Sarah smiled at her. “Cop instinct, I guess. He was on to the fact that Jared wasn’t seeing anybody.”
“He hasn’t for a while now. Been with anybody, I mean,” she added hastily. “He said he’s seen with a lot of women, but some of them are just friends. I believe him.”
“I believe that,” Emily chirped. “The tabloids and media can be brutal. So much speculation without the facts. I think it would be great if you and Jared ended up together. I think he needs you.”
I don’t deserve you, Mara, but I need you.
She sighed as she remembered Jared’s words. The big question was . . . did he love her? Was he starting to fall as hard as she was falling? “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.” Her heart was now open to Jared, his to cherish or break. She was rolling the dice on him, and she hoped her instincts were right. If not, she’d be shattered.
“God, he’s hot,” Kristin commented enthusiastically.
“He is. That’s why I don’t understand why he’s interested in me. I’m probably the plainest, most boring woman in town.”
“That’s not true,” Sarah replied hotly. “You’re pretty and sweet. Dante once said that sweet women are a Sinclair’s downfall.”
Randi snorted. “I guess I never have to worry about being any Sinclair man’s downfall then.”
Mara glanced at the petite brunette. She didn’t believe Randi for a second. She might act like she was tough, but she was willing to bet the woman had a warm heart. She’d never been anything but kind to her, and Randi volunteered a lot of her time at the Youth Center when she wasn’t teaching at the local school.
“Grady loves me, and I’m plain, tall, and curvy,” Emily added firmly. “It’s like he’s blind to every fault I have.”
“Jared is, too,” Mara admitted in a perplexed voice. “He looks at me like I’m a supermodel. It’s like he thinks I’m perfect.” She rolled her eyes just at the thought of her ever being without fault, physically or emotionally.
“He is the one,” Kristin affirmed with a smile.
“Definitely,” Sarah seconded.
“He’s in love with you,” Emily confirmed with a nod.
Mara’s heart beat faster and her palms grew sweaty at the thought. There was nothing she wanted more than for the women’s predictions to be true.
The conversation turned directions after a few moments of silence, the ladies talking about the wedding as they stuffed favor bags. It was a simple task, but Mara had never felt more comfortable, so a part of something that bonded her together with other females, a group of women she could easily call friends. There wasn’t a bit of cattiness in any of them, and they were genuinely warm and caring.
Cutting off any negative thoughts about Jared, she just enjoyed the memory of how blissful it had been when they’d woken up together that morning. Jared had held her close the entire night, his powerful arms still wrapped around her when they woke.
For now, those feelings, that sense of closeness would have to be enough.
CHAPTER 15
“Hey, beautiful . . . your website is up.”
Mara gaped at Jared, who was standing right outside the door she’d opened to his knock, her first cup of coffee still in her hand. Jared was never this cheerful in the morning, and this was very unusual behavior for him before nine a.m. He generally woke up, drank his coffee, and grumbled as he went downstairs to his gym. By the looks of his damp hair and mischievous grin, he’d already gone through his morning routine, which included a shower after he hit the gym, and it was only eight o’clock.
He’s up early.
Holding the door open for him, she watched him saunter into the living room, and he smelled deliciously of coffee, fresh air, and sandalwood as he brushed past her.
God, he smells good.
Dressed in jeans and his normal button-down shirt, he looked good enough to eat for breakfast, and Mara had to clench her fist around her mug to keep from reaching for him and making him her first meal of the day. “It’s up?” The sight and scent of Jared distracted her so much that it had taken her a while to process what he’d said.
Moving to the kitchen and helping himself to a cup of coffee, he turned to her with a naughty grin and propped his hip casually against the cupboard. “It’s been up since the second I saw you.”
Her eyes went immediately to his groin, and then back up to his face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see anything because his shirttail was covering his crotch. She nodded. “Our website, you mean? It’s live?”
He smirked. “That’s up, too.”
Too? Wicked man!
She tried not to smile, but her lips turned up as she watched him take a sip of his coffee. Jared Sinclair was way too hot not to appreciate when he was being perverted, and his flirty words made her heart flutter inside her chest.
He looks so damn perfect, and I’m a mess.