Page 96 of An Unexpected Love

“Soon,” Charlotte promised.

* * *

The opportunity came the following morning. After walking Higgins, Charlotte was on her way to the office, crossing the parking lot. She’d spent a sleepless night composing what she intended to say to Jason. She’d wait until that evening, go to his apartment and say what needed to be said.

She was halfway to her car when she heard her name. Her heart filled with dread when she saw Jason jogging toward her.

“Hello,” she said, feeling wretched.

“I won’t keep you.” His eyes bored into hers. “I want you to know I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. I should never have gotten involved. This is between you and Carrie, and I was out of line.”

“I should never have spoken to you the way I did.”

“You were angry and you had every right to be.”

“But you… Oh, Jason, I feel terrible.”

He frowned. “Why should you?”

“Carrie told me how you were willing to help chaperone the dance and…and I didn’t have the common decency to hear you out.”

“It’s probably for the best. I’m not much of a dancer.”

Charlotte smiled up at him, knowing her heart shone in her eyes, and not caring. “Why don’t you let me find that out for myself Friday night?”

Eight

“You need to borrow a suit?” Rich asked, looking smugly amused as he led Jason to the walk-in closet in the huge master bedroom. The home had been built several years earlier, when Jamie was pregnant with Bethany. Rich himself had designed the sprawling L-shaped rambler that overlooked Puget Sound, and he was justifiably proud.

“Yes, I need to borrow a suit,” Jason muttered, not giving his brother the satisfaction of explaining. Already he regretted having volunteered to be a chaperone for this dance. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t going to be whirling around a dance floor as if he knew what he was doing. He’d probably make a fool of himself in front of Charlotte and a bunch of smart-aleck ninth-graders.

As an engineer, Rich was required to dress more formally on the job than Jason was. Jason owned a suit, but it was outdated. Maybe if he waited a few more years it would become fashionable again.

If the truth be known, he wasn’t even sure when he’d last worn it. Sometime in college, he guessed. He’d buyanother one if he thought he’d get any use out of it, but that didn’t seem likely.

“What do you need a suit for?” Rich asked outright.

“I wouldn’t be borrowing one if I’d known I was going to face an inquisition.”

Rich chuckled, clearly enjoying Jason’s discomfort. “I just want to be sure you aren’t going to run off and marry Charlotte. Mom would kill you if you pulled a stunt like that.”

Jason snickered, hoping to give the impression that marriage was the furthest thing from his mind, which it was. Wasn’t it?

“Hey, don’t act like it couldn’t happen,” Rich said, pushing hangers aside as he sorted through several tailored jackets. “With our family’s history, it wouldn’t be unheard-of for you to elope.”

Jason couldn’t argue with that. It had all started with Taylor. A few years back, his sister had moved to Montana and within three months had married Russ Palmer. The decision to marry had apparently been impulsive—and it happened while they were chaperoning the high-school drill team in Reno. The deed was done by the time they bothered to contact any family.

Jason frowned. Taylor had been a chaperone, too, and look where it had led. This high-school dance was beginning to sound more and more dangerous.

Christy had married on the sly, too, again without telling anyone in the family. There were extenuating circumstances in her case, however. Well, sort of. His youngest sister had actually been engaged—to a lawyer, James Wilkens—when she’d gone to Idaho with Cody Franklin and married him. Their marriage had caused quite a ruckus in the family, but eventually everythinghad been smoothed over. Anyway, Christy was much better suited to Cody than to James, although the attorney had remained a good family friend.

Rich had followed suit, marrying Jamie with some idiotic idea of being a sperm donor for her baby. Jason had stood up for his brother, but he’d known from the beginning that the two of them were in love. He’d predicted that this sperm donor business wouldn’t pan out, and he’d been right. Jamie had gotten pregnant, sooner than either of them had expected, and the process hadn’t involved any artificial insemination, either.

Paul had been next. Diane, Paul’s first wife, had died tragically, shortly after giving birth to Kelsey. Her loss had sent the family reeling. For six months, Paul had shunned his family’s offers of help, attempting to balance his duties at home with his job and at the same time comfort his grieving children, all preschoolers. He’d been proud and angry. Leah, Diane’s sister, had convinced him he couldn’t continue alone. She’d given up her teaching position at the college and moved in with Paul and the children. Shortly afterward, they were married. But once again, no one in the family was informed of the ceremony.

The only single Manning left was Jason, and he didn’t plan to get married. He’d decided that years before. It was unfortunate that his parents had been cheated out of putting on a large wedding, but those were the breaks. He wasn’t marching down any aisle just to satisfy his mother’s need to work with caterers and some florist friend she’d known for years.

“So, Jase,” Rich said casually, breaking into his thoughts. “How are things with you and Charlotte?”

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