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“You really mean all that.” She sounds surprised, nearly shocked. A dawning realization peppers her tone, laced with shades of pain.

I grit my teeth again, hating the fact all this fucking subterfuge is necessary. Damn the willful woman. Damn Tim for marrying her without loving her in the first place. It chaps my hide that I can’t just grab the woman, tell her I love her, and kiss her until she melts in my arms and agrees to stay there forever.

“I do mean it. Men don’t always express their love easily, and to be thwarted so utterly is tough.”

“Love?” Her expression morphs from surprise to shock.

“I’m not going to marry someone I don’t love.”

Lauren swallows, her face pale. But she sends me a businesslike nod, clearly trying to hide her upset. “Of course not.”

“Suggestions on how to deal with this situation?”

“Well…no.” She sits across from me, worrying her hands into a knot and looking anywhere but at me. “I’m afraid I’m the last person you should ask. Something similar happened with me last night. I didn’t handle it⁠—”

“Mr. Mysterious?”

“He really shocked me. I probably hurt his feelings. But that’s different. I don’t even know who he is.”

“True, but given his single-minded pursuit, I’d say the guy has feelings for you.” I shrug, trying to play it casual. “I guess I’m asking what it would take for you to start looking at someone as a potential lover and mate.”

She sighs. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it much. I mean, he’d have to be good with the girls. He’d have to be steady. I’ve got enough on my plate, so I don’t need to be supporting a grown man. I’d have to feel a spark. I think that was my mistake with Tim. We married because everyone expected it and I let my mom convince me that steadiness was way more relevant than spark. This time, I’d want both.”

“I’m steady, and I’m sure this woman and I have spark.”

Lauren chews on her lip. I can tell she doesn’t like this conversation. Good. I don’t want her liking the thought of me with another woman. I don’t want anyone but Lauren, and the sooner she accepts the two of us together, the faster all this will end.

“Make her laugh,” Lauren goes on.

She’s putting what she thinks are my needs above her own? That says a lot about her feelings for me…

“Laughter is good,” I concur.

“Make her feel good about herself and about being with you. Press a little, but not too hard. If the spark is really there and you truly care about her, she won’t be able to resist forever.”

Bless her for the straightforward answer…and the means to help me tackle her reluctant heart. “If I do all those things, do you think she’ll hold out more than another few weeks?”

Her expression looks so torn. The sadness in her eyes almost crushes me. She probably has no idea that her heart is written all over her face.

Lauren shakes her head. “Knowing your persistence, your charm, and your ability to plan any situation just the way you want it, she may not last another ten minutes.”

“That’s exactly what I want to hear.”

Lauren

“Kat, I’ve really screwed up,” I say over my sedan’s Bluetooth as I clutch the steering wheel and navigate the five-o’clock traffic from downtown Dallas to the ‘burbs north. “You’ve got to help me.”

“You’re not the dramatic one,” Kat teases. “That’s my job. So whatever you did can’t be that bad.”

“Is that what you think?” I challenge. “Remember Noah Reeves?”

“Oh, yes. Yummy bachelor. Tim’s buddy, the one you work for now, right?”

“Yes on all counts. And I’ve got this…crush on him. Which is crazy. He’s a total playboy, and I don’t need a broken heart. I’m trying to forget it. All the while, he’s asking me advice on how to get some other woman, a divorcée, to give him the time of day.”

Kat whistles. “That sucks.”

“Completely.”