From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games 2)

“Guy trouble,” she mumbled and adjusted the strap on her bikini.

God Almighty, what else could she possibly say? I went to New York for a divorce, fell in love with my husband all over again and got dumped like yesterday’s trash. Oh, that’s right, you didn’t know I got married. See, there was this trip to Vegas...

Cara rolled her eyes. “Duh. I’ve just never seen you cry over a guy before. Find another one. You’ve always got some man on a string.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Meredith sniffed. “And I’ve tried finding another one. It’s useless.”

“Honey, you’ve only been here less than two weeks. Give it time.”

“I’ve been trying for two years,” Meredith muttered under her breath.

Plus three weeks, which was how long ago she’d left New York, broken and bleeding and too proud to admit to anyone what a mess she’d made of her life because she was flat dumb enough to think an accidental marriage to a man she’d met in Las Vegas would work out.

Cara, cheer-up speech in full swing, waved the needle in her fingers at the interior of the resort beyond the beach. “Find another pool boy, like Paolo, and let him talk your clothes off. Paolo seemed pretty good at making you smile.”

Meredith searched her memory. “Paolo? Oh, from the Grace Bay resort.”

She and Cara had attended a bridal expo in Turks and Caicos last fall, where Cara had reconnected with Keith, the man responsible for her current blissful condition. Meredith had chased yet another set of gorgeous abs while trying to forget Jason.

“I was faking it,” she informed her sister. “Paolo is obviously very forgettable.”

“Obviously.” Cara fell silent for a moment and then cocked her head. “Can you at least tell me if you’re planning to stay? Because if you’re going home, I have a couple of things lined up for you to take care of. You know, if you’re still interested in being partners.”

It was the perfect segue into a difficult subject, but it was one Meredith needed to address. That was what grown-ups did—tell people the truth, even when it was hard. “I have to be honest. I’m not sure what I want to do, but I know that wedding dresses is your dream, not mine. Would you hate me forever if I backed out?”

Meredith wasn’t willing to settle for a job unless she could be passionate about it, and it wasn’t fair to Cara for Meredith to go into a partnership unless she could give her whole heart.

With a smile, Cara shook her head. “Not at all. I was hoping you’d eventually figure out that it wasn’t what you really wanted. But I would have welcomed you regardless.”

How had she gotten lucky enough to be related to such a wise woman?

Cara stretched and motioned at the dress she’d been stitching. “I’m at a stopping place and I need to get out of the sun.”

Meredith nodded and helped her sister carry her sewing supplies so she wouldn’t get sand in the dress pieces. They walked through the pool area to the main building and not one pool boy caught Meredith’s eye.

The mention of Grace Bay also reminded her that Cara had walked a similar path as Meredith. Albeit much more successfully, as she was currently carrying the baby of the man she’d married, despite a rocky beginning to their relationship, which had included Keith leaving Cara at the altar the first time they’d planned to get married.

“You and Keith got back together after two years. How did you make it work the second time around?”

Cara shrugged and paused at the front desk to situate the fabric over her arm. “We didn’t know each other well the first time. When I ran into him again in Grace Bay, I swore I wasn’t falling for him again. But I was so jealous of you and how easily you seemed to love ’em and leave ’em. I wanted to try that. Keith was supposed to be my tropical island fling. I clearly missed the memo about how a fling works.”

Her sister laughed as Meredith shook her head. “I’m the last person you should be jealous of. I suck at everything.”

“The only thing you suck at, sweetheart, is paperwork.”

The familiar masculine voice washed over her as she and Cara jerked their heads simultaneously to view the speaker.

And there stood the man of her fantasies, in the flesh. Jason—with one hand stuck in his khaki pants pocket and an intense smile deepening his delicious cheekbones.

He’d come for her. He missed her. He was sorry and wanted to try again.

“Jason,” Meredith croaked. “What—”

“Well, hello there,” Cara interrupted with an inquisitive brow lift and an extended hand, dress pieces forgotten on the front desk. “Cara Mitchell. You must be the reason my sister is visiting me in Barbados?”