“But you did get a dog. That means you were looking for companionship.”
“No, it just means Miranda was allergic to animals and I always wanted a dog.”
Arden blinked. “She was allergic? But she helped out at the animal shelter.”
“Yeah, she loved animals. But the only way she could enjoy a pet was in small doses with lots of antihistamines.”
“I’m actually thinking about getting a dog myself. Something low maintenance. Small.”
“You’ve just described a cat.”
She shook her head. “No, I want an animal happy to see me and to lick my face when I come home and to snuggle with at night.”
“Then you’ve just described me.”
She laughed, and like most times, something fluttered deep in his belly. Something fairly primitive and nothing at all resembling friendship.
He cleared his throat. “I thought you enjoyed being single, too?”
“Yes, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be single.”
He blew out a breath, relieved they were still on the same page of their relationship and that she wasn’t hinting to wanting more. So the kick of disappointment he felt in his gut made no sense.
Something shifted in her eyes. “As much as I enjoy being single, I guess there is a part of me that wants some company every now and again.”
He tugged on a loose strand of her hair. “Well, you’re in for a ton of company. You’re stuck with me until Kinsley’s wedding, and you’ll be seeing plenty of Roxy until you get your own dog. I can even drop her off here on nights when I’m at the shelter.”
“Wow, that must be a big step for you, agreeing to joint custody and all,” she teased.
Wade frowned. Truthfully, it was. Over the last several years, he’d managed to keep everything about his personal life under lock and key—even from his own sister. And here he was, offering up his dog to this woman.
“Uh-oh. I spooked you. Maybe we should order some food to shove in my mouth before I stick my foot in it any more than I already have,” she said with a small smile.
“You haven’t said anything wrong.” He wrapped his arms around her. He felt the warmth of her skin beneath the thick fabric of her blouse and smelled the clean fruity scent of her shampoo and couldn’t ever remember wanting a woman this badly. “You know, I’m not sure I’m hungry yet,” he murmured, kissing her neck.
“Okay.” She pulled back, her eyes sparkling with humor. “Star Trek marathon it is.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking. Although, I wouldn’t mind boldly going where no man has gone before,” he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down.
She shook her head and chuckled. “Geek-sex talk.”
“Is it working?”
She flashed him a grin, then stepped back into his arms. “It’s not a bad start.”
…
The next day, Arden walked into the Harbor Light Hotel, amazed at the work that Kinsley had done to it over the past year. The old, fraying gold carpet had been ripped up and replaced with glossy black-and-cream tiles, making the entrance look contemporary yet still elegant. She also noted the walls had been given a fresh coat of paint and new furniture had been added in the lobby as well. She was beginning to wonder if Milena Swenson would like an intimate venue such as this as one of her potential choices.
Elena was working the front desk and gave her a sunny smile in greeting. “I should be furious at you,” she said, shaking a finger at her.
Arden blinked. “Why?”
“For not telling me you were engaged. I found out through Kinsley. Why the secret? I think it’s so fantastic for both of you.” Elena scurried around the front desk and gave Arden a big hug.
“Oh, thank you,” Arden mumbled into her friend’s shoulder.
“Do you have a date set?” Elena pulled back and took hold of Arden’s hand. “Wade knows you so well,” she said, admiring the engagement ring Wade had given her yesterday. “Ooh, maybe we could do a double Christmas wedding together? Wouldn’t that be so fun?”
Arden almost choked. “Uh, maybe you should let me get used to the idea of being engaged first.”
She was still getting used to the idea of her and Wade together as a real couple. Not that it was difficult. On the contrary. She’d had the best night of her life with Wade last night. And it hadn’t just been about the sex. Wade was so easy to talk to. He listened to her. Really listened. And he could be just so incredibly sweet. He’d even brought her pink roses, which were now sitting on her nightstand.
