Will to Love (26 page)

"Oh, no." Ruth chuckled.
 
"Only once a week now, usually.
 
He's very busy and we made it very clear to him he doesn't need to baby us."

"What day does he come here?
 
Maybe I'll come visit you again when he's here."

Husband and wife looked at each other again.
 
Ruth decided she needed to mention Clarise.
 
It could be a disaster if Karen turned up when Clarise was here.

"He usually comes every Wednesday nights, so he was here with Clarise last Wednesday."

"Clarise?" Karen asked in surprise.

"Yes, his new girlfriend.
 
Did he not mention her to you when you saw him?"

"Ah, no.
 
The topic didn't come up."

"She's a lovely girl.
 
Very bright too.
 
She writes for that popular magazine, Lifestyle by Design, I think it's called," Bill added with a big smile and pride in his voice.
 
He wanted Karen to know they approved of Clarise.
 
They really liked her.

Karen's eyes widened.
 
She was a subscriber of Lifestyle by Design and she followed Clarise's articles.
 
"You mean, Clarise Carson?"

"Yes, that's her."

The dots connected in Karen's head.
 
She knew from Chris and Gina that their friend Rick was getting married to Megan Carson, and that she was the younger sister of Clarise Carson.
 
She composed herself, not wanting Ruth and Bill to see that she was rattled by the news that Will had a new girlfriend.

"Oh, yes, I've heard about her.
 
Will plays tennis with Rick who will be Clarise's brother-in-law," Karen said with a fake smile that looked genuine enough.
 

Ruth and Bill both nodded.

"Well, I better get going.
 
Thank you for seeing me.
 
I hope to see you both again in the near future."
 
She gave Will's parents a kiss on their cheeks and left.

~~

Karen mulled over the troubling news as she drove back to her office.
 
Clarise must be a very new girlfriend.
 
It was less than a month ago that Gina told her the story of Will not wanting to participate in Rick's matchmaking plans during his engagement party because he wasn't looking for a relationship.
 

She was surprised that he had introduced her to his parents already.
 
It took Will a whole year of them dating before he got around to introducing her to Bill and Ruth.
 
A thought occurred to her.
 
Maybe it was more for his parents' benefit that he has a new girlfriend.
 
Why else would he be in such a hurry with the introductions?

Karen formed another conclusion.
 
Clarise must be some sort of a girlfriend of convenience.
 
It just wasn't like Will to jump into this whole meet-the-parents thing so quickly, especially when barely a month ago, he was rejecting any form of relationship.
 

Her initial worry about Will and Clarise's relationship lessened considerably with her newly-formed belief.
 
But she knew she had to act fast before Clarise fully ensnared Will.
 
And somehow, she needed to make this bitch Clarise see that between the two of them, she had more meaning in Will's life.

Will is mine.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Megan and Rick arrived at her parents' place an hour early to help her parents prepare for their family lunch.
 
Today wasn't a normal family lunch, it was almost a party.
 
As Megan had requested, some of their friends were coming to help her put together her first charity fund-raising event.

"Oh, this is fun, isn't it, kids?" her mum said.

Megan and Rick laughed.
 
"Sure is, mum," Megan responded.
 
Her mum loved having people over at her place.
 
She loved entertaining.
 
There were having the lunch at the backyard again.
 
It was another sunny, early-autumn day.
 

"We need to put out four more chairs.
 
Rick, we have some of those folding ones in the shed.
 
Could you take them out, please, darling?"

"Four?
 
Do you mean two, mum?"
 
The outdoor dining set already had eight and Rick counted there will be ten of them altogether.

"No, four.
 
There will be twelve of us in total."

"Oh, who are the other two?" Megan inquired.

"Well, I asked Faye to bring her boyfriend with her since we haven't met him yet."
 
As Clarise's best friend, Faye was almost like a daughter to them just like Mary Jane, Megan's best friend, who was also bringing her husband with her.

"And Clarise said she was bringing someone else.
 
A guy."

"A guy?" Megan asked in disbelief as Rick looked at his future mother-in-law in surprise.

"I know.
 
I didn't dare ask if he's a new boyfriend or not.
 
We'll find out soon enough, I guess."

"I hope this is not another 'pretend' boyfriend to get out of my new matchmaking plan.
 
Although I'm pretty sure she doesn't know anything about that."

"You're still planning, darling?
 
Well, good.
 
Do you think she got wind of it and is making sure you don't go ahead with it?"

Megan looked at Rick who shrugged at her.
 
"Don't know, babe.
 
You were with her last Sunday.
 
Did you say anything about inviting Jared?"

"No, definitely not.
 
I knew if I mentioned Jared she might suspect something.
 
And she didn't mention anything about a new boyfriend last Sunday either.
 
Hmm.
 
I'll definitely keep a close eye on her and this guy today.
 
She wouldn't fool me this time."

~~

"Ready, honey?" Clarise asked Will as he turned off the car engine.

"Ready, baby," Will replied with a big grin.
 
"I can't wait to see Rick's and Megan's expressions when they see me."

Clarise giggled.
 
"Me neither."
 
She grabbed the handle to open the car door when Will reached out and stopped her.

"Come here and give me a kiss before we go in there," he said gruffly.
 
He missed her so much in the last couple days.
 
He'd been so busy he only had time for a five-minute phone call before she went to bed.
 
When he picked her up from her place earlier, they didn't have time to properly kiss and cuddle, much less make love.

Clarise smiled lovingly as she leaned over to him.
 
