Page 66 of One Golden Ring
I feel kind of bad about that now. I’d like to spend some time with Roan. Most of my favorite childhood memories are with him. I wonder why I haven’t stayed in touch more.
“Well, you’ll have to bring your little girl out to the farm,” he tells me. “We’ll cook up a big dinner and talk about old times.”
“She’s not so little,” I say, pointing out where J.B. and Darcy are window-shopping across the street.
They turn and wave and Darcy gives me a smile that makes my heart want to split in half.
“Is that your fiancée?” Roan asks with interest.
For no reason that I can put my finger on, when I open my mouth to tell the usual lie the truth comes out instead.
“It’s complicated,” I tell him, turning away from the girls.
He turns with me, and I find myself walking slowly up the block to join him, my eyes searching the pine boughs and Christmas displays as if they might contain a simple explanation for the situation at hand, and the way I feel about it.
“You know my Grandpa Michael’s not well,” I begin.
“I was so sorry to hear about that,” Roan says quietly. “The whole town’s taking it hard.”
“He worries about me,” I tell him. “When I came down here with my assistant to spend a little time he jumped to conclusions. And… well, I guess we figured letting him think we were together might give him some peace. I probably took it too far by pretending to propose, but you should have seen his face, Roan.”
“She’s your assistant?” Roan asks, sounding surprised.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Best one I’ve ever had.”
“So, you’re pulling pranks for good instead of for mischief now, eh?” he asks me.
“Yeah, I guess you could say so,” I agree.
He clearly thinks his remark is hilarious, but it leaves me feeling uncomfortable. Is that what we’re doing? Is it really no better than a prank?
“Does she know?” Roan asks me.
“What do you mean?” I ask him, stopping in my tracks. “Of course she does.”
“Well, I saw the way she was smiling at you just now,” he says. “It didn’t look fake to me.”
I want what he’s saying to be true so badly.
But it isn’t.
“It’s fake,” I say louder than I meant to. “It’s allcompletelyfake. There are no real feelings involved. She’s doing it for money and I’m doing it for Michael.”
Suddenly Roan’s expression goes soft.
I turn to see Darcy standing behind us, a stricken look on her face.
21
DARCY
Ijust stand there for a moment, unable to react as Derek’s harsh words bounce around in my heart, tearing down all my fantasies and letting the harsh light of reality back inside.
There are no real feelings involved.
She’s doing it for money and I’m doing it for Michael.
That’s true. At least it’s what we agreed on. When I said yes, I was thinking of selling a diamond to pay off my student loans.
