Jared's Counterfeit Fiancee - Brenda Jackson [18]
Jared spent the next ten minutes telling Dare the entire story, including how he and Dana had originally met.
“Damn, a pretended engagement. You know what happened when Shelly and I tried pretending a courtship. It became the real thing,” Dare said, remembering that time.
Jared stared at Dare. “That won’t happen to me. You know how I feel about marriage.”
Dare chuckled. “Yeah, and you know how I felt about it, too. But I can’t imagine not having Shelly in my life now.”
“The two of you had a history. And then there was AJ.”
Dare nodded when he thought of the son he hadn’t known about until Shelly had returned to town after having been gone ten years. “But even with all that, Shelly and I had to get reacquainted, find ourselves all over again. It was only then that we discovered that we still loved each other.”
Jared snorted. “At work I see marriage at its ugliest—when two people who’d vowed to love each other till death do them part, face each other in a judge’s chamber with hatred in their eyes, wanting to strip the other bare of anything and everything.”
He chuckled before continuing. “The man I’m representing in court tomorrow is fighting his soon-to-be ex-wife for custody of the dog.”
Dare shook his head sadly. “Don’t let what you see in your profession discolor your opinion of marriage, Jared.”
Jared sighed deeply. “It already has, Dare. This thing with Dana is for Mom’s sake and there’s no way I’m going to forget it.”
Four
D ana glanced up from her desk and smiled when Cybil walked in. “Good morning.”
“Umm, I don’t know how good it is when you find out your best friend has been keeping secrets.”
Dana raised an arched brow. “Excuse me?”
Cybil frowned as she crossed the room to stand in front of Dana’s desk. “I don’t know whether you’re excused or not. News of your engagement made the society column today,” she said, waving a section of the Atlanta Constitution in front of Dana’s eyes.
“What!” Dana snatched the paper from Cybil to read the article. “I didn’t know.”
Cybil lifted a confused brow as she crossed her arms over her chest. “What didn’t you know? That you’re engaged to one of Atlanta’s most eligible bachelors or that news of it would appear in today’s paper?”
Hearing the hurt in her best friend’s voice, Dana lifted her gaze from the article to meet Cybil’s gaze. “I can explain.”
“Do tell.”
Sighing deeply, Dana stood and crossed the room to close her door. She turned to Cybil. “You better sit for this.”
It took a full twenty minutes to explain everything. It would have taken less time had her best friend not interrupted every five minutes to ask so many questions.
“Boy, this is unreal. The entire office is buzzing. I hope Jared gets you a different engagement ring. People will have a lot to say if they see you wearing the same ring Luther gave you.”
Dana blinked. Jeez. She hadn’t thought of that since she hadn’t expected news of their engagement going public.
“Who do you think tipped off the papers?” Cybil asked.
“I’m not sure but it really doesn’t matter at this point.” Dana knew it had to have been someone in Jared’s family, probably his mother. The article had been nicely written, letting all Atlanta know that one of the city’s most sought-after bachelors had gotten engaged to Dana Rollins over the Easter weekend. “I wonder if Jared has seen it.”
Cybil smiled that little knowing smile that meant her mind was churning and usually in the wrong direction. “My guess is that he has.” She chuckled. “I can assure you that everyone in this office has.”
Dana looked at her with a concerned expression on her face. “What are they saying?” She knew if anyone knew about the office gossip it was Cybil. Not that she participated in it but everyone knew that her two staff members, Mary Bonner and Helen Fisher, were Kessler Industries’ biggest gossips.
“They’re perplexed since no one noticed a ring on your finger. But I think most of them are happy for you considering your breakup with Luther. They’ve gone from pitying you to envying you, especially since you’ve snagged the