From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games 2)

That Jason was the one she loved and the one she wanted. She hadn’t given up hope that he’d eventually be that man permanently. That Jason might actually admit it if he developed feelings for her in return.

Was she crazy to hang around waiting for that miracle to happen?

At quarter till nine, Jason’s cell phone rang as they were walking through the door of his loft after dinner. He glanced at it and mouthed, “Avery,” and answered. After a couple of “Uh-huhs” and a “We’ll be here,” he hung up and raised an eyebrow. “She wants to talk to us. Both of us.”

Foreboding flooded Meredith’s chest. “About what?”

“She didn’t say. But she mentioned it was important. Do you mind?”

Avery with a secret mission sounded like the opposite of fun. Meredith sighed. She’d been fantasizing about taking a long, hot bath in Jason’s enormous garden tub that overlooked the skyline. “It’s fine. I’ll open a bottle of wine. Unless you think it’s not a social visit?”

He shrugged. “Avery is about as social as a black widow. Open the wine for us. So we can tolerate her.”

Somehow that got a smile out of her. She selected a Merlot from Jason’s well-stocked wine rack and pulled the cork. The pop coincided with the doorbell. Avery must have been in the lobby when she called.

Jason answered the door while Meredith poured three big glasses. Then added another quarter inch of wine to hers. For fortification. Either this surprise visit would be her second “real marriage” test at the hands of Jason’s family or Avery planned to litter the loft with the shrapnel of whatever new bomb she had in store in her campaign to become CEO of Lynhurst Enterprises.

What else could she possibly be here for?

Avery swept into the room, not one blond hair out of place. Her chic Hurst House suit outclassed all of the women’s outfits in a five-block radius, as always, because Avery wore clothes like everyone else wore skin—effortlessly and as if everything she put on had been created specifically for her. Meredith had never seen the woman miss a trick when it came to dressing for the occasion.

It was a talent Meredith envied despite her personal feelings for Jason’s sister.

“Avery,” Meredith greeted smoothly. “How nice of you to drop by. That suit is divine. Wine?”

Jason glanced at her sideways, but she ignored him. Southern manners had been bred into her since she was old enough to tell the difference between a teaspoon and a soupspoon, and sibling rivalry couldn’t pry graciousness from her. At least not right out of the gate. When Avery got to the point of this visit, all bets were off.

“Thank you.” Avery nodded and took the long-stemmed glass from Meredith’s hand. “Sorry for the short notice. I’m glad you were free.”

“Of course,” she allowed. If nothing else, Avery had piqued their curiosity. Deliberately, she was sure.

Meredith indicated the sofa facing the Hudson in an invitation to Avery to take a seat, and then sank onto the other sofa next to Jason and handed him his glass of wine. Wasn’t this cozy?

She gulped a third of her wine in thirty seconds as Jason put an arm around her. It was a clear message to both her and Avery. Meredith and Jason were a team, regardless of the blood flowing through the Lynhurst veins.

The show of solidarity touched her and she had to school her expression before she melted into a mushy puddle. His thumb stroked her waist and she managed to shoot him a small smile that conveyed none of her surprise at how normal it felt to sit with him in the home they shared, entertaining.

Avery’s gaze cut between the two of them. “I have to confess, part of me wanted to see for myself that you were really a couple.”

“You mean you didn’t already know that we’ve been married for two years?” Jason asked in a flat tone that said if she denied it, he’d call her a liar.

“I knew,” she conceded readily. “I thought it was a much more scandalous story than it apparently is.”

More scandalous than a drunken, accidental Vegas wedding that shouldn’t have happened? What in the world would have qualified for that honor?

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Jason shot back with a glower. “If you only came here to check up on me, you can leave.”

Meredith put a calming hand on his arm, a little amused that playing the composed half of their couple had fallen to her. “It’s okay, honey. It’s natural for people to be curious, especially your family.”

With an evaluating once-over, Avery zeroed in on her. “That’s not the only reason I’m here. I actually came to congratulate you on your marriage. And on getting one up on me. I wasn’t going to use the stolen designs, or at least not the way I led you to believe. I was dead sure I had a Lyn spy at Hurst and I planted them in hopes of flushing out the culprit.”