“Earth to Arden.” Elena snapped her fingers in front of Arden’s nose. “Looks like you’re already used to the idea of being engaged,” she said with a sardonic grin. “But I’ll give you a pass just this one time and offer you some cookies instead.” She held out a tray that was on the table behind her.
Arden eyed the goodies with interest. “Ooh, from Chef Rick?”
“Yes, he’s trying out some new recipes to add to the High Tea menu.”
“Hey, guys.” Kinsley walked out of the back offices just as Arden took a bite of a raspberry-filled butter cookie that she was definitely going to need the recipe for. “Sorry, Arden, but I got held up on the phone. You weren’t waiting long, were you?”
Arden shook her head and swallowed. “Not long enough. I didn’t even finish one cookie yet.”
“More for me,” Elena said with a grin.
Kinsley chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a stash in my office. Come on back.” She motioned for Arden to follow her.
Once they were settled in Kinsley’s office, Kinsley folded her hands, giving Arden a long searching look. “So…before we talk weddings, how’s the fake engagement going with my brother?”
Arden took another bite of her cookie and glanced away. “Oh fine,” she mumbled.
Kinsley pointed. “Is that my mother’s engagement ring you’re wearing?”
Arden winced, then glanced down at the ring on her finger, still managing to sparkle in the mild office light. “Oh, uh, yeah. Wade thought we needed a real ring as a prop. You know, to make the engagement look legit.”
“Legit. Right.” Kinsley drummed her fingers on her desk in thought. “You sure do have the whole town fooled.”
“I guess we do.” For some reason she had a hard time getting the cookie down her throat and decided to give up eating any more of it. “Well, we’re good actors,” she said, brushing her hands off.
“I don’t think it’s good acting.”
Arden stilled. “Oh? What do you think it is then?”
Kinsley’s brown eyes narrowed. “I’m not really sure. But I happened to run into Wade this morning at the coffee shop, and he seemed…” She paused as if looking for the right word.
Arden held her breath.
“He seemed what?” she finally asked.
“Disheveled. Almost as if he hadn’t been home all night.”
She swallowed. After he’d spent the night at her place, Wade must have stopped for coffee before heading home. “Huh. That’s weird.”
Kinsley’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t it?”
“Um, maybe he was at the shelter all night.”
“Maybe. But you know what else was weird? He seemed happy.”
“Really?” Arden felt a goofy grin spread across her lips. Because truth be told, she was feeling pretty happy, too. Like all the boxes in her life-is-complete list had been checked off.
Twice.
“Oh yes. In fact, he kind of had the look you’re giving me right now,” Kinsley said, waving her index finger toward Arden’s face.
Arden frowned. “Well, I’m sure he’s just happy that he’s off the town-matchmaking market. And I’m sure I’m happy that—”
Kinsley made a buzzer noise. “Wrong. I’ve known both of you for too long.” She folded her arms and waited. “What’s really going on between you two? And be honest.”
Arden rushed out a breath. There was no point in trying to lie. Obviously, they weren’t d
oing a very good job of hiding the truth and it had only been one day. “Okay. It’s kind of a funny story.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“You didn’t hear the story yet!”
Kinsley grabbed a cookie off her desk and sat back. “I’m listening.”
Arden stood, suddenly feeling anxious and a little overheated. “Well, Wade and I spending so much time together for show made us realize that we actually do like spending time together.” She stopped pacing and glanced at Kinsley. “So we decided to try real fake dating.”
“Real fake dating?” Kinsley cocked an eyebrow. “Gee, I’m so glad that’s cleared up.”
Arden smiled. “I know it sounds confusing, but it seems to be working for us.” For now anyway.
“Can you please explain what it all means and how exactly it is working out for you? Are you guys together or not?”
“Yes. Sort of.” For now. Oh man, even I’m confused.
“Arden!”
She sighed. “Yes. We are exclusively dating.” Among other things his sister probably wouldn’t want to hear.
