The Substitute Fiancee by Rebecca Russell

Author:Rebecca Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“Thanks for coming to my rescue, again, Jessie,” Mac said as the hostess seated them in a corner table at a popular Tex-Mex restaurant. “If I don’t show up with my fiancée at Reverend Miller’s office in an hour, there won’t be a wedding on Saturday. I wouldn’t have bothered you if there had been any other way. I know you hate all this pretending.”

What an understatement and what a mess, Jessie thought as she tugged at the linen napkin in her lap. She had barely recovered from the draining effects of yesterday’s masquerade, and was already breaking the promise she’d made to herself about no more deception.

She felt as if she were being pulled even deeper into the web of deceit and worried she’d get tangled up in all the lies, trip over the half-truths.

Yet, she couldn’t refuse Mac’s plea for help now that she cared about his happiness as well as her sister’s. So, when he had insisted lunch was the least he could provide in return for her favor, she had agreed. They would need the extra time anyway to go over the anticipated questions the minister might ask, along with their answers.

And while she cursed her sister for putting her in a position where she now had to be less than truthful with a minister, and thought Jenna was being extremely selfish at the moment, even so, she didn’t deserve to have her wedding canceled. “This isn’t your fault, Mac,” Jessie assured. “And since Jenna is conveniently not answering her phone, we’re stuck.”

The waiter arrived, took their orders, then disappeared.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, grateful they had a somewhat secluded table.

“He might ask how we met, which you already know. Money might come up. Of course there’s a prenup, stating in case of divorce we take only what we brought into the marriage. And it makes sense to keep our money separate.”

Jessie frowned. The whole arrangement seemed so cold.

“What’s wrong?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. A prenuptial agreement is pretty standard these days, I guess.”

“It definitely is.”

“And it makes sense to keep your money separate in case, well, if things don’t work out.”

“You’re wrong if you think we’re going into this thinking the marriage will fail. Keeping the money separate is just simpler, and what Jenna and I have agreed on. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re right. It’s none of my business, anyway.”

He nodded and took a drink of his sweetened tea. “The only other thing I can think of that he might mention is the issue of children, and that’s something else Jenna and I agree on.”

At least now Jessie had a better understanding of why he didn’t want to be a dad, and Jenna was too driven and high-maintenance to consider motherhood. “I promise to keep my opinions to myself.”

He leaned back in his chair. “I hear the disapproval in your voice. Plenty of people marry who don’t want children. Why is having kids so important to you?”

“I don’t disapprove, I just can’t relate. I’ve always had this dream of a big, close family.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.