The Back-Up Plan (2 page)

She had landed here when she was in her late twenties after graduating from law school and, at the time, she’d believed the complex was heaven, full of young, hip, fun people who got together for barbeques and happy hours.

She glanced across the room at Shelly, who was laughing at something Josie said. Shelly was still young—only twenty-eight—and no doubt she viewed these townhouses as Kristen had all those years ago. Life after college—the party continues. A temporary existence. For Shelly’s sake, Kristen hoped that was true and her friend would manage to make her escape before years turned into decades and she was stuck for good.

Kristen sighed. She was sick of the same-old, same-old. She longed for more. Hell, she’d simply settle for
something
. It didn’t even have to be that great. Just different from the boring norm.

So…like a fool, she had taken Zoey’s declaration for second chances too seriously and proclaimed aloud she wanted to get married before she turned forty. She had that seventh-level-of-hell occasion to look forward to in July. Ugh.

Kristen leaned her head against the back of the couch, wishing they could move away from all talk of the future. It was bumming her out. Unfortunately, Laura was still reeling from her own divorce and her protective instincts had taken over.

“…seen just as many marriages fall apart.”

Kristen forced herself to listen as her friend tried to issue a warning.

“It seems to me you’ve got this single-woman thing down pat.” Laura tucked one foot under her to turn and look at Kristen. “I don’t understand why you would give up all that freedom.”

Laura was jealous of the life she led and Kristen was tempted to remind her friend that the grass is always greener on the other side, but instead she simply said, “I’ve been free for nearly forty years. I need a change.”

“Well, then I hope you find a man who will love you as much as you deserve.”

Kristen was touched by her friend’s kind wish, but was too much of a realist to believe that was possible. She didn’t bother to tell Laura she’d set the bar a bit lower than true love. All she really wanted was companionship. “That’s it? That’s the extent of my lecture? Either you’re drunker than I thought or you’re losing your touch.”

She and Laura continued to joke until Georgie saved her from further marriage discussion, deciding they needed to brainstorm ways for Laura to achieve her second-chance goal—which involved rediscovering the woman she’d been before she got married.

Then, as it always did, the conversation meandered from one subject to the next as the six women consumed wine and talked about everything and nothing, all at the same time.

It was a great night and it was just starting to wind down when Zoey blindsided her and tossed Kristen on the hot seat. “You know, you’ve never mentioned marriage before, Kristen. I can’t help but wonder why you’re so interested in it now. Is it because of the big birthday? Is your clock ticking?”

Kristen had dodged a bullet with Laura earlier, not having to admit things she wasn’t comfortable saying aloud. Though she felt incredibly close to these women—they’d become some of the best friends she had ever had—she struggled when talking about personal things, preferring to play her cards close to her chest. She’d always been that way.

“My clock is definitely
not
ticking. I’ve told you before—I don’t want kids. Never have. Never will.” She would definitely be upfront with any prospective suitors that children were not on the table.

“Then why the mad dash down the aisle?” Josie had been tidying up the living room, but stopped when Zoey hit Kristen with her question.

“It’s not a dash. Zoey suggested we set goals, so I picked one. I’ve spent the last decade or so focusing on my career. Now that the law firm is well-established, I’m ready to move on to the next challenge.”

Shelly frowned. “So this quest to find a husband is just some task you’ve assigned yourself? That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

Kristen was saying everything wrong. Her friends had teased her on more than one occasion about her stoic personality. She didn’t cry during sad movies, rarely laughed and considered romance the height of ridiculousness. But that didn’t mean she was unfeeling. She just didn’t believe in wearing her heart on her sleeve.

“I’m serious about finding a man and settling down. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone. I think it would be nice to eat dinner with someone, to—”

“You eat dinner in your office at work four nights out of seven,” Zoey pointed out.

Kristen narrowed her eyes at the interruption, but continued her list. “I also want someone to go on vacations with. To hang out with after I retire. I like the idea of being one of those old people who heads to Florida every winter.”

Josie tilted her head and gave her a mischievous grin. “You didn’t mention sex.”

Kristen threw her hands up. “Holy shit, girl. Invest in a vibrator and get your hormones under control. Sex has nothing to do with my plans to get married.”

Georgie crinkled her nose. “Then why bother?”

Kristen looked to Laura for support. “Please tell me you understand what I’m saying.”

Laura nodded. “I do, but that’s only because I just escaped twenty-three years of less than exciting sex. I was glad for the break from the physical stuff. But I’m not sure why you’d actually sign up for a passionless marriage. I fell into mine thinking things would get better. You don’t want to live that life, believe me.”

Georgie grinned. “So it’s settled. You’ll test the bedroom waters
before
signing on the dotted line. Hee hee.” Then she adopted a singsong voice that made the others laugh. “Someone’s getting laid this year, doo dah, doo dah.”

Josie nodded, still giggling. “Let’s face it, if you’re determined to tie yourself into matrimonial hell, there should be at least a few perks.”

Kristen threw her hands up in surrender. “Point taken. But I’m telling you right now, sex will not be a deal breaker for me.”

“Such a waste,” Josie shook her head, feigning disappointment.

Kristen closed her eyes and regretted being so forthright about her marriage plan. She should have just set a stupid goal for her friends’ sake—something like going to the gym more often or cutting carbs out of her diet.

Then in typical fashion, Georgie started recapping the things they’d discussed, ticking them off on her fingers. “So we need a guy who isn’t a workaholic like you. That way he’ll be home to eat dinner with you. He can’t want kids. And we think he needs to be shit-hot in bed, but you’re not fussed if he’s lame in the sack—silly woman. Sounds like a pitiful list. What are we forgetting?”

“Love,” Shelly added.

Kristen sighed. “Love doesn’t matter that much to me.”