They kissed softly but passionately and reluctantly pulled apart after a long moment.

~~

They were just about to ring the doorbell when Clarise spotted Steve and Faye arrive.
 
They waited for the two to get to the door.

"Hi guys!" Clarise greeted them as they approached.
 
After giving them a peck on the cheek and a one-armed hug, she introduced Will to them.

"Well, I'm very glad to have finally met you, Will," Faye declared.
 
"You do know I already know everything about you, right?
 
Clarise and I don't keep secrets," she joked.

"Faye!
 
Not everything!
 
You know I'm not as good as you at disclosing juicy details," Clarise teased her friend back.

Faye scrunched her face cutely.
 
"That's true, I'm afraid."

"Baby, you tell Clarise all the juicy things we do?" Steve asked with mock alarm.

Faye grinned and just patted Steve's arm.

"Well, I'm assuming that whatever you already know about me is reasonably okay since you're still very glad to meet me," Will joked back.

"Smart, Matthews.
 
Smart.
 
There's still some details I want to know and your girlfriend's holding out on me.
 
I'll dig it out of her eventually."

Steve looked at Will with a this-is-what-I-have-to-put-up-with expression then chuckled.

Will liked Faye and Steve instantly.
 
He could see he'd get along well with them.

~~

"I'll get it," Megan announced when she heard the doorbell ring.
 
She felt sure it would be Clarise and her date.
 
She couldn't wait to meet this guy to check him out.

She opened the door to find Faye standing next to Clarise, and behind them were two guys.
 
One she hadn't met before and the other was... "Will?!" she exclaimed with incredulity.

Faye, obviously in a teasing mood and knowing how Megan didn't know about Clarise and Will yet, said, "Hi, Meg.
 
Yes, this is Will, my new friend.
 
He did say he already knows you and Rick."
 
She yanked Will to her side as she spoke.

"Hi, Megan," Will said with a grin as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, hi, Will."
 
Megan's confusion showed in her face.
 
Whoa!
 
Is Will here with Faye?
 
Then the other guy must be Clarise's date.
 
"Hi," she said tentatively to the other man.
 

Clarise picked up the teasing from where Faye left off.
 
She took Steve's left arm and dragged him to her side.
 
"This is Steve, Meg.
 
Steve, this is my sister, Megan."

"Good to meet you, Steve," Megan said, looking at him appraisingly.
 
Clarise held on to Steve as he shook hands with her sister.
 
Megan's glance moved again to Will when she noticed him exchange a knowing look with Faye.
 
Will and Faye?

Rick appeared at that moment and saw Megan shaking hands with a guy who must be with Clarise as she was hanging on to him.
 
Then he saw Faye and... "Will?!" he said with the same disbelief expressed by Megan.

All four new arrivals grinned broadly.

"Hey, Rick.
 
How's it going?"
 
Will exchanged a high-five-height hand clasp with his friend - their usual greeting.
 

"Um, Steve, this is my fiance, Rick.
 
Darling, this is Steve.
 
He came with Clarise.
 
And Will came with Faye."
 
Megan's voice showed she still hadn't recovered from her surprise.

"Oh, we all arrived together," Clarise said lightly.

"Well, come on in, everyone.
 
We're having lunch in the backyard.
 
You can bring your dishes out there."

Megan held Rick back to let the others go ahead without them.
 
She whispered to him.
 
"I can't believe Will is Faye's new boyfriend!
 
How did that happen?"

Rick shrugged and looked as astounded as his fiancee.
 
"Maybe they met through Clarise.
 
Isn't Clarise working on an article for Will?"

"Hmm. You're right.
 
Maybe Clarise introduced them to each other."

"What do you think of Steve?"

"He looks alright."

They exchanged a few more comments alone in the living room, their surprise still not wearing off.

~~

"Hi, mum, dad," Clarise greeted her parents with a kiss and a hug.
 
Her dad, of course, looked at her from head to toe before releasing her.

"Hi, darling, how are you?"
 
Clara responded, her eyes already going to Will who was right behind Clarise.

"Good, thanks, mum.
 
This is Will, mum and dad," Clarise said, turning to Will. "Will, these are my parents, Clara and Martin."

"It's great to meet you both," Will said with a bright, sincere smile.
 
He gave Clarise's mum a kiss on the cheek and shook her dad's hand.

"These flowers are from Will for you, mum," Clarise said, handing her mum the bouquet she was holding.
 
When Will arrived at her place to pick her up, he had two gorgeous bouquets with him.
 
One for her and one for her mum.
 

"Oh, thank you, Will.
 
They're absolutely beautiful."

"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Carson.
 
And these are Clarise's tiramisu," Will said, indicating to the covered dishes he was carrying.
 
"She made two of them.
 
I'll put them on the table."
 
He hoped to have more than one serving of them.
 
Clarise's tiramisu was now his favourite dessert.

"Thank you, Will.
 
And please call me Clara and call him Martin," pointing to her husband who smiled and nodded his head in assent.
 
Then she turned to Faye.

"Hello, Faye.
 
It's been a very, very long time since we last saw you!"

"I know, Aunt Clara.
 
Life has been busy."
 
Faye took Steve's arm and introduced him to Clarise's parents.

"What can we do to help?" Clarise asked.

"Oh, everything's pretty much done.
 
I just have some pies baking in the oven.
 
They should be ready in a few minutes.
 
Why don't you kids just relax and have a drink while we wait for the others to arrive?
 
The drinks cooler is over there.
 
As you can see, we were just sitting here having drinks when you guys arrived."