To Wear His Ring (44 page)

“No.” Nettie studied Chase with an unblinking frown. “No, I don’t think so.” Perhaps, she mused, she felt as calm as she did because he was so obviously keyed up. She didn’t feel any of the emotions she might have expected to feel under the circumstances. Or under what she thought were the circumstances. “Are you proposing to me?”

“No!” Chase grimaced. “I mean, yes, but not like that.” He blew out a long, forceful stream of air. “You ever feel like you were trying to order filet mignon and you wound up with hash?”

Nettie smiled. He
was
proposing. Her heart thumped strongly but steadily in her chest. “Hmm. I suppose I have.” There was something both sweet and endearing about his utter lack of confidence.

He let go of her hand finally, and Nettie flattened it on her jeans. Her nails were clipped short, serviceable for work and for sticking her hands in a bowlful of bread dough. She wasn’t a decorative person.

“I’m not the filet mignon type,” she admitted aloud. “I like hash.”

C
hase looked up from his scowling contemplation of the linoleum, and the hope that suffused his face was a sight to behold. Nettie felt her first flutter of nerves.

“Lilah and I were talking last night about you and Colin. She said pretty much the same thing Nelson did.”

Chase winced, but some humor returned to his countenance. “What? That I’m a relationship-shy workaholic?”

“No.” Nettie tilted her head. “I think she said ‘commitment phobic.’” Chase gawped. “Just kidding.”

Inching a hand out to fiddle with a bunch of parsley, Nettie said, “Lilah watches reruns of ‘The Practice’ and ‘LA Law’ in case she ever has to play an attorney, so she gets most of her ideas from TV, but she thinks that if Colin’s grandparents thought you were getting married, they’d have to back off.”

The parsley leaves began to wilt as she toyed with them. She couldn’t believe she was saying this to him. She couldn’t believe she was this relatively calm.

Last night, her conversation with Lilah had seemed like nothing more than the result of an overactive imagination and too much cable TV. But with Chase bringing up the topic of marriage
and clearly feeling so clumsy and awkward it seemed merciful to admit that she and Lilah had talked about it, too.

“Lilah thinks you and I ought to pretend to be engaged for a while until they can see for themselves that Colin belongs with you. Once they’re reassured and they go back to England, the engagement could just naturally break up.” Letting go of the greens, she laughed a little. “See? You and Lilah had the same idea. Not that Lilah’s ideas are exactly
mainstream.
”

Nettie released a breath that felt a bit shaky. Was she accepting his proposal? Defining terms of the agreement? Or simply reassuring him? She braved a look at Chase’s face. He was frowning.

“Let me get this straight,” he said. “We pretend to be engaged for an indefinite period of time.”

“Yes—
if
we decide to actually do it…if it seems like getting engaged is really a good idea, then yes. I imagine the time period will be indefinite. But closed-ended. No one will be able to fault you if the breakup is timed properly. Lilah says timing is everything.”

“It sure is,” Chase muttered. He looked decidedly less than pleased as he muttered, “A fake engagement.”

“Temporary engagement,” Nettie corrected. “Lilah says that when you’re playing a role, you want to believe in it as much as possible. So anytime you discuss it, even if you’re only rehearsing, you should talk about it as if you believe it’s true.”

There was a long, heavy pause. “You’d agree to something like this?”

Nettie breathed in.
Now
she was nervous. Very. Her mind began to race. What would she be agreeing to? A temporary engagement for the sole purpose of preserving the relationship between a father and son. Put like that, it sounded rather altruistic. Of course, for a few weeks…or what, a month at the most?…she’d be pretending that she had a commitment to the man and child who made her days hum with life and purpose again. Put like that, it sounded altogether dangerous.

Feeling her arms and legs quiver, Nettie reminded herself there was a built-in safety net in the knowledge that the relationship was not meant to last. The stated end gave her a sense of control. Her main intention was to keep Chase and Colin
together; stealing a few more moments of joy would be her reward for a job well done.

A woosh of adrenaline sent her heart skittering, but she told herself to embrace the sensation; after all, she was about to do something that would make anyone’s heart palpitate.

Surprised by the strength in her tone, Nettie said, “Yes. Yes, I’d agree to a temporary engagement.”

Slowly, Chase nodded.

It was a strange way to accept a proposal, he thought. But then, it had been a strange way to extend one.

She’d misunderstood him entirely. Heat filled his chest. Dammit, he hadn’t been talking about temporary. Now he felt like an ass. A frustrated and angry ass.

