“Iris Winger.” He watched as the tension left her face and she suppressed a giggle.
“Ewww. Not Iris,” she said.
“Why not? She’s been throwing herself at me for three years. She’ll do anything for me. And she’s not unattractive.”
“She’s vapid—you can’t marry Iris. Surely you can do better. How about Dr. Barringer?”
“Nope. She has bad breath.”
“Well you’re not planning to kiss her, are you? You just want to marry her.”
“I’d have to kiss her at the wedding.”
“Okay, fine. Why not Rhonda Grimes? She’s crazy about you. She talks about you all the time.”
“Who’s that? I can’t place her.”
“Tall, pretty, blond hair. She wears it in a bun.”
“Oh, that girl? You think she’s pretty? She has buggy eyes.”
“Fine. How about Rachel Vetters?”
“The girl with the weird laugh? She sounds like a hyena. That would drive me crazy.”
“Hmmm... Shelly Bond?”
“No way. She never shuts up. I wouldn’t get a moment’s peace.”
“Uhmm... I give up.
He fell back into a glum mood. “Let me try talking to Gherring. Hopefully, he’ll let us go on the ski trip with you. But you have to admit you really are my best option.”
“I’ve only agreed to be your fiancée for the next two weeks. I didn’t say yes to the marriage thing.”
“But you haven’t said no, either.”
“I’m waiting for Grace’s advice, but you can expect a no and plan accordingly.”
“Okay, but only if I get to explain it to Grace.”
“Be my guest. I can’t wait to see her face when you tell her.”
Chapter Four
“JOSH IS DOING WHAT?” Surely Anne had misunderstood Steven’s explanation.
“He’s adopting his niece and nephew. The girl is two and the boy is nine. Josh didn’t tell me the whole story... But it turns out he grew up in foster care and only located his sister this past year. And you remember hearing she and her husband died last month in a car wreck?”
“Yes. That was so awful.”
“So now he’s fighting for custody, and evidently that’s why he’s trying to get Olivia to marry him. But we’re sworn to secrecy on that.”
“Well, it explains a lot. We can’t even tell the girls?”
“No, we can’t. He needs the ad litem to believe he and Olivia were already planning to marry. He can’t find out they’re getting married so he can win custody.”
“But a marriage like that would never work,” Anne objected.