“Ah, but you proposed before I met her, didn’t you?”
“Sure, but not with the ring. That came later. You know that.”
“Before or after I met your grandparents?”
Brent narrowed his gaze. “Want to tell me exactly what’s going on here? Because if you’re getting cold—” He stopped short, and the blood drained from his face. “Don’t tell me that you’ve lost it. It’s a family heirloom.”
“I haven’t lost a thing.” Hope self-consciously rubbed her ring finger. “I’m just…having it sized.” There. A perfectly logical explanation. Really, she ought to be commended.
“Sized? But I thought it fit perfectly?”
Ack. “When my hands get soapy, it slips off,” she improvised. “I didn’t want to take the risk of misplacing it. Or, or…having it go down the drain.”
“I wish you’d said something sooner. I know a very good jeweler in Boston. He could have rushed the refitting.”
She was painting herself into a corner. She had to find a way out of this, and fast. “I’ll have it back really soon. Maybe even sooner than I think. If it’s ready in time, Meredith will bring it up when she comes.” Better yet, Jackie would be here on Tuesday wearing that ring.
Hope was going to have to find a way to contact her and let her know about all the crazy stuff that had been going on. But she needed to extract herself from this conversation first.
“In any case, it’s fine.” She hadn’t meant to, but she’d let her exasperation slip.
“You’re still not happy with the ring, are you?”
“I just feel awkward about it after that thing your grandmother said when I got here.”
“Oh? What thing was that?”
She met his eyes. “Your grandmother said she was surprised to see me. I guess she was amazed I’d made the time.”
Brent sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Does she know?” Hope asked, the thought occurring to her. “That we’re entering into a loveless marriage?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t break your confidence. Our reasons for getting married are nobody’s business but our own.”
She pursed her lips, dying to know. “And what reasons are those, exactly?”
He eyed her. “We’re both at the right age, compatible. We get along, share good laughs.”
“That sounds like the makings of a friendship, not a marriage.”
“The best marriages are based on friendship. You said so yourself.”
“So then, why not wait? What’s the big rush?”
“Well, there’s Grandpa’s business…”
It only took Hope a second to put it together. Brent was taking over Albright Enterprises after his and Jackie’s honeymoon. She knew that he was changing jobs and that this would be a step up. She’d never guessed that this hurried wedding had anything to do with his career bump.
But, apparently, it did.
He met her gaze. “Look, we’ve already been through this. If you’ve changed your mind, please just tell me. All these questions are kind of freaking me out.”
She couldn’t believe it. This was a marriage of convenience, pure and simple. But what did Jackie have to gain? Oh yeah, right. The life of privilege and luxury she’d always wanted.
Although, Jackie wasn’t exactly poor nowadays, so why had her sister sunk so low? Didn’t she believe herself capable of achieving more? Of finding a man to really love her?
There’s no way this was just about him being an Albright.
Brent shoved his hands in his pants pockets and shook his head. “We can call this whole thing off right here and right now, if that’s what you want.”
“No.” Hope’s throat constricted at the thought. She was here to save Jackie’s upcoming wedding, not trash it in less than two hours. “That’s not what I want,” she said, breaking a sweat. “I just think I…need to lie down.”
“What? Are you getting sick?”
“Just a small headache.” She grimaced. “I felt a twinge of it earlier but forgot to take something for it.”
“Maybe you should rest before dinner?”
“That’s what I’m thinking, too.”
“We’re not done with this discussion,” Brent said. “There are things we need to talk out.”
“Yeah, of course.” She massaged her forehead and winced. “Later.” Like Tuesday, when her sister could deal with the fallout on her own.
“Sure.” Brent gave a worried frown and motioned for her to descend the stairs before him. As she did, she turned and glanced over her shoulder.
“Do you think I could borrow your laptop for a bit?”
“Not now, you can’t,” he replied. “Staring at a screen is the last thing you need to do with a headache brewing.” And then, seeming to read her, he added, “I’m sure the Martin wedding is doing just fine without you. No doubt Rachel has it all under control. Why don’t we see how you’re feeling after dinner?”
Hope’s stomach soured at the thought of having to sit around that table with Grandmother Margaret watching her like a hawk. It was bad enough when she thought Brent actually loved Jackie. Now that Hope knew that he didn’t—and that Jackie didn’t really love him—it would be even harder to keep up the ruse. She really needed to talk to her sister. Somehow. Posthaste.
“My stomach’s a little queasy,” she replied honestly. “I’m not so sure I’ll be able to make dinner tonight.”
Brent paused on the stairs. “You really are feeling miserable, aren’t you?”
“I’m sure I’ll be better by tomorrow.”
“Maybe we should call off that run?”
Yes. “That might be a good idea. Just until I’m feeling better.”
“Okay. We’ll go Tuesday.”
“Right. Or maybe even Wednesday.”
When they reached the foyer, Brent looked her over one last time. “Get some rest.”
Hope nodded, desperate for some alone time. So she could freak out all by herself over her sister’s pending marriage of convenience.
What on earth had Jackie done?
Chapter Five
Brent, his parents, and his grandparents sat at the dinner table. Two of the chairs with place settings were empty.