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Although Evan was dressed in a suit and tie, he grabbed the Lucky Charms still on the counter and poured himself a bowl. “How did it go last night?”
When he’d shared that he planned to visit Courtney last night, Evan advised against it. He thought she might feel pressured into helping Josh, thus hurting the chances she’d go along with their plan.
“Will you be my best man?” Like all brothers, they disagreed from time to time, but there wasn’t anyone else he’d want standing next to him when he got married.
Evan pulled out one of the barstools around the kitchen island and sat. “She agreed?”
“Yesterday, weren’t you claiming you were confident she would?”
“Yeah, but after she asked for some time to think about it, I thought it would be a few days before she gave you an answer.” Evan ate a spoonful of cereal, then washed it down with some coffe
e.
“Me too, but I’m not complaining.” Josh followed his brother’s lead and reached for his spoon.
“I’ll pick out a ring today.”
“No need. She has that covered. And tonight I’m moving in with her.”
Although he’d assumed they’d live in or around Providence after they got married, he hadn’t expected Courtney to suggest he move in now. When she did though, he didn’t need to think twice about his answer, and not because it would help sell their story. He wanted to once again be a part of her life in every way—or at least in every way she allowed. He’d understood her question last night perfectly well. She’d wanted to know if he expected them to have sex while married. While he sure as hell hoped so—the two weeks they’d been intimate had been like nothing else he’d experienced—he wasn’t stupid enough to tell her that. Instead, he’d been upfront and let her know what he’d decided before even proposing the plan. Whether they continued their sexual relationship was up to her.
Leaving his seat, Evan popped two slices of bread in the toaster. “Want some?”
Some toast covered with strawberry jam sounded like the perfect companion for his cereal. “Yeah, sure.”
“Did you already let Pauline know?” While his brother waited for the toast, he grabbed both the strawberry jam and the butter from the refrigerator.
With a mouthful of Lucky Charms, he nodded. “So will you be my best man?” He expected Evan to agree, but he’d never answered Josh’s earlier question.
“Just tell me where and when,” he answered.
The where he didn’t care much about, but he’d like to know the when. Last night hadn’t been the time to push for a specific date. She’d agreed it would be soon. He couldn’t ask for much more than that.
For the next several minutes, their conversation switched to Evan’s plans for the weekend. Since it was his girlfriend’s birthday, he’d intended to take her to Valley’s Edge, a ski resort on Stratton Mountain in Vermont. Prior to this week, Josh had never met Gemma, but from the way his brother talked about her, their relationship seemed serious.
“I’ll make arrangements to donate the funds to the foundation,” Evan said, adding his cereal bowl and plate to the dishwasher.
He’d taken care of getting the money to the foundation even before Courtney walked in his brother’s office. And while Josh was sure she’d agreed to help partially because of the combined two million dollars they were donating to the foundation, he wanted to believe it wasn’t the only reason.
Evan finished his coffee before putting the mug in the dishwasher as well. “Are you going to tell Mom and Dad or let them read about it like everyone else?”
Getting hold of their dad would be easy; their mom was another story. “I’ll call them both later. For now, don’t mention our engagement to anyone. Not even Gemma.” He didn’t want Evan’s girlfriend finding out about his engagement and posting the news on some social media site before Courtney told her parents.
“Good luck with Dad.”
Yeah, he already expected one of his dad’s well-known lectures regarding some aspect of Josh’s life his dad disagreed with. Usually, the lectures revolved around Josh’s inability to commit to a woman and keep his name out of the tabloids. Occasionally, they involved the frivolous ways he spent money. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind the fact he was going to marry a woman he’d known less than a year would set his dad off. At least in this instance, he didn’t blame the man. If Josh had a son who planned to do what he was about to, he would share his opinion too.
Evan clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past him. “I won’t tell anyone. Since you won’t be here when I come home, call me if you need anything. And maybe next week the four of us can get together.”
Josh polished off another bowl of cereal and two more slices of toast before following his brother’s lead and adding his dirty dishes to the dishwasher. Then he grabbed his cell phone and pulled up his dad’s number. The sooner he got the lecture out of the way the better.
Courtney had climbed into bed as soon as Josh left. But rather than succumb to the exhaustion she’d felt while sitting on the sofa, she’d tossed and turned, her mind unwilling to turn off. After an hour of staring into the darkness, she’d thrown in the towel and switched on an old black-and-white sitcom. One had turned into another. Exactly at what point in the second one she’d fallen asleep, she wasn’t sure. She knew when her alarm went off she had about as much energy as a rock and a cramp in her neck. A hot shower and coffee had helped with her energy problem; unfortunately, neither did a thing for her neck. The way she saw it though, the cramp was the least of her problems.
Setting down another cup of coffee, Courtney logged into her email as she again considered the best way to drop the news on her mom—just one of the many things that kept her up last night. It was either spend time thinking about her upcoming conversation or focus on Josh’s answer to her question regarding how real he expected their marriage to be and the fact that in a matter of hours he’d be sleeping just down the hall. Like he’d done with all of her questions, he’d given her the perfect answer and promised the final decision was up to her.
Despite answering all her emails before leaving the office the previous night, a new batch required her attention now. Personally, she considered reading and responding to countless emails a major pain, which was why she always tried to tackle them as soon as she started her day. She much preferred to address issues and make plans either face-to-face or via a phone conversation. Considering the number of emails she got daily, she assumed she might be the only one though.
She got through the first five before her mind started wandering. Even though she’d given him the answer he wanted, he’d warned her about the media attention she’d face by being with him. Although it probably hadn’t been his intention, the fact he’d given her a good reason not to agree with his plan told her something about him. He might be one of the biggest playboys in Hollywood and unable to commit to a woman for more than a few weeks, but he was honest. She’d rather be with an honest man who might be gone in a month than spend her life with one who lied and kept secrets.
