“Nothing happened to her. She got engaged to the wrong men, but now that she’s found Trent, everything will work out fine.”
The intense look in Kelsey’s eyes cut through him and made him feel naked and on display. He didn’t like the feeling.
“You honestly believe that?” she asked.
“Heart and soul.”
Her eyes were full of questions. She hesitated. “I’d still like to have a backup plan in case Trent turns out not to be ‘the one.’ We can have the minister renew your parents’ vows if the wedding gets canceled. The renewal can take place here, and we’ll clean up the wedding ceremony site later.”
“Where do you want to hold the ceremony?”
“At your house. What do you think?”
He remembered how she had described the wedding decorations when she first walked into his house. “My mother told you to do what you want. To act as if it’s your wedding. Would you like to get married at my house?”
“It’s Faith’s wedding, and I believe she would like it.” Kelsey spoke the words in that cool businesslike manner of hers, but not before he saw the slight quiver of her lower lip.
Not so cool and collected, after all. Another layer to figure out. Will smiled. “Would you like it?”
“This isn’t about me.”
But it was. Her voice and her eyes told him that. Her hard shell was showing signs of cracking, and Will wanted to be the one to break it apart.
“Would you like it?” he repeated.
“Yes, but it’s your house.”
Watching the anticipation mount in Kelsey’s expressive eyes as she waited for his answer made Will want to take forever to reply. Knowing he was treading in dangerous waters, he should look away, but he couldn’t. “We can hold the ceremony at my house.”
His reward was a wide grin. A kiss would have been better. But kissing Kelsey was a no-no, as his sister Hope would say to his niece and nephews. A big no-no. As was thinking about her lips, her neck, or anything else. No touching, either. He brushed his hand through his hair.
“Thanks,” Kelsey said. “I’m sure Faith will thank you, too.”
CHAPTER TEN
It was nearly midnight. February the second had flown by. She and Will worked in his dining room. The comfortable bed upstairs had Kelsey’s name written all over it, but sleep could wait a few hours, especially with the third of the month only a few minutes away. The more she accomplished tonight, the smoother the rest of the planning would go. Besides, ever since she’d snuck into Faith’s room two hours ago and stolen another look at her gown, Kelsey had been inspired.
Okay, she was a little tired. She stifled a yawn, but she was inspired, nonetheless. She stood, took her water glass to the kitchen, and placed it in the sink.
Will followed her in there and stretched his arms over his head. “This wedding planning reminds me of cramming for finals.”
She smiled. “It’s not that bad.”
“No, but we deserve a break.” He motioned to the coffeemaker on the counter. “Coffee?”
“Sounds good to me.” She tucked a stray strand of hair back into her braid. “We might need the caffeine to stay awake.”
“Don’t tell me we’re going to be pulling an all-nighter.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
He groaned. “I’m definitely having a flashback to finals week.” As she removed the pot, he plugged in the coffeemaker. “At least it’s a pleasant memory of opening one of my care packages.”
“Care packages?”
He placed a filter inside the coffeemaker. “My mom always sent care packages during finals week. She filled them with all sorts of goodies to keep me going as I studied and crammed. I can still taste the homemade chocolate chip cookies.”
A familiar ache and longing squeezed Kelsey’s heart. She turned on the faucet, and water streamed out. “The only thing my parents ever sent were checks to cover tuition and my living expenses.”
