Page 78 of Decidedly Off Limits

For now, the pain-in-the-ass voice in my head warned. Then it was back to reality once we returned to San Francisco—and my job that always came first.

As if hearing my thoughts, Kelsey pulled away. “Yes?” Her voice was louder than before, but still rough with need.

She indicated for me to duck behind the bed. I would have laughed if the person behind the door wasn’t someone who was supposed to remain oblivious to what Kelsey and I were up to.

“It’s Jillian,” the person on the other side of the door said.

Kelsey let out the breath I hadn’t realized she was holding, and unlocked the door. She opened it wide and let Jillian in. Kelsey wasn’t the only one who looked like she’d had a very satisfying make-out session.

“We’re supposed to head down now,” Jillian said.

“Thanks,” I told her.

Matt entered the room. “Are you ready for this?”

“I think so,” Kelsey said, although she did suddenly look as though she was going to be sick.

“All you have to do is pretend you’re with me,” Matt coached. “Everything else will be simple. Try to keep the conversation away from us as a couple and it’ll be fine. It’s just another dinner with friends.”

“Don’t worry, Kels,” I said. “You’ve got this.”

“But how long do we have to do this for?” she asked. “I mean, I get why I can’t be honest with my best friend, but how long will I have to pretend Matt’s my boyfriend?”

“Until you’re able to convince my sister and Holly to quit setting you up.” Or until she’d had enough of our relationship and was ready to date other men for real.

My stomach turned to lead at the thought.

“We can stop pretending now if you want and tell Erin the truth,” I added. “It’s up to you. I’ll stick by you whatever you decide.”

Kelsey shook her head. “No, we’re already here and this is for the best. It will keep our friends off our backs for a while.”

As long as we could pull it off.

32

Kelsey

Dinner was great. As was the company. Jillian and Matt did a good job convincing everyone that Trent and I were dating them.

Okay, maybe they did too good of a job.

Did you see the look in Erin’s eyes? That’s right, the one already envisioning Trent’s and my future children.

But it wasn’t our combined genetics she had mixed together. It was future Jillian-Trent junior and Kelsey-Matt junior she was seeing. Trent was right. I needed to pull up my big girl panties soon, and stop Erin from setting me up with yet another guy I had no interest in.

There was only one guy I wanted—the one I couldn’t have. Not in the way that I wanted him. Trent needed to learn to trust me and trust that I would never hurt him like the women in his past had. He needed to be as committed to me as he was to his job, which had never let him down. And after that, we’d have to convince our siblings that we could make it work.

Except it would’ve been easier to convince terrorists to sing Karaoke with the world leaders. While wearing women’s underwear.

Once dinner was finished, Holly, Jillian, and I helped Erin clean up, then we joined the men outside on the deck. There wasn’t a lot of room for all of us. Erin cuddled up next to Darren.

Jillian and I exchanged looks, but it was clear we didn’t have a choice. Whether we wanted to or not, unless we wanted to raise suspicions, we had to cozy up to the wrong guy.

Resignedly, I sat next to Matt on the loveseat. He played his role well, other than stiffening slightly when Jillian cuddled up to Trent. If I hadn’t been leaning against him, I wouldn’t have noticed.

“It’s been driving me crazy,” Holly said to Matt, “but I’m positive I’ve seen you before.”

Matt chuckled, but something was off about it. A quick peek at Erin’s and Holly’s expressions told me they hadn’t noticed, both watching him intently.