But he could get this right. If he could report the news with bullets whizzing a hundred feet behind him, he could propose in a way that made his intentions clear: No one could predict the future, but when it came to marriage and family, he intended to give “open-ended” a run for the money.

“Listen, about tonight—”

The doorbell rang. Bullet number one.
Whizzzzz.

“One of us should answer that,” Nettie said when he stood like an animal caught in a mud hole.

Reluctantly Chase stomped to the door, prepared to quickly dispatch whoever it was. A moment later, however, he was stalking back into the kitchen, carrying yet another grocery bag, this one from a specialty store in Minot. Trailing behind him was a happily chirping Lilah.

“…so I bought two pitiful-looking avocados that cost an arm and a leg—this is why I moved to California—and the parmesan cheese, but I couldn’t find the exact red wine she asked for. Oh, Nettie-Belle, you’re already cooking!” Lilah strolled to the sink, where Nettie had resumed peeling and seeding tomatoes, hoping the activity would calm her down. “Anything I can do?”

Nettie hesitated, shooting a glance in Chase’s direction. “Actually, I think we’re going to handle this on our own.”

“Oh, right, it’s a cooking lesson.” She winked at Chase. “Real men make pasta?” Grabbing a jar of cured black olives, she unscrewed the lid, plucked out an olive and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm, salt.”

“I need those for the sauce,” Nettie said.

“Okay, I’ll go home and eat potato chips. What time do you want us here, by the way?”

“Umm…” Guiltily, Nettie cast another glance at Chase.

“We’re cooking for company?” he grumbled without a shred of hospitality.

“I thought it would be more fun.” She shrugged, half apologetic, half persuasive. Chase could have sworn he heard another bullet whiz by. “It’s Nick’s homecoming.”

“Nick’s coming?”

“And Sara, of course.” Lilah reached into the jar for a few more olives. “And that cute little lawyer of yours. Nelson.”

Whiz.

Nettie confiscated the olive jar. “Colin is with Sara right now, I assume.”

“Yep. I told Chase when I came in. Colin didn’t want to go shopping, so he’s hanging out with
la sheriffe.
Probably learning how to spit and shoot. You don’t mind, do you?” she asked Chase.

“Mind? I’m beyond minding,” he said, “about anything.”

He and Nettie shared a long look.

“Am I interrupting something?” Lilah eyed them both speculatively. “I suddenly feel like the fifth wheel on a bobsled.”

Nettie made a face. “Bobsleds don’t have wheels.”

“Exactly.”

“You’re not interrupting anything.”

Chase crossed his arms. “Yes, she is.”

Someone knocked on the door to the mud porch. Chase closed his eyes.
Whiz.

“Come in!” he shouted, crossing to the women, grabbing the olive jar and carrying it back to the other side of the kitchen to dig into it. Nick opened the door.

“Hey,” he smiled, newly returned from Chicago, where he had participated in a panel lecture about twenty-first-century agricultural techniques and the environment. “This place looks great. I ought to feel ashamed for letting it sit so long.”

Chewing an olive, Chase nodded an acknowledgement, the best he felt like doing at the moment. No one else seemed inclined to speak, either.

Nick glanced around. “Something wrong?”

Nettie shook her head and smiled. “No.”

Lilah overlapped her, shrugging. “Seems like it.”

Chase overrode them both. “Yes! Dammit, I was in the middle of proposing.”

“Proposing?” This time Lilah and Nick spoke in surroundsound.

They glanced back and forth between Nettie and Chase.

The protracted silence while Nettie wondered how much to say proved to be too hard for Lilah to handle. “Well, what did you say?” she demanded, bouncing up and down like a kid.

“I said yes,” Nettie answered and was rewarded immediately with a squeal and a huge bear hug from her sister.

On the other side of the work island, Nick approached Chase with an outstretched hand. “Congratulations.” He sounded almost as pleased as Lilah. “Good choice.”

Trying to settle her bouncing sister, Nettie whispered, “It’s temporary, remember. It’s what we talked about last night.”

Lilah pulled away. She glanced at Chase. “Right. I know. But it’s still a cause for celebration.”

Nick stepped forward. “What did you say? Temporary?”

Chase felt a ferocious scowl cover his brow. He was a split second away from kicking the two interlopers out of the house, barring the door to dinner guests and then kissing the word
temporary
right out of Nettie’s vocabulary. In fact…

He opened his mouth, intending to do just that, when Lilah began explaining to Nick, “They’re doing it for Colin. The grandparents are showing up next week.”

“I know. Chase told me.” Nick looked at his friend. “So you’re going to put on a show for these people?”

“And for the court, if it comes to that,” Lilah answered.

