Page 33 of An Unexpected Love

“Yes.”

There was a moment’s silence.

“You’re scared,” Shelly went on, “frightened half out of your wits because of everything you feel. I know, because I went through the same thing. Jill, please, think about this before you do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”

“I have thought about it,” she insisted. She’d thought of little else since her last encounter with Jordan. Since her talk with Shelly. Since her visit to her mother’s. She’d carefully weighed her options. Marrying Ralph seemed the best course.

“You have no intention of changing your mind, do you?” Shelly cried. “Do you expect me to stand by and donothingwhile you ruin your life?”

“I’m not ruining my life. Don’t be absurd.” Her voice grew hard. “Naturally I’ll return your aunt Milly’s wedding dress and—”

“No,” Shelly groaned. “Here, talk to Mark.”

“Jill?” Mark came on the line. “What’s the problem?”

Jill didn’t want to repeat everything. She was tired and it was late and all she wanted to do was go to bed. Escape for the next eight hours and then face the world again. Jill hadn’t intended to tell Shelly and Mark her news quite so soon, but there’d been a telephone message from them when she got home. She’d decided she might as well let Shelly know about her decision. Jillwasn’t sure what kind of reaction she’d expected from her friends, but certainly not this.

“Just a minute,” Mark said next. “Shelly’s trying to tell me something.”

Although Shelly had given the phone to her husband, Jill could hear her friend’s frantic words as clearly as if she still held the receiver. Shelly was pleading with Mark to talk some sense into Jill, begging him to try because she hadn’t been able to change Jill’s mind.

“Mark,” Jill called, but apparently he didn’t hear her. “Mark,” she tried again, louder this time.

“I’m sorry, Jill,” he said politely, “but Shelly’s upset, and I’m having a hard time figuring out just what the problem is. All I can make out is that you’ve decided not to see Jordan Wilcox again.”

“I’m marrying Ralph Emery, and I don’t think he’d take kindly to my dating Jordan.”

Mark chuckled. “No, I don’t suppose he would. Frankly, I believe the decision is yours, and yours alone. I know Jordan, I’ve talked to him a couple of times and I share your concerns. I can’t picture him married.”

“He’s already married,” Jill stated unemotionally, “to his job. A wife would only get in the way.”

“That’s probably true. What about Ralph—have I met him?”

“I don’t think so,” Jill returned stiffly. “He’s a very nice man. Honest and hardworking. Shelly seems to think he’s dull, and perhaps he is in some ways, but he…cares for me. It isn’t a great love match, but we’re both aware of that.”

“Shelly thinks I’m dull, too, but that didn’t stop her from marrying me.”

Mark was so calm, so reassuring. He was exactlywhat Jill needed. She was so grateful she felt close to tears. “I want to do the right thing,” she said, gulping in a quick breath. Her voice wavered and she bit her lower lip, blinking rapidly.

“It’s difficult knowing what’s right sometimes, isn’t it?” Mark said quietly. “I remember how I felt the first time I met Shelly. Here was this completely bizarre woman announcing to everyone who’d listen that she refused to marry me. I hadn’t even asked—didn’t even know her name. Then we stumbled on each other a second time and a third, and finally I learned about Aunt Milly’s wedding dress.”

“What did you think when she told you?”

“That it was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.”

“I did, too. I still do.” She wanted a husband,but not Jordan.

“I’m sure you’ll make the right decision,” Mark said confidently.

“I am, too. Thanks, Mark, I really appreciate talking to you.” The more she grew to know her friend’s husband, the more Jill realized how perfectly they suited each other. Mark brought balance into Shelly’s life, and she’d infused his with her warmth and wit. If only she, Jill, could have met someone like Mark.

No sooner had she hung up the phone than there was a loud knock on her door. Since it was late, close to eleven, Jill was surprised.

Peering through the peephole, she gasped and drew away. Jordan Wilcox.

“I thought you were in Hawaii,” she said as she opened the door.

“I was.” His eyes scanned her hungrily. “This morning Ihad the most incredible feeling something was wrong. I tried to call, but there wasn’t any answer.”

---