kinsley lifted her chin. “Just what I said. I wanted to see how you were doing.” She peered at him closely. “So…how are you doing anyway? Anything you want to tell me?”
“No.”
She narrowed her eyes further. “Nothing?”
He shrugged. “Not that I can think of.”
“Have you checked Facebook?” she hinted.
Wade scrunched his face in thought. He rarely went on Facebook, but he did pop on it briefly today. He couldn’t remember seeing anything of interest this morning beyond a few recipes, a midweek morning meme, and a pretty cute cat video. “Okay, I give up. You tell me what I should be telling you.”
Kinsley placed her coffee down on his desk and crossed her arms. “I saw on the Cape Harmony Chatter Facebook group this morning that you, my dear brother, are in a relationship.”
“I am?”
“You don’t know if you’re in a relationship?”
He blinked, then wanted to smack himself upside the head. Relationship.
“Oh, that.” He was in a relationship. A fake relationship, but still. He and Arden’s plan was working, and news of their “relationship” was apparently spreading through town faster than he’d imagined. Which was good. But also bad. He’d hoped to ease his sister into the notion of his fake relationship with Arden, so she wouldn’t freak out. “Yeah. I meant to tell you about that whole thing.”
She threw him a sardonic grin. “You forgot to tell your only sister, your only sibling, and your only living family member within a hundred-mile radius that you had finally met and were seriously seeing someone?”
He swallowed. “Listen, it’s not what you think. Well, actually, it is what you think. But there’s more to the story—”
“Honestly, Wade, I can’t believe I had to even find out secondhand like this. But it is wonderful news. I was so hoping you would eventually find yourself a woman—and not just any woman—but someone you could share things and have a nice relationship with. I know it’s been hard since Miranda’s death. But I’m so happy to see you move on,” she said, throwing her arms around him. “This is the best day ever.”
Wade couldn’t quite bring himself to hug her back, knowing he was about to jab a machete in her “best day ever” balloon. “Easy, sis. You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”
“Hardly.” She pulled back, still smiling. “I mean, I know you still miss Miranda. I do, too. But it’ so nice to see you living again.”
“Kinsley…”
“Who’s the lucky woman? Anyone I know?”
He sighed. “Yeah, you could say that.”
She slapped both hands on her hips. “Well, who is she then?”
“Arden.”
Several seconds ticked by.
“Arden?” Kinsley cocked her head, wrinkling her nose. “My Arden? Arden Pearson?” she asked again.
“Correct on all three counts. However—”
Kinsley suddenly threw her head back and laughed. “Oh my gosh! Yeah, right. You totally had me going there for a second,” she said, still chuckling. “Arden. Come on, that is so hilarious. Like that would ever happen in this lifetime.”
For some ungodly reason, Wade’s temper stirred. “And why the hell is me and Arden being a couple so ridiculous?”
Okay, he knew deep down it was ridiculous, too. Sort of. He and Arden always seemed to end up sniping at each other if they were together for too long, for one thing. But he couldn’t resist getting her all riled up. Plus, there was the issue that Arden was Kinsley’s best friend and he’d made a promise to h
is sister that he’d never date her friends. But…that was a long time ago. Now they were both single, attractive adults. And, well, it wasn’t like he’d never had the thought cross his mind on occasion. Not that he had any real interest in Arden. Or any woman.
Kinsley wiped a stray tear of laughter from her eye and straightened. “It’s not true, is it?”
“Well, no.” He looked away. “Not…not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” Kinsley lowered herself into a chair. “I don’t think I’m going to like where this is going.”
“You won’t,” he said grimly. “Well, maybe you will. You see, Arden and I aren’t really dating. We’re just telling everyone we are.”
Kinsley’s mouth gaped open and she stared at him for several long seconds before finally closing it again. “But that’s crazy. No one is going to believe you guys are dating.”
“Apparently they are believing it. And for the record, we’re actually telling people we’re engaged, not just dating.”
“Engaged…” Kinsley raised a hand to her temple and let out a deep sigh. “Wow. I’d always suspected it, but now I know the truth. Mom did drop you on your head as a child.”
“Cute.” He smirked. “Still fewer times than you.”
“Ooh, good comeback,” she snapped. “At least I am in a real relationship with a real fiancé!”
“Shh!” Wade glanced at the closed door. “Will you keep your voice down? No one from the office knows anything about Arden yet. I didn’t want to spring the announcement on them too soon. Otherwise, it’ll look fake.”
She snorted. “That’s because it is fake, dumb-dumb. I can’t believe Arden actually agreed to this crazy idea. She’s normally so…so…” Kinsley finally looked up at him with a bemused expression. “So… not willing to help you. And why on earth would you ask her to do this anyway? You promised you’d never date another one of my friends,” she said, pointing a finger at him.
“Ah. But I never promised I wouldn’t fake date one of your friends.”
“That’s a technicality and you know it.”
Wade scrubbed his face wearily. Kinsley didn’t get the pressure he’d been under to date. Hadn’t experienced the pitying looks or the whispers behind his back, either. The whole town probably still felt he wasn’t over his wife’s death. Maybe that was partly true. The other half was that he was afraid of ever going through that kind of pain again. Relationships, love…it was so unreliable.
What was the point?
Yeah, he’d met women, and if he’d ever had an itch to scratch, it was simply scratched and that was all. He’d been upfront with any woman he’d met, so nobody ever got hurt. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him continuing to live like that.
“It’s a long story, Kinsley. Arden didn’t want to help me at first. She thought it was insane, too.”
“Thank goodness for that. My faith in our friendship has been restored.”
“She obviously changed her mind, though.”
“Unchange it.”
He threw his hands up. “It’s not that simple, Kins. She has some big-named client who didn’t feel she could do a proper job if she hadn’t been engaged herself.”
