Her phone dinged, and a notification from the dating site app flashed on her screen.
Jo pointed at it. “What’s that? Maybe it’s a new message from Mr. Not Interested.”
She flipped the phone face down on the table. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Trust me. He’s not asking me out again. He made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want a second date.”
Angela and Morgan walked in together, waved, and headed for the counter.
Mary Beth didn’t want to go through the painful and embarrassing story of Todd dumping her when she’d thought he was going to propose. “Did you tell them about Todd?”
Jo bit her lip. “Yes, but they promised not to tell anyone. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine.” Preferable, even. Mary Beth sipped her coffee and glanced at the back of her phone. Why had Christian sent her a message? What did he want?
Jo laughed, picked up the phone, and held it out to her. “You know you want to see what that message was about.”
She took it and set it on her lap. “It’s probably his sister again. Maybe she feels bad about the whole thing.”
“Or maybe it’s him, and he finally realized he can’t live without you.”
“Doubtful.” More like impossible.
“Mary Beth!” Angela slid into the seat beside her. “We’re so glad you’re here. We were afraid you wouldn’t show.”
Morgan plopped down in the opposite chair. “Todd’s a total jerk. Who would do that on your anniversary?”
“It’s okay. Really. I’m moving on.” And she meant it. If Todd could make huge decisions about his life without even considering her, she didn’t want to be with him. She wanted someone who made an effort. Someone who really loved her.
Angela wrinkled up her face. “Have you been on our class Facebook page lately?”
They’d set up the page last year to try to locate all the classmates they didn’t have contact information on for the reunion invitations, and people had used it to post old photos and talk about their high school years. “No, why?”
Angela and Morgan glanced at each other.
Her lungs tightened. “What’s on there?”
“Well,” Morgan said. “A few people might think you’re engaged.”
This couldn’t be happening. What would make them think that? “I didn’t tell anybody about things with Todd except you guys.”
“Did you tell someone at the salon before your date? Apparently, the nail tech is Margot Winfred’s sister-in-law.”
Mary Beth put a hand over her mouth. When the woman had asked her if she was getting her nails done for a special occasion, she’d told her she wanted to be prepared in case she got an engagement ring. How could she not know that her nail tech was related to the biggest gossip in her graduating class? “Is everyone talking about it? What have they said?” Now if she showed up to the reunion alone, they’d know that not only had he not proposed but that he’d dumped her.
Angela sighed, picked up her phone, and swiped her finger across the screen. “Here,” she said, handing it to her. “You can read it for yourself.”
Her eyes struggled to focus on the words on the screen.
Has anyone else heard that Mary Beth Holland got engaged over the weekend?
Really? Are you sure?
I don’t see any photos of a boyfriend on her page.
Hmmmm.
Mary Beth, what’s the deal?
I guess we’ll find out in two weeks.
The post had seventy-two likes. And it went on and on until her head spun. Why had she opened her big mouth? What Mary Beth needed wasn’t a date to the reunion. What she really needed was a fiancé.
* * *
"Bye, Sean," Mary Beth called out to the rambunctious seven-year-old walking out of the studio with his mother. "Don't forget to practice your scales this week."
Through the storefront window, Mary Beth watched as he took off down the street toward their car, leaving his mom behind. How did the poor woman keep up with him all day? The boy could barely keep himself from wiggling right off the piano bench beside Mary Beth when he played.
Mary Beth walked past the counter to the piano against the side wall. A drum set occupied the other corner, and shelves at the back of the room held instruments. Her studio wasn’t huge, but it was bright and open. And if she set up folding chairs, she had enough space to hold a recital.
She stacked the sheet music and set the pile on top of the piano. She hated that she’d felt so distracted through the entire lesson. The cell phone in her pocket had begged for her attention the entire time he’d struggled to play. She’d read the message from Christian yesterday as soon as she’d left the planning committee.
I'm sorry that I rushed our meeting today. I'd love to get together again to talk.
Sincerely,
Christian
What did that mean, and why couldn’t she stop thinking about it? Get together again? On a date? But wouldn't he have phrased the message differently if he’d wanted to take her out? Told her he’d had a great time…changed his mind about things. Instead he’d referred to it as a meeting. Mary Beth had been out of the dating world so long that she'd forgotten how maddening it could be.
The door to her music studio opened, and Christian stepped into the room. Maybe her obsessing had conjured him up. She blinked, making sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. “What are you doing here?”
He frowned. Like she was supposed to be excited to see the guy who’d patently rejected her. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Unfortunately, he looked even better today than he had yesterday. His brown hair was messy, his face clean-shaven. He had the perfect combination of masculinity and a sweet charm about him. She really didn’t want to like this guy. Falling for another emotionally unavailable man was the last thing she needed.
“How did you know where I was?” Maybe he was a stalker. Jo was going to get it if she’d convinced Mary Beth to go out on a date with a guy who turned out to be a psychopath.
“You told me you owned a music studio in Ross. When you type that into Google, you don’t get many results.”
