Free Spontaneous by Brenda Jackson

he lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles.
    “When she died she left it for me since I was her oldest grandson,” he said, releasing her. “However, since I have no plan to ever marry I thought about giving it to Terrence, but Dad figured I should keep it anyway since it was left to me. I think she felt bad for the way her daughter turned out.”
    Kim fluttered her fingers, admiring the ring Duan had just placed on it. “Well, regardless, I think it’s beautiful and—”
    “Oh, my goodness! Did the two of you just get engaged?”
    Both Kim and Duan glanced up at their waitress. She was standing there holding a coffee in one hand and a cup of vanilla ice cream in the other, a delighted look on her face.
    Kim opened her mouth to answer but Duan beat her to the punch. “Yes, we did.”
    “Congratulations!” the woman exclaimed. “That’s wonderful and it’s a beautiful ring.”
    A huge smile spread over Duan’s face. “Thanks.”
    He glanced expectantly at Kim. She then caught on to what he was doing and smiled up at the woman. “Yes. Thanks.”
    The waitress placed the coffee in front of Duan and gave Kim her ice cream. She gave both of themanother huