The Doctor's Meant-to-be Marriage

No doubt Will would go after Jared if he thought he’d hurt her in any way, which was why she could never let her brother guess at what had transpired between her and Jared.

Chelsea sought out her brother, who was dancing with Leslie. Her forehead wrinkled. Leslie didn’t look happy, neither did Will. Were they arguing?

She’d wanted tonight to be perfect, but since when had life gone perfectly?

Automatically she glanced at Jared. He stood talking with Larry still. Larry’s gaze shifted to Chelsea. He said something to Jared, then glanced back.

They were talking about her.

Were they having a laugh at her expense? Perhaps Jared was telling him how she’d mooned over him like a lovesick puppy for months, just like she had the week they’d met.

No more. Kevin had humiliated her with his rejection of her physical appearance, and she’d allowed Jared to repeatedly do the same thing. Only worse, Jared had rejected her heart.

Never again.

She wouldn’t settle for less than the best, wouldn’t allow Jared to string her along when he’d never be willing to give her his heart. Although perhaps not the life she’d have chosen, she would have a good life and find a way to be happy.

Jared stole a few private moments with Will in the far corner of the ballroom. Music played, people laughed, danced, and made merry. He and his pal both wore dark scowls.

“Women!” Will said under his breath.

“I hear you,” Jared agreed, taking a swallow of the beer he’d been nursing since Chelsea had walked away from him.

Will’s eyebrow rose. “Oh? Something you want to talk about?”

“Probably no more than you want to talk about what’s going on with you and Leslie,” Jared admitted, evading Will’s question.

“She refuses to marry me,” Will ground out, surprising Jared by the admission. “I’ve asked her a dozen different ways and the stubborn woman says no each and every time.”

“I thought…”

“Yeah, well, that’s two of us that thought that way. I want to get married now, sell the beach house, and get some place suitable for raising a baby.”

Sounded reasonable to Jared.

“But she says no. That just because she’s having my baby doesn’t mean she has to do things my way.”

“What does she want?”

“That’s the hell of it. She won’t tell me. Even tonight, I asked her to tell me what it’ll take to convince her to marry me. She just shook her head and walked away from me. When she came back from the bathroom I could tell she’d been crying. I just don’t understand women.”

“Me neither.”

“My sister giving you problems?”

Jared winced. The last thing he wanted was to talk to Will about his little sister.

Will gave a snort. “Do you think I don’t know what’s going on between you and Chelsea? That I never knew something happened between the two of you that spring break?”

“Nothing happened,” Jared quickly denied.

“Something did.” Will wiped his hand down his face. “Chelsea fell for you like a ton of bricks.”

“Laura…” he started, but couldn’t finish.

“Laura loved you, and you loved her, but you and I both know that you hadn’t been ‘in love’ with her for a long time.”

“You’re wrong.”