Kinsley furrowed her brow. “But she had been engaged,” she murmured.
That’s right. She had.
Wade frowned. He remembered now. It was a long time ago, back when Arden had lived in Philadelphia. Kinsley had told him about it because she had been in the bridal party. But she never told him what happened.
“Why didn’t she get married?” he asked.
She waved his question away. “Her fiancé turned out to be a jerk is all. I guess it does kind of explain the reasoning for this whole charade. I don’t like it, though. Not one bit. Who else besides me knows the truth?”
“Only you. And we’d like to keep it that way.”
“Well, I have to tell Damon.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. You can tell Damon. But that’s all. I’m serious, Kinsley. I’m not just thinking about myself here. If Arden’s client accidentally hears that she’s been lying to her to get the job, it would be a disaster for her. I don’t want to see her or her business get hurt on account of me.”
Kinsley cocked her head and studied him for a few moments, a curious speculation in her eyes. “Okay. We won’t tell a soul. But my sensible self would like to go on record by saying that I think this whole thing is a hot mistake on wheels.”
“Why? Because I want to decide who I date and when I date all by myself?”
“But that’s just it, Wade. You haven’t been dating at all, not seriously. What are you afraid of?”
He gritted his teeth and stood. “It’s my life, and this is what I want right now. I like my life the way it is.” But even though his mind knew the words by heart, his tongue almost tripped over them.
Kinsley let out a long breath, then walked over to him. “You’re right. You’re a big boy. A childish chicken of a big boy, but I’m not going to apologize for trying to look out for your best interests. Family does those things.”
Wade’s heart lifted at her declaration. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. “Thank you. But please, Kins, you worry too much. Everything will be fine.”
“Fine. But no funny business with Arden,” she said, jabbing a finger into his chest.
“Arden knows the deal and is just as happy using me as a front, too.”
She drew back and threw him a reluctant smile. “Okay, if Arden is willing to go along with it, then I will be, too. At least it’ll be nice for a few months to pretend my brother is in a relationship and actually acting like a normal human being once again.”
“Aww, gee, you’re the best sister I could ever ask for.”
She patted his cheek. “And don’t you forget it.”
Chapter Five
Arden was creating a spreadsheet for Milena’s wedding when movement drew her attention to the door of her office. Maggie and Jessica stood with folded arms, looking like they were about to accuse her of eating the last of the gingerbread muffins. Which…truth be told…she kind of had.
Oops.
Arden dropped her hands and sat back. “Problem, ladies?” she asked, nonchalantly brushing the muffin-crumb evidence from her lap.
Both women barged in, stopping in front of her desk. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Maggie whined. “We thought we went beyond just coworkers. We thought we were your friends. But no… We had to see the big news on Facebook this morning.”
Jessica gave Maggie a look. “Facebook? What are you talking about? I saw it on Instagram last night.”
Arden held up her hands. “Wait. What news?” Oh, please don’t let it be any more news about that runaway groom. Last Arden had heard, the man was still in the Bahamas. And boy she really hoped he had burned his coconuts good.
Jessica grinned, elbowing Maggie in the side. “Look at her being all coy with the ‘what news.’”
“Why would you even keep something like this a secret?” Maggie said, her eyes round with amazement. “You and Wade Roberts? That’s the most delicious thing I’ve come across since Judy Tavish’s Nutella-glazed doughnuts.”
Arden wanted to kick herself. She and Wade. Of course. How awesome. News was spreading already. “Oh, right! Yes! Me and Wade.” She pasted on a fake smile and shrugged. Honestly, what else could she say? She and Wade hadn’t actually discussed what they would tell friends and coworkers yet, so she just lamely repeated, “Yep. Wade and me.”
Maggie sat down in the chair, wagging a finger at her. “You’re a sly one. He’s been on the market forever. I mean if I were dating Dr. Divine, I would have been standing in the middle of town, announcing it through a megaphone.”
Jessica rolled her eyes and grinned. “I think that’s part of the reason why you’re not dating Dr. Divine. Well, that and your husband,” she added cheekily.
“So how did you do it?” Maggie leaned in and asked. “I’ve only seen him occasionally go out with a vacationer o
r an out-of-town bridesmaid or two. Otherwise, he always kind of keeps to himself.”
Arden took a deep breath. She should have prepared herself more for the onslaught of questions from people in town. It was just that everything had happened so fast. She and Wade still had to compare notes and go over some ground rules for their charade. He’d promised he would stop by her office on his lunch break today to discuss their plan before something like this happened. Now what?
“Um, we always seemed to be running into each other through Kinsley. And he eventually asked me out and the rest just kind of happened,” Arden said with a shrug.
Vague. Extremely flimsy. But pretty much true. So why did she still feel as if she were going straight to hell?
Maggie sighed. “Well, I think the two of you together is fantastic. Didn’t you tell me once you had a crush on him when you guys were in high school?”
Arden inwardly winced. She had admitted that to her once at a wedding. She blamed those frothy yellow drinks she’d had at the end of the night to celebrate another successful wedding planned and completed—well, that and her big fat mouth.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Aww… That makes your relationship even cuter. High school sweethearts.”
“Uh, no,” Arden said, shaking her head. “No, we weren’t high school sweethearts. Not even close. He didn’t know I was alive back then. I just had a little crush on him.”
Okay, another lie. She was definitely going to hell. She hadn’t had a little crush on Wade Roberts. Unbeknownst to Kinsley, she’d had a huge would-have-jumped-his-bones-in-two-seconds-flat crush on him back then. But then again, who hadn’t had a crush on him? Although to be honest, Wade wasn’t your typical high school crush–poster child. He hadn’t been the bad boy or the phenomenal athlete. Instead, he’d simply been the studious guy—who also happened to be good-looking and funny.
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