“Oh my gosh,” Kinsley breathed. “This is…terrible.”
“I— Terrible?”
“Yes. This affects our friendship and the whole dynamics of my wedding, too. You are the maid of honor and Wade’s the best man. What happens when you break up?”
When you break up. She rolled her tongue over her teeth at that question. Kinsley’s assumption that she and Wade would not only inevitably break up, but they would also have bad blood between them irked her. Which was ridiculous, since they would in fact break up. But it still hurt to know that her friend didn’t want her romantically involved with her brother even after all the talk of wishing Wade would find someone.
Arden held up spread fingers. “Hold on, Kinsley. This affects my friendship with Wade, too. But Wade and I are adults and have already discussed this. We agreed that when our fake engagement is over, our real relationship will be over, too.” An odd little twinge went through her chest once the words were said, but she attributed it to the cookie still lodged in her esophagus.
Kinsley’s face fell. “You’re using my brother for sex?”
“That’s a terrible thing to say!”
She grimaced. “It was one thing to have a fake relationship, but now to have a temporary real one… Oh my gosh, this is eighth grade all over again.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wade dated my best friend for two months back then. It was uncomfortable during, but after they broke up, it turned into a real nightmare. She was so hurt, she turned on me and had turned others against me, too. I even had to quit French Club because of it.”
Arden shook her head. “Oh, Kins, that will never be you and me. Besides, Wade doesn’t want any serious relationship right now.”
“That’s exactly what concerns me.” She cocked her head, looking at Arden thoughtfully. “What about you? What do you want?”
Truthfully, she really wanted someday to fall in love again.
More than that. She wanted to be wanted until “death do us part.” The kind of love that went deep into your bones and you carried with you even when you were apart. A forever kind of love. Unfortunately, that was for other women, not her. For some reason, she didn’t seem to attract men who wanted her for that for always timeframe. She’d make the best of what she was offered and enjoy her time with Wade while she had it. What was so wrong with that?
Arden sat back down. “Kinsley, please. It’s not about what I want. You know I’m not good with relationships.”
“Who says you’re not?”
“My track record speaks for itself.” She’d dated exactly fourteen men in her lifetime. All of those relationships had lasted less than six months with the exception of one broken engagement. If that wasn’t evidence, she didn’t know what was.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.
Kinsley shook her head. “My brother went through a horrendous time dealing with Miranda’s illness and death. And he more or less went through it alone, and now he’s shut himself off emotionally from love. Truthfully, if you weren’t my best friend and you weren’t always bickering with each other, I would have suspected that you’d be a perfect couple a long time ago.”
Maybe deep down in her heart, Arden had thought the same, which was why she’d always picked fights with him. But she wasn’t going there now. She couldn’t change Wade’s thoughts or feelings on love. “We are perfect together, Kins. For now. There’s just no commitment involved. We both agreed to it.”
Kinsley stuck out her lip. “But commitments are important. Love is important.”
Arden wanted to believe that was true, but she wasn’t about to get her hopes up again. Not when Wade made it perfectly clear that his heart was not an option up for grabs and her track record with men was less than stellar. “Stop worrying. Wade and I know what we’re doing. And if I’m not mistaken, didn’t you dive headfirst into a relationship with Damon, knowing full well he wasn’t the commitment type and would be going back to New York at the end of the summer?”
Kinsley pursed her lips. “Yeah. But that was different.”
“How so?”
She seemed to think it over for several moments, then threw her hands up. “I don’t know! I’ll have to get back to you.”
Arden laughed. Then a knock sounded on the office door before it swung open. Kinsley’s fiancé, Damon, poked his head in with a mischievous grin. “Am I interrupting wedding planning business?”
Kinsley sprang from her chair and practically floated a full foot in the air over to the door to greet her fiancé. “No,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him sweetly. “We haven’t even started yet. We were too busy talking about—”
“Cookies.” Arden held one of them up “Right, Kinsley? We were talking about cookies.” Good grief, she did not need another judgmental opinion voiced on her pseudo-relationship with Wade right now. Her mood was already suffering. She took an exaggerated bite and rubbed her stomach. “Mmm… These cookies are yummo.”
“Uh, right.” Kinsley said, taking Arden’s hint. “They sure are yummo.”
Damon cocked an eyebrow. “This town sure likes to use that word.”
“Well, get used to yummo.” Kinsley chuckled. “Come this March, you’re going to be living in this town for a very long time.”
“I am used to yummo.” Damon kissed the tip of her nose and grinned down at her. “Just don’t expect me to ever say it.”
Kinsley’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Don’t throw the gauntlet down like that. You know how much I love a challenge.”
“As a matter a fact, I am more than well aware of that.”
Watching them together, so clearly in love, Arden felt a raw ache behind her ribs.
She cleared her throat. “Um, hi,” she said, with a wave. “Awkward spectator here. I know you two are in your own little world, but try to remember I’m in the room. That cookie I ate is threatening to come up.”
Kinsley laughed. “Oops. Sorry.” She quickly took Damon by the shoulders and spun him toward the door. “You need to leave,” she told him, giving him a gentle shove. “Now.”
“Wow, you’re so bossy.” He flashed her a grin. “And I like it.”
Kinsley shut the door on his surprised face with a giggle. She turned back to Arden. “Believe me, I’m going to pay for that one later.”
Arden held in a wistful sigh. It was nice to see her friend so happy and in love. In fact, between Arden’s job and now her personal life, she was surrounded by people in love twenty-four seven.
Which was just…great. Yes, great. She enjoyed living vicariously through all of them.
One of the perks of being a wedding planner—witnessing the fact that deep, lasting love and long, meaningful relationships were indeed possible.
Unfortunately, just not possible for her.
Chapter Ten
Before the second ring of his doorb
ell, Roxy was at Wade’s door with her tail wagging in excitement.
Arden was early. Not that he wasn’t pleased to see her this soon. He’d been looking forward to it all day. But he’d just gotten out of the shower not too long ago and hadn’t really had time to straighten up his condo before she arrived. He really should hire a cleaning service. Dog hair and empty cups were everywhere.
Why was he even concerned about his place being neat? Arden had seen his condo plenty of times over the years and he’d never given the condition of it a thought. For some reason he wanted to please her today. Make sure she was comfortable. He wanted her to like his home.
After all, he planned for her to be spending a lot of time in it while they were “engaged.”
He answered the door, prepared to give her a knock-her-socks-off greeting, but came face to face with his across-the-street neighbor instead. “Oh, hey, Mrs. Rollins,” he said, opening the door wider. “Come on in. Is everything okay?”
“I’m just fine, dear.” Her eighty-four-year-old face split into a wide grin as she stepped inside. As she passed, she leaned into his chest and sniffed. “Expecting company?”
Roxy barked twice, and Mrs. Rollins gave her a few pats on her head to settle her down.
“Uh, yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” He checked his watch. In fact, Arden would be here soon. “My fiancée is coming over for dinner tonight.”
He stilled briefly, not wanting to analyze how easily the words “my fiancée” had slid off his tongue.
“Oh, yes, that lovely young lady I saw you with at the coffee shop a few weeks back. Congratulations, dear. I’m so glad everything is working out for you. I was a little concerned because I haven’t seen her come over lately. I wanted to make sure you two were okay.”
He smiled, already assuming that she and her friends were still monitoring his love life. “I’m just fine, Mrs. Rollins. Thanks for checking, but Arden and I couldn’t be happier.”
That much was true. He hadn’t felt this lighthearted in years. Hadn’t felt anything in years.
“Oh, well, then I’m glad I made this for you.” She held out a plastic bowl.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said, taking the container. He tried to look through the plastic and saw a bunch of white fluff. “Um, what is it?”
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