“I’m afraid you’re going to be sucked into this, too, Nick,” Nettie warned him. “I think it’s really important that we all act as natural as possible.”

“That’s right. We have to act as if this engagement is the real thing. So that means absolute commitment to the situation.” Lilah purloined the wedge of Parmesan cheese, withdrew a sharp knife from a wooden block on the counter and began cutting. “You know, I don’t think we should tell Sara that your engagement is only temporary. She has a lousy poker face. No acting technique whatsoever.” She bit into the cheese. “Yuck. Too dry.” She swallowed, then clutched her throat.

Nettie poured a glass of the blush wine she intended to serve with the hors d’oeuvres and handed it to her gagging sister. “I hate to make Sara feel like she’s been duped, but I agree with you. One stray comment and this whole thing could backfire. You know what I really hate, though?” She poured another glass and handed it to Nick.

Chase saw his private afternoon turning into a damned cocktail party. He had to intervene now and get this train back on the right track. “Listen, everyone—”

“I hate lying to Colin. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Yeah.” Lilah sipped her wine and nodded. “But maybe now is not the time to think about the end of your engagement.”

Damn straight.
Chase nodded.

“Right.” Nick frowned in Chase’s direction. “That’s putting the cart before the horse. Seems to me you ought to concentrate on what you’re starting before you try to figure out how to end it.”

Well, you don’t have to tell me!
Chase felt a very male need to hit something. “All right, look, everybody—”

“Hey, open up! We’re carrying stuff!” The call came from the back door.

“Sara!” Nettie said, appearing rattled.

“It’s okay, stay calm. No one’s doing anything wrong here.” Nick reassured in an even tone that absolutely infuriated Chase.
Duh
, they weren’t doing anything wrong!

He gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt. This was a miserable situation, but it was
his
miserable situation, and he had totally lost control of it.

“Don’t tell her to stay calm,” he growled, stalking over to stand nose-to-nose with Nick.

“Why not?”

Chase put his hands on his hips. “Be…cause.”

A thoroughly obnoxious grin curled up Nick’s face. “I just meant she shouldn’t worry. We’ll handle Sara.” He indicated himself and Lilah.

“Wrong.” Chase stabbed a finger at Nick’s chest. “There is nothing to handle. My
fiancée
and I have everything under control.” He glared around the room. “This is an engagement, not espionage. Got it?” This time he let his gaze linger on Nettie.

“Got it,” she murmured.

Lilah leaned over to her sister. “He must be a Method actor.”

Ignoring that, Chase strode to the door, giving instructions over his shoulder. “Colin is obviously with her, so I want to keep this as low-key as possible for the time being. We don’t even have to mention it tonight. Not until we have the details worked out.”

He’d shout news of their engagement from the rooftops if he thought Nettie was committed to a permanent union, or a decent stab at one, anyway. How the heck had a simple marriage proposal turned into a bad scene from a B movie?

Chase felt a rise in blood pressure and knew this was not the time to settle anything. He’d talk to Nettie later when the peanut gallery had disbanded. She’d realize she had misunderstood him, he’d show her the ring, and the whole situation would be straightened out. In the meantime…

With a hand on the doorknob, he turned to the expectant group. “We’re all in agreement here, right? Low-key. Underplay.”

Nods all around. Nettie spoke up. “Absolutely.”

“Hey, c’mon! Hurry up, already! I’ve got two half-gallons of ice cream you’ll be able to drink through a straw if you don’t—”

Chase opened the door to his son and, he hoped, future sister-in-law. She wrinkled her face in disgust. “’Bout damn time.” She glanced at Colin, who stood beside her, weighed down by a smaller grocery bag. “Oh, sorry, kid. Remember what I told you about bad language.”

Colin nodded as he walked past Chase into the kitchen. “Toilet mouths wind up with their sorry butts in a sling.”

“Right.”

“Sara!” Nettie shook her head.

“What?” Sara dumped her bag on the counter with the rest of the food and then reached down for Colin’s.

“You spent too much time with Uncle Harm, that’s what,” Lilah said in disgust.

Bemused by the comment, Sara shrugged. She pulled a container of mocha-almond-fudge ice cream out of the sack, followed by a carton of a flavor called fresh summer peach. “So what’s the big celebration tonight? We already had a housewarming.”

Nettie took the ice cream to the freezer. “Nick wasn’t here, though.”

Looking up, Sara noticed her old nemesis across the room and curled a lip ungraciously. “Thought I saw your truck. Back from the big city, huh?”

“That’s right. And looking forward to heading out again as soon as I find a good excuse.”