Best Laid Plans. Brenda Jackson

of my business.” The sooner she left, then the sooner he could begin enjoying his week here. Alone. Without any interruptions. He definitely needed a break from women. All women. Even those in his family who were supporting his great-grandmother in her shenanigans.

      But he was forced to admit for the most part, under any other circumstances, he could see himself becoming friends with Ivy. But they weren’t. Instead, they were victims of manipulation of the worst kind. He would place the blame where it rightly belonged, and that was at her grandmother’s and his great-grandmother’s feet.

      Giving in to his curiosity, he asked, “Does your grandmother know you’re antimarriage?”

      “Yes, she knows.”

      Nolan frowned. “Then why would she waste her time trying to get us together, knowing you feel the way you do?”

      She released a frustrated breath. “I guess she’s hoping I’ll change my mind. I honestly believe your great-grandmother has convinced her that we are supposed to get married and have lots of babies. She’s said so many times.”

      That sounded just like Mama Laverne. “That won’t be happening,” Nolan said with strong conviction in his voice.

      He wasn’t antimarriage like she evidently was by any means. He knew for a fact that true love did exist for some people. All he had to do was look around during any Madaris family gathering to see that for himself. Most marriages in the Madaris family were strong, solid and based on love, and lasted a lifetime.

      His parents’ and grandparents’ marriages were good examples, as well as those of his other family members. The only exception had been Jake’s first marriage. But from what he’d heard, the marriage had been doomed from the beginning since the woman tried making Jake into something he wasn’t.

      Nolan’s major problem was his great-grandmother trying to shove the woman she’d chosen for him down his throat. When and if he ever married, it would be to a woman he selected and not one who’d been selected for him.

      “I can’t wait until Nana gets back to town.”

      He discovered that looking at her chest instead of her legs was just as bad. He liked the way her blouse fitted. “Where is she?”

      “She went to Lake Charles for the weekend to attend a gospel revival.”

      “Umm, so did my great-grandmother. If they’re together, then you know what that means. They’ll work on the next plan when they get wind that this one didn’t work.”

      “They’ve got to be stopped,” she said, all but stomping her foot. He thought she looked cute when she did that.

      “Any ideas on how to do that since talking sensibly with them doesn’t seem to work?” he asked her.

      “None that I can think of.” She checked her watch. “I need to pack up now and leave before it gets dark. I’ll be seeing you.”

      He nodded. “Drive safe.”

      When she left the kitchen, he drew in a deep breath, refusing to feel bad that she was leaving. He could do the decent thing and leave since she was here first, but he did own the place and there was no reason to give up his week for her. But he could invite her to stay the night and leave in the morning. It was an hour’s drive back to Houston and it would be dark before she got there. And he did have two bedrooms.

      “I got it!”

      He quickly turned around. She had returned to the kitchen and stood there with a huge smile that stretched across those lips he’d been mesmerized by earlier. “You got what?”

      “An idea on how to best Nana and Ms. Laverne. And I think it just might work.”

      She had him curious. “What is it?”

      “It means there has to be a lot of pretending on our part.”

      He lifted a brow. “Pretending about what?”

      “In order for the plan to work we need to pretend to be lovers.”

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      “I THINK YOU need to explain just what you mean, Ivy.”

      Good Lord, Ivy was certain he thought she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had, but the one certain thing was that something had to be done to stop Nana and Ms. Laverne. While repacking, the idea had come to her as clear as glass. Her grandmother and his great-grandmother wouldn’t let up until they thought they’d accomplished their goal. In that case, let them believe that.

      “Ivy?”

      “Yes?” She couldn’t help noticing how his voice sounded even deeper and huskier and how nice her name sounded off his lips.

      “I think you need to explain what you meant.”

      Yes, she did need to explain. Otherwise, he would think she was stone crazy. First of all, she knew that she didn’t have the look or style of a woman he would take on as a lover. But she would worry about that later. It would be a work in progress. “Okay. But you need to promise you’ll keep an open mind.”

      He didn’t reply and the look he gave her at that moment all but said he wouldn’t be promising anything but she couldn’t let that look deter her. “I suggest that we sit down and share a glass of wine while I tell you. I really could use something to relax me right now.”

      She really could. Normally she didn’t get this excited unless it had to do with a project she’d been working on and had discovered a technological breakthrough.

      “Okay. I’ll get the glasses,” he said, moving toward the kitchen cabinet.

      Nerves suddenly tightened her stomach. As far as she was concerned, it wasn’t too bad of an idea. At least she’d come up with something. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She hoped that he believed that. “And I’ll grab the wine.”

      She left the kitchen to grab a bottle from the welcome basket. By the time she returned, he had placed two wineglasses on the table. In his hand was the wine opener. “Let me,” he said, reaching for the bottle.

      She gave it to him and then sat down at the table. She watched as he filled both their glasses. “Not too much,” she said when she thought he’d poured enough. “I still need to drive.”

      He put the wine bottle down before easing into the chair across from her. “So...?”

      She took a sip of her wine. He was staring at her expectantly, waiting to hear what she had to say. What if he thought her idea was the stupidest, most insane thing he’d ever heard? “We already know that once Nana and Ms. Laverne get wind their plot failed again, they’ll put their heads together to come up with another plan, right?”

      “Yes.”

      “Then I suggest we be one step ahead of them. Let them assume their plan worked. That when we got here, although we were upset about it, we discovered we’d give it a try anyway. Trust their judgment so to speak.”

      He kept staring at her and she wondered what he was thinking. “Go on,” he finally said.

      “Our job is to do everything in our power to convince them their plan worked for this week and we decided to begin dating. That means that we will need to do what regular people who are dating do while getting to know each other. Going to dinner. A movie. Walks in the park. Those sorts of things.”

      He didn’t say anything and the room got quiet. He just sat there and stared into his drink. She wondered if already he saw her plan as a failure because it was quite obvious she wasn’t the type of woman he dated and no one would believe that he would. He liked flashy women and she didn’t have a flashy bone in her body.

      Men found her too techie to be desirable. Even Damien had admitted that. Most men saw her brain and passion for her work as turnoffs