Page 39 of Substitute Bride

“Where are you and Rose going to, Daddy?” Jill asked.

“We’re going to dinner and then maybe somewhere for dessert.”

“What will you get for dessert?” Julie asked, following up on the most interesting part of his answer—to her, at least.

“I’m not sure. Maybe ice cream. Or cupcakes.”

“Cupcakes!” Julie cried. “Bring us back one!”

“You’ll be in bed by the time we get back.”

“Oh.” Julie looked crestfallen.

“We can eat it tomorrow,” Jill said soberly, causing Julie to perk up again.

“We’ll see,” James said, smiling down at his girls and hoping that nothing stupid he did would end up hurting them. “I make no promises.”

“Please!”

“Please what?” Rose asked curiously as she came down the stairs.

James glanced up automatically and then froze as his eyes landed on her, dressed in a sleek black skirt and clingy green top that hugged all her curves.

He wanted her. Every part of him seemed to want her so much. And no matter how wrong he kept telling himself it was, the feeling just wouldn’t go away.

“Oooh, Rosie, you look beautiful!” Jill cried.

“Beautiful!” Julie echoed.

“Thank you, girls,” Rose said with a smile. She looked poised and not nearly as self-conscious as James would have expected given the situation. “You all are going to be good for Kelly, aren’t you? You’re going to play nicely and not fight.”

“We’ll be good,” the girls promised.

“Kelly is going to give me a full report when we get back, so I expect you to keep that promise,” James said, leaning down to kiss them both.

Kelly was already here, starting to put together some things for the girls’ dinner, so James said good-bye and told them to run help Kelly. They did so willingly, laughing about how surprised their daddy would be when he came home and got a perfect report on their behavior.

“They seem okay,” James murmured, watching them disappear into the kitchen.

“They seem to think it’s a game, which is good because it means they won’t take it so seriously.” Rose’s eyes lingered on his face for a minute before she dropped them. “You look really nice.”

He couldn’t help but be pleased by the words. He’d never really cared about his appearance much in the past—except always trying to straighten up his clothes because Melissa liked him to look put together—but for some reason he wanted to look good for Rose. He wanted her to want him as much as he wanted her.

That made him think of something else.

He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d bought on his way home from work. He hadn’t had time to commission a ring, so he had to pick one that was already made. He knew he couldn’t choose a diamond. Rose would never have accepted an expensive ring from him—not for a fake engagement—so he’d chosen an amethyst on white gold, the glinting purple stone beautifully set in a graceful, simple band. It reminded him of Rose—lovely and mild, full of rich beauty that wasn’t obvious on the surface.

“You better put this on,” he said a little gruffly, suddenly feeling awkward about the whole ridiculous scheme. “No one will believe we’re engaged if you don’t have a ring.”

She stared at the ring with a mingling of awe and confusion. “It’s… it’s beautiful. But… but you shouldn’t have… I mean, where did it come from?”

Feeling like an idiot now and not about to admit he’d made a point of finding a ring that was exactly like her, he mumbled, “It was just around. You need something. Just put it on.”

He saw her fingers tremble as she slipped the ring on her left hand, and he was relieved to see that it fit. He’d had to guess about her size.

“Okay,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “Good thinking.”

Something had changed about her—something inexplicable—and it worried him. “Are you ready for this?” he asked, doing his best to sound natural.