Passion Play

“What did you think?” Iris skipped the more formal greeting when Rose answered her office phone later that afternoon.

Tread carefully. Rose sat at her desk at the law firm of Apple & Spencer LLC. She’d been dreading Iris’s call. She didn’t want to offend her sister, but Iris had been wrong. Donovan wasn’t fake boyfriend material.

“Van seems like a very nice person.” Rose looked away from the documents she was reviewing on her computer screen. “But I don’t think he’s the right man for this plan.”

There was a moment’s surprised silence before Iris responded. “Are you kidding me? Why not?”

“He’s a player.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Are you kidding me?” Rose’s eyebrows jumped toward her hairline. “It’s in his eyes. It’s in his smile. He’s just too charming.”

“Rosie, not every good-looking guy is a player.” Iris’s tone was gentle. “They’re not all like Ben.”

“I know.” Rose squeezed her eyes shut. Consciously, she knew that, but subconsciously, she was still suspicious. “I don’t want to take that risk.”

“What risk?”

Rose opened her eyes. Her attention landed on the black metal inbox on the far corner of her cognac cherrywood desk. She’d emptied her inbox when she’d arrived early this morning. When she’d returned from lunch, it was full again. Her black wire organizer on the opposite end of her desk already was stuffed with project folders. Her cases and workload were multiplying like rabbits.

“Flirting is second nature to men like Van. They probably don’t even realize they’re doing it. If I took him to the reunion, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from flirting with other women.” Rose rubbed her shoulder. Her gaze drifted to the matching cognac cherrywood bookcase on her left. It was swollen with reference books. Her certificates and awards hung nearby on the eggshell office walls.

“Van isn’t like that.” Iris’s voice was adamant. “He’s one of the good guys.”

“You’ve only known him for three months. Ben fooled me for two years.”

“Ty has known Van for seventeen years.”

Rose froze. “Did you tell Ty that I wanted to check out Van as a possible date for my reunion?”

“Of course not.” Iris seemed insulted by the question. “I’d never do that to you. And I’d slap you if you did something like that to me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Rose rubbed her right shoulder, trying to ease the tension building there.

“It’s all right.” Iris sighed. “Well, if Van’s off your list, do you want to meet Xavier?”

“No, thank you.” Xavier had just broken up with his girlfriend. This probably wasn’t a good time to ask him to pretend to be in love with her.

“Then what are you going to do?”

I wish I knew. “I guess I’ll have to ask Lil if she could recommend someone.”

“Good luck getting Lily to cooperate with your plan. Do you think she even knows anyone who fits your criteria?” Iris sounded dubious.

“I don’t know.” Rose frowned. “But I’m desperate.”

Lily would probably once again try to talk Rose into going to the reunion alone. That was something Rose was not going to do. She’d rather go to the reunion with Donovan “Heartthrob” Carroll than face Benjamin without a date. Unbidden, an image of Donovan came to mind. At least she’d have someone good to look at for the weekend.

Chapter 3

“I can’t stay long, but I did want to ask you for a favor.” Rose smiled as Lily closed the door behind her Monday evening. Rose had called her sister as soon as she’d rung off with Iris that afternoon to ask if she could come by Lily’s house after work.

“If I can, I’d be happy to help you. You know that.” Lily kicked off her shoes before leading Rose down the hallway to her living room.

Rose took off her shoes and followed. She sank onto the powder blue love seat as Lily settled onto the near corner of the matching sofa.

“I found out Friday that Ben’s wife is pregnant.” Rose had given her explanation a lot of consideration on her forty-five-minute drive to Lily’s house.