“Good point.” He wasn’t a psychopath or a stalker. She was being paranoid and silly. Maybe she should consider it sweet—romantic, even—that he was here. Todd had never been very romantic. Maybe she’d forgotten what it felt like.
He shifted. “Why didn’t you respond to my message?”
“I was going to.” She actually hadn’t decided, but her curiosity probably would have gotten the best of her. “But I’ve been busy.”
“So, what do you say? Can we talk?”
“I don’t know. Did you mean that you want to go out on a date?”
His mouth parted in surprise. “Well, no. Not exactly.”
Ouch. Maybe crazy would have been better than this. “Then what did you want to talk about?” She struggled to keep the anger out of her voice.
He stepped closer. “I’m sorry. I’m really screwing this up.”
Mary Beth crossed her arms. “Yes, you kind of are.”
“If you’ll just let me explain.”
She walked to a row of folding chairs leaning against the wall, took two, and unfolded them in the center of the room. “Have a seat.”
He lowered himself into the chair carefully. “I wanted to talk to you about your uncle.”
She took a seat across from him. “My uncle?”
“The one who owns Holland’s.”
That’s why he’d messaged her? That’s why he’d shown up here? She should have known. He’d been thinking only of himself. “My uncle?” she repeated, not knowing what else to say.
He leaned forward and pressed his fingertips together. “I was hoping you could help me set up a meeting…”
She shook her head before he even finished the question. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Just one meeting is all I’m asking for. I know it’s a lot to ask after what my sister—what I—p
ut you through yesterday. But I have some great products for him to see.”
What he’d put her through? That made her sound downright pathetic. “I’m fine, but if you want to talk to him, you should call his office and ask his assistant to set something up.”
“I’ve tried that.” He stiffened. “I came up with an idea after we met.”
She didn’t speak.
He took a deep breath. “I have a proposal for you. A business proposal. I could go with you to your reunion in exchange for you scoring me a meeting with your uncle.”
Was this guy kidding? A business proposal? “I’m not sure what you think of me, but I’m not desperate.” Well, signing up for a dating website simply to have a reunion date did seem a little desperate, but she’d done that mostly for Jo and the other girls.
He held his hands up. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
He should be sorry. And anyway, it wasn’t like her showing up with some new guy was going to solve her problems. Not now with rumors about her engagement.
He rocked forward like he was about to stand. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”
“Unless…” The idea that had come to mind was crazy. Certifiable.
He sat back in his chair. “What is it?”
Would she really do this? Was it worth it? Wouldn’t it be better to skip the entire thing? But she couldn’t help but think of Harper Tulley and Margot Winfred, laughing about her pathetic life. Just like prom night. Mary Beth looked up at Christian’s eyes. “There is one thing that might help me.”
His face lit up. “There is? I’ll do anything.”
She straightened. “You could go to the reunion not as my date, but as my fiancé.”
* * *
Christian leaned back in his chair. Her fiancé? She couldn’t be serious. “Pretending to be engaged seems a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“It's simple,” Mary Beth said, wide-eyed but with a measured tone. “You go to my reunion with me as my fiancé, and I'll set up a meeting between you and my uncle. I'll even put in a good word for you.”
A knot formed in his stomach. Hadn’t he had enough pretending to be someone he wasn’t? The plan sounded like a mistake. “I wouldn’t feel right lying.”
She shrugged. “Would it really be any worse than pretending to date me?”
Was it? He didn’t know. And a personal meeting with Mr. Holland…he’d never get another chance like this.
Mary Beth pulled a silver ring with a blue stone from her right hand and held it out to him. "If it will make you feel better, you can propose to me."
Heat rushed through his body. "Excuse me?"
“If you want to make it official, ask me to marry you. It's not like engagements can't be broken. This way it wouldn’t be lying.”
He'd vowed to focus on his business for a while, and now she wanted him to propose to her? “Now? Here?” He scoffed. “I’m sorry, but this feels wrong. I mean, how would it work? What would we tell people? Would we tell our friends and family?” Ross was a little bigger than Little Grove, but word got around in a place like this.
She sighed. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She stared at the ring between her fingertips. “I just wanted to prove my classmates were wrong about me.”
He swallowed. His family, his coworkers, and his ex-girlfriend had told him he was crazy for quitting his job at the firm. “I’ve felt that way a time or two.” He wanted to help Mary Beth, but proposing…that was ridiculous. It wasn’t logical, and an engineer wasn’t anything if he wasn’t logical.
Of course, quitting his job hadn’t been logical. Tracking down Mary Beth and asking her for help hadn’t been logical.
Mary Beth gave a weak laugh. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
But what if it was meant to be? What were the chances of his sister setting him up with a Holland? Maybe God had been in this somehow. What did he have to lose besides his family thinking he’d gone off the deep end? And they already thought he was nuts. Besides, there could be worse things than an engagement, albeit temporary, to a beautiful woman.
He took the ring between his fingers. “An engagement would make a lot of sense.”
Mary Beth’s jaw dropped.
He faltered. Was he really going to do this? Should he get down on one knee? No. Too much.
He leaned forward. “Mary Beth Holland. Would you…” He searched for the right words, finally settled on, “be my fiancée?”
