Will watched her reaction carefully.

But there was none.

Her expression hadn’t changed a bit, and he felt a surge of frustration. The Brynn he’d known had been rigid but always willing to rise to the bait and show fire.

This version of Brynn wasn’t just the illusion of ice—she was ice. He’d clearly made a mistake in staying away too long, and everyone else in her life had let her get too comfortable in her structured little routine, with all of her stupid rules and lists.

An older couple approached to wish her happy birthday, and Will watched as she smoothly thanked them for coming and asked about their children by name, which he was sure were filed away in some elaborate contact list somewhere.

She didn’t introduce him to the couple, which suited him just fine. He was sure he wouldn’t like whatever title he’d be given.

“How long until you slink back to Boston?” she asked him when they were alone again.

“A while.”

“Could you be more specific?” she snapped.

“You know, Princess, whatever ailment had you in the bathroom for an hour has really messed with your mood.”

“I wasn’t in there for an hour,” she snarled as she took another gulp of her champagne. Despite her claims of not wanting it, her glass was nearly empty. He was pushing her limits, exactly as planned.

It was time to get what he’d come for. “So who’s the sallow-looking fellow you were dragging around like a whipped dog?”

Her eyes closed briefly. “Go away, Will.”

He ignored this. “New boyfriend?”

“Not new. James and I have been dating for two years.”

Will already knew that, of course. Sophie kept him updated. But he wanted to see if there was any change in Brynn when she talked about her guy. Not so much as a flicker.

Excellent news.

As if on cue, Brynn’s mannequin of a boyfriend appeared at her side. “There you are, sweetheart. I figured you’d be making the rounds with the guests.”

I’m not a guest, jackass. I know her better than you do.

Brynn set her hand on James’s arm and Will was careful not to let his eyes linger on the touch. Careful not to punch the guy’s bland features.

Brynn beamed up at her boyfriend. “James, this is Will Thatcher. He’s an old friend of the family.”

“Oh, sure,” James said, with a nod of his boring, all-American head. “You’re Sophie’s friend, right? The one who moved to Boston?”

“Yup.”

“So what brings you into town?” James asked. “Business? Pleasure?”

Pleasure. Definitely pleasure, Will thought, not letting himself glance at Brynn.

“Will doesn’t do business,” Brynn said casually. “He’s unemployed.”

Self-employed, he mentally corrected. But he didn’t say it out loud. Didn’t want to ruin the slacker playboy image she had of him just yet.

“Just reacquainting myself with my old stomping grounds,” Will replied. “Wrapping up a few loose ends that I left hanging when I moved.”

This time, he did glance at Brynn, but she didn’t meet his eyes.

“That’s right, you moved rather suddenly, right?” James asked politely.

Brynn let out a brittle laugh. “Slunk out in the middle of the night is more like it.”

James frowned at her tone. No doubt he wasn’t used to seeing his perfect girlfriend be anything less than pleasant. Will would have warned the guy what he was getting into, except Will had no intention of letting James maintain his status in Brynn’s life for much longer. The very thought of it made his knuckles itch.

“Yeah, my departure was sort of a whim. Seattle just seemed so…vapid back then,” Will said, taking a slow sip of wine and making it clear that it wasn’t the city that was vapid, so much as the woman standing in front of him.

“Mmm, yes,” Brynn mused. “It must have been disheartening to realize you’d slept with the entire female population in the area. Don’t worry, there’s a whole new set of girls who have come of age since you left.”

“Gotta keep it legal,” Will said with a grin.

“Disgusting,” she muttered.

“Well, it was nice finally meeting you, Will,” James said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Likewise,” Will lied.

James slid an arm around Brynn’s narrow waist. “Brynn, sweetheart, if you’re done here, could you come with me for a second? There’s something I’ve been waiting to do, and I want your full attention.”

“Oh, I’m definitely done here,” Brynn said. “William, it was so nice seeing you again. I’m sure our paths won’t cross before you go back, so have a safe flight back to Boston.”

Yeah, about that…

But it wasn’t time to drop his little bomb just yet, so Will merely lifted a finger in response, and watched as James led Brynn away. Setting his wineglass on an empty table, he headed for the coat check. He’d done what he’d come to do. Stage one complete.

Excited murmuring caught his attention as he slipped on his leather jacket, and he turned back to see what the excitement was about. God knew it wouldn’t be Brynn. “Excitement” wasn’t in her vocabulary.

He was wrong.

Everybody’s attention was on Brynn.

The crowd shifted slightly and Will froze as he took in the full picture.

In her hand was a tiny jewelry box.

A ring-sized jewelry box.

Will’s gut twisted and it suddenly felt hard to breathe. It’s your damn fault. You stayed away too long licking your wounds.

And now he was too late.

CHAPTER THREE

Marriage is about the man, not the bling.

—Brynn Dalton’s Rules for an

Exemplary Life, #17

You’re quiet.”

“Just tired,” Brynn said, giving James a wan smile.

He gave her a boyish smile back, reaching across the car to tuck her hair behind her ear and admire her new earrings.

“Those really do look great on you,” he said, sounding annoyingly self-satisfied.

They’re two-carat-each diamond studs. They’d look great on a burro, Brynn thought.

Not that she wasn’t appreciative. Diamond studs were right up her alley, even if the size of these were a bit ostentatious.

But for one heart-stopping moment, she’d thought she was receiving something very different.

Granted, he hadn’t been on his knee or anything, but hadn’t the guy ever seen a romantic comedy?

A small box presented to a serious girlfriend meant engagement ring.

Not big-ass earrings.

Being considerate wasn’t perhaps one of James’s strong points, but neither was he normally completely oblivious to social appropriateness. Hadn’t he considered what everyone would think when he made a big show of presenting her with a tiny box?

Hadn’t he considered what she’d think? She glanced down at her unadorned left hand before forcing herself to reach up and touch the new earrings.

She gave him the widest smile she could muster. “They’re gorgeous. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome,” he said softly, before they settled into the companionable quiet of two people who had known each other for long enough to be comfortable with silence.

Sometimes Brynn thought they were too comfortable with the silence.

The steady click of his turn signal caught Brynn by surprise, and she sat up straighter when she realized where they were headed.

“You’re not taking me home?” she asked.

James glanced across the dark car at her. “I thought we’d stay at my place tonight.”

“You could have asked.”

He blinked in surprise at her tone. “I can take you home if you want.”

“No, it’s fine,” she said, slumping back slightly against the seat.

“It’s just that you’re so out of the way…”

Brynn closed her eyes and let James’s lecture roll over her. He didn’t like the fact that she lived thirty minutes away from the “action,” and told her so at every opportunity.

The move had seemed a good idea at the time. She was sick of downtown living. Moving to the suburbs had meant more space, a garden, actual grass…and lots of family-minded neighbors. The move was supposed to be a prompt for James. A chance for him to see how happy the young families were pushing strollers on the sidewalks and having impromptu BBQs.