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Chelsea put her whole heart into everything she did.
And she’d said she’d given her heart to him. That she loved him.
Perhaps she believed she did.
But he wasn’t the right man for her. Just look at what a mess he’d made with Laura.
When he’d held Chelsea, felt her uncertainty, her doubts in herself, he’d known he had to put distance between them. He’d understood why Will protected her, wanted to spoil her, wanted him to stay far away. Chelsea deserved a wonderful life, a wonderful everything, because she was wonderful.
She deserved to be loved and cherished. Things he’d lost the ability to do a long time ago. How could he love and cherish another when doing so would be like slapping Laura’s memory in the face?
“Jared? Good to see you.” Tom Meeks, one of his and Will’s colleagues from medical school, slapped him on the back, startling Jared from his thoughts.
Not once had he considered that friends from medical school would be at the party. Leave it to Chelsea to go above and beyond the call of duty for her brother’s party and invite friends from her brother’s university days.
“Tom.”
They chatted, making small talk about their practices, the pitfalls of HMOs, and carefully avoided any mention of Laura. Jared glanced around the room, spotted several more of his and Laura’s friends, and felt his muscles clamp inside.
There would be no escaping the past tonight.
“Why do we need to stop by a hotel?” Will asked, his face split in a grin because he knew exactly where she was taking him and why.
“Have you ever eaten at Dailey’s?” She pulled the car up in front of the hotel so the valet could park it in the garage. There was a freebie lot to the side, but she didn’t want to risk Will recognizing any of the vehicles. Or seeing the North Carolina number plates from the friends who’d driven down. “I hear the food is fabulous, and they have karaoke on Thursday nights.”
“Too bad it’s Friday and we missed karaoke, huh?” Dimples dug into his cheeks. Neither of them could carry a tune if their lives depended on it.
She handed the keys to the valet, walked round the car, and linked her elbow with her brother’s. “I thought we’d check out the food and scope the place, see if we’d have any competition if we came back on Thursday.”
Will laughed, escorting her into the lobby. “Scoping out the competition, huh?”
A pretty girl working behind the reception desk winked conspiratorially, letting Chelsea know she’d buzzed Leslie the moment they’d pulled into the hotel drive.
So far, so good.
When Will went to turn toward Dailey’s, Chelsea paused. “Let’s go this way. I need to take a toilet break first.”
“There’s a bathroom in Dailey’s.”
“Yeah, but there’s probably a line.”
Will gave her a doubtful look.
“You have no idea how women’s restrooms can be. Please.” She squirmed appropriately to show her urgency.
His eyes twinkled, saying he knew what she was up to. “OK, go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
He really was a fink. “Go with me.”
“To the ladies’ room?”
Chelsea rolled her eyes. “A woman shouldn’t run around alone in a hotel on a Friday night. It’s just not safe.”
He shook his head, fully aware of what she was doing, but he followed her obediently.
Of course, she never made it as far as where the signs indicated the restrooms. She grinned at him and pushed open the door to a large conference room.
“Surprise!” she said, just as chaos broke out in the room, with confetti, ribbons, and lots of cheers.
