Page 25 of The Mountain Man's Fake Christmas Bride
"Where's Jen?" His eyes scan the property as if expecting her to pop out from behind a tree.
"Working. She'll join us later."
Inside, Ridge takes in the Christmas decorations with raised eyebrows. "Did your cabin throw up Christmas spirit? This doesn't look like your style."
"Jennifer's influence." I grab two beers from the fridge and hand him one. "She's been busy."
"So I see." He follows me to the living room, settling into an armchair while I take the couch. "Now explain why the whole town thinks you married my foster sister."
I lay out the situation. Aunt Mildred's terminal illness. Beverly's well-intentioned lie. The fake marriage scheme and the financial arrangement.
Ridge listens without interruption, sipping his beer, expression unreadable. When I finish, he studies me for a long moment.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," he finally says. "And I know exactly who came up with it. Jen and her wild ideas." He shakes his head. "Only my foster sister would agree to fake marry a hermit for Christmas."
"It seemed logical at the time."
"Nothing about this is logical." He leans forward. "But that's not the whole story, is it?"
I meet his gaze steadily. "What makes you say that?"
"Because I know you, Calloway. And I know Jen. The decorations. The way you said her name just now. Something's changed."
This is the moment. The crossroads. I could deny it, maintain the fiction that this is still just a business arrangement. But Ridge deserves honesty. And maybe I need to say it out loud to make it real.
"I have feelings for her," I admit. "Real feelings."
Ridge doesn't look surprised. "And Jen?"
"She feels something too. We're figuring it out."
"Figuring it out." He repeats my words with skepticism. "While pretending to be married to make your dying aunt happy. That's not complicated at all."
"Didn't say it was simple."
"Look." Ridge sets his beer down. "Jen's been through hell with that asshole ex of hers. Left her broke and doubting herself. I don't want to see her hurt again."
"I won't hurt her." The words come out fiercer than intended.
"Not intentionally." His eyes are knowing. "But you've spent three years avoiding connection for a reason, Jared. What happens when this ends? When your aunt leaves and you remember why you live alone on a mountain?"
The question hits uncomfortably close to my own doubts. "I don't know," I admit. "But I know I'm not ready to let her go."
Ridge studies me for a long moment. "I've never seen you like this. Not even with Sarah."
"It's different with Jennifer." I run a hand through my hair, frustrated by my inability to articulate what I feel. "She sees me. All of me. The scars. The isolation. The parts I keep hidden. And she stays anyway."
"You love her." It's not a question.
Do I? The realization hits with the force of absolute certainty. Yes. I love Jennifer Walsh. Her laughter. Her creativity. Her stubbornness. The way she pushes into my space and makes herself at home. The way she sees beauty in everything, including me.
"Yes," I say simply. "I do."
Ridge nods slowly. "Then you better figure out how to make this real. Because if you break her heart, best friend or not, I'll have to kill you."
"Understood."
The office door opens and Jennifer appears, hair piled messily on top of her head, glasses perched on her nose. She brightens when she sees Ridge.