Shelly’s mouth fell open in shock. “What?”

Kristen shrugged. “That’s not important. Georgie’s list was good enough. It’ll be hard enough to find a guy who fits those requirements by July.”

Zoey shook her head. “That list was a friends-with-benefits deal at best. The perfect description of roommates who might or might not fuck. That’s not a marriage.”

“Maybe not, but I’m nearly forty. I’ve spent a great deal of my life living on my own. While sappy words and roses and all that shit is fine on TV and in books, I don’t need that to be happy.”

“Then why get married?” Laura asked.

Kristen froze, unable to admit the truth.

She was lonely. Unbearably so.

So she hedged the truth a bit. “I told you. Companionship.”

Zoey walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Isn’t that what we are?”

Kristen conceded. “On a smaller scale, yes.”

“So get a roommate instead.” Georgie folded up a throw blanket and laid it over the back of the couch. “You don’t need a husband.”

Kristen wanted something more permanent. She felt the need to tie someone to her who couldn’t leave easily. She was headstrong and stubborn and set in her ways. None of those attributes would make her an easy person to live with. She wanted something more binding than a lease.

Of course, to admit that aloud to her friends would make her sound slightly insane. So she took a different tack. “I think I’m saying this wrong. For now, I’m going to look for a man who fits the parameters we’ve just set. After all, July is only seven months away. Time isn’t exactly on my side. Then, if love comes…somewhere down the line, that’s good. Great, actually.”

Georgie frowned. “What happens if July comes and you haven’t met anyone? I’ve been in the dating world for a long damn time. Eligible, hot guys don’t grow on trees.”

Kristen laughed. “This coming from the woman who’s been engaged three times?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t marry any of them.”

“If I don’t find a guy by July, I’ll have to institute the back-up plan.”

Josie rolled her eyes. “Dear God.”

Kristen had filled them in on the back-up plan earlier when she told her friends about her goal to get married. “I know it’s not ideal, but at least it’s better than nothing.”

Laura groaned. “You can’t marry Jason. The two of you are like oil and water.”

Kristen shrugged. “I can’t bail. I signed the contract.”

Zoey released a loud burst of laughter. “I find it hard to believe a contract signed on a cocktail napkin is legally binding. Surely there’s a
drunk as a skunk
defense somewhere on the law books you can use to break the deal.”

Kristen wasn’t sure why she’d even brought up the silly back-up plan. God only knew if Jason even remembered making the deal, but she did. It had hovered in the back of her mind for five long years as one birthday after another passed and she found herself still alone.

Laura shook her head. “I still can’t believe you agreed to something like that.”

Kristen understood Laura’s dismay. After all, Jason drove her nuts on a good day. But she was explaining herself badly. She wasn’t viewing the back-up plan as a viable option as much as the impetus to get her ass in gear. Jason really was the last man on earth she wanted to marry, so it gave her a very good reason to take looking for someone else seriously. “I have no intention of marrying him. I promise.”

Laura only seemed somewhat appeased. “Okay. Good.”

Kristen stood and pushed the sleeves up on her cardigan, suddenly feeling warm and uneasy with all the attention focused on her. “You girls have so little faith in me. I don’t struggle for dates. Guys ask me out all the time. From this point on, I’ll just be more attentive and put forth a bit more effort in getting to know them.”

“In other words, you’ll stop cancelling to work late?” Zoey asked. “Can’t wait to see this.”

Kristen scowled, not wanting to admit the truth behind her friend’s words. Kristen was infamous for going out on one date, then cancelling every subsequent request until the man stopped calling. Jason had nicknamed her the One-hit Wonder. “Are we finished here? Speaking of dates, I have one with my DVR tonight. Still trying to catch up on the last season of
True Blood
.”

Laura grasped her hand, squeezing it. “I just have one more thing to say, then I’ll leave you alone about this. You’re selling yourself short. There’s so much to love about you, Kristen.”

Sometimes being practical, looking at life with eyes wide open, sucked, but Kristen was too tired to shield her cynicism or the depression that had set in a couple of months earlier. “I’ve been around the block long enough to know that the love you girls keep dreaming about doesn’t really exist. You, of all people, should know that, Laura.”

Her friend sighed sadly. “God help me if I ever adopt that attitude.”

“There’s nothing wrong with what I want. Companionship, friendship, spending my life with someone whose company I enjoy. That’s all I need.”

“You’re wrong,” Zoey asserted. “That’s nowhere near enough. True love is real, Kristen. And I bet this is the year we all find it.”

Kristen didn’t respond. Instead, she tried hard to mask the part of her that prayed her friends were right. “We’ll see, Zoey. We’ll see.”

Chapter One

In Delaware, when filing for an annulment, couples can check a box that says “because of a jest or a dare” when applying to dissolve their union.

Kristen grinned as Georgie tried to teach Laura how to dance. Nearly a month had passed since New Year’s Eve. A couple of hours earlier, Kristen had hopped in the car with her friends and headed to Blue Moon intent on making progress on her second-chance goal.

However, as far as putting a dent in her husband hunt, Kristen realized about three minutes after they arrived at the bar that tonight would be a bust. There was a college band performing and it had brought out a much younger clientele. Kristen definitely wouldn’t find a man here, but at least the night hadn’t been a complete wash. Laura was having a great time, looking more carefree and happy than Kristen had ever seen her.

Hell, if Kristen was being perfectly honest, so was she. They’d had a few shots, which had taken the edge off and loosened muscles that seemed to remain in a constant state of tightness these days. All of her stress had melted away in the happy haze created by vodka, loud music and laughter.

She was blessed with her girlfriends. They were easy to be with, and funny. Kristen spent far too much time with her head buried in law books or dealing with angry or upset clients seeking justice. She needed this break.