A smile crept across her face. “Really? You’re sure about this?”
He was far from sure about it, but he nodded. “Let’s prove everyone wrong about us. So, will you?”
Mary Beth laughed. “I will.”
He slid the ring on her finger. “Let’s do this.” He held his hand out to her to seal the arrangement with a handshake.
Mary Beth looked at his open palm, then back to him. She put her small hand in his. Then she leaned forward and snaked the other arm around him in a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.
A bolt of electricity shot through him, and he knew he was in trouble.
4
In her little house, Mary Beth twirled the ring around her finger. She’d worn the white gold ring with the small sapphire for years—ever since the day her mother had given it to her. It felt foreign on her left hand. It had been her grandmother’s ring, and her mother had told her to choose anything she wanted before the estate sale. When she’d opened the little jewelry box on her grandmother’s dresser, she’d felt it was a gift her grandmother had left there just for Mary Beth. What would she think of her now? She looked up and caught sight of herself in the mirror above her dresser. Her cheeks were flushed. If people found out, she would be even more of a joke.
Pup danced around her legs.
She groaned. “Okay, boy. Come on.”
In her bare feet, she padded out of her bedroom to the door at the back of the house—away from the view from Mrs. Sweeney’s kitchen window. Mary Beth stepped out into the darkness, Pup still hopping around her. “Let’s make this quick,” Mary Beth whispered. She needed to find a home for the dog and fast. She knew her luck would eventually run out…it always did.
Pup did his business beside the bushes.
“Good boy. Now, come on.”
“Mary Beth?” Mrs. Sweeney’s voice rang out. “Is that you?”
She drew in a sharp breath and nudged Pup inside with her foot just as Mrs. Sweeney rounded the corner with a flashlight in hand.
Mary Beth clicked the door closed and crossed her arms across her chest. “Mrs. Sweeney, what are you doing out here after dark?”
The woman squinted at her. “I forgot to turn my soaker hose off earlier. Who were you talking to?”
"No one. It's just me out here." She forced a smile
Mrs. Sweeney shined the flashlight in her face.
Mary Beth flinched and held her hand in front of her eyes.
"Is that boyfriend of yours in there? Are you two getting married yet? I don’t understand you young people today. We didn’t run around single. We found someone and settled down."
She clenched her teeth. "Actually, I am engaged, Mrs. Sweeney.” She touched the ring with the tip of her thumb.
But the news didn’t elicit the reaction or congratulations Mary Beth was looking for. Mrs. Sweeney continued to scowl at her.
Pup scratched and whined from behind the door. The light from the flashlight swiped from Mary Beth to the little house. "What's that?"
"Um..."
Mrs. Sweeney glared at Mary Beth as she stepped around her and turned the door handle.
Pup bounced outside, looking thrilled to see both of them.
Dread built in Mary Beth’s chest. "He's not mine. I'm finding him a home."
Mrs. Sweeney stuck a finger in the air. "I have a strict no-pet policy."
"I completely understand, but I just need a week or two to find him a new owner."
Pup sniffed Mrs. Sweeney's slippers, and the woman recoiled
. "Three days. I want that thing out of here in three days!"
Mary Beth's stomach sank. "But I don't know if I can find a home for him by then."
"Then you can take it to the pound."
How could someone hate dogs so much? "I'll find somewhere." She couldn't be mad at Mrs. Sweeney. Mary Beth knew how she felt about pets, and she’d brought him here anyway. "He's a nice dog. He has never had an accident in the house."
She pointed a crooked finger at Pup. “What kind of dog is it?”
Maybe Mrs. Sweeney would see what an adorable dog he was. Maybe it would convince her to let him stay. “I’m not sure, but I think he's a Jack Russell terrier.”
The woman raised a drawn-on eyebrow. “Don't they call those rat terriers? I don’t know why anyone would tolerate a rat in their home.”
Okay. So she wasn't going to be able to sell Mrs. Sweeney on keeping him. She'd just have to find him a home. But one thing was for sure, Mary Beth would live in her car before she’d take Pup to the pound.
* * *
Christian added gas to the mower outside Lori’s shed.
His sister walked out of the house toward him. “What are you doing here?”
“Your grass is getting long, and I know Simon usually mows it. Where is he this week?”
She cocked her head. “Atlanta. He’ll be home in a few days. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
Christian needed something to clear his mind. If he stayed in his empty house, he’d just replay his conversation with Mary Beth over and over in his head. Had he done the right thing? He still wasn’t sure. “It’s no problem. The last thing he’ll want to do is mow.”
Lori shielded her eyes from the sun. “Have you talked to Mary Beth? How did things go?”
“I actually stopped by her music studio yesterday. Nice place,” he said, trying to keep his tone light.
“You just showed up there? Kind of forward, don’t you think?”
The fumes of the gas filling his nostrils, he set the red can on the grass. “She thought so too at first, but after we talked, we worked something out.”
She squealed with excitement. “You’re going to take her to her reunion?”
Matched Online: Anthology Bks 1-4 (Contemporary Romance) Page 24