Page 41 of Close to My Heart

Wes shrugged. “You’ll wear it for a few months, then Teddy can have it for his future fiancée.”

Jameson snorted. “Fat chance of that happening anytime soon. This one’s too wrapped up in his job to make time for a woman.”

“I don’t care if you use it for your ‘wedding,’” Teddy said, using his fingers as quotation marks.

“Why don’t you ask Dad for it?” Jameson asked innocently.

“You saw how he took to the fake engagement. There’s no way he’ll give me Mom’s ring,” Wes said as he sat on the arm of my chair. It was something he would have done before we were pretending to be engaged, but it felt different now.

My entire body heated at the proximity, and I reveled in the smell of soap and pine.

“I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about it,” Wes said, drinking most of the bottle before lowering it.

Everyone moved inside to look for food, and Wes asked, “How are you holding up?”

“Your sisters are planning our wedding. So far, we have flower girls, and they’re going to schedule me for a dress fitting.”

Wes shook his head. “Who are the flower girls?”

“Izzy and Faith.”

Wes nodded, his eyes shining with appreciation. “Good. They’ll love that.”

“You don’t think they’ll be confused about the fake nature of our relationship?” I kept my voice light, but it was something I was worried about.

“When we divorce, we’ll tell them it didn’t work out. They don’t need to know the details.”

“Is this crazy?” I asked him.

Wes gave me a serious look. “No more than your grandmother making it a condition of your inheritance.”

“Am I crazy for going along with it?” I persisted.

“It’s going to be an adventure, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it,” Wes said before he leaned over, hesitating for a second before touching his lips to mine.

It was so quick, so light, I thought I’d imagined the pressure. “What was that for?”

“I’m just practicing. You’re my girl now. You’re going to have to get used to touching and kissing.”

Then he winked and got up to go into the house.

The cold air did nothing to cool my overheated body. I wanted Wes to come back and kiss me again. I wanted to feel his body pressed against mine. I wanted him, and I knew I wasn’t going to come out of this unscathed.

10

WES

We stayed until late in the evening eating the feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans Daphne and Dad had prepared. For dessert, we ate Daphne’s pies. Everything about the evening felt right.

Was it too much to hope that was the first of many Christmases together?

When Sutton got up to put her wine glass in the kitchen, I followed her. “Are you ready to go home? I want to show you something.”

“I didn’t get you a gift with everything going on. Is there something you want?” Each year, Sutton got me something, whether it was a new TV or a cleaning service or a subscription to a coffee-bean delivery service. She claimed she enjoyed gift giving. But I didn’t need anything from her. I just needed her in my life. “You don’t need to get me anything.”

Her lips quirked up. “We’re engaged now. I feel like I should get my fiancé something.”

I liked the sound of the word fiancé on her lips a little too much. It had been hard to get the feel of that kiss out of my head. Even though it was brief, I still felt the press of her lips against mine. The sharp intake of breath right before I kissed her. “Being together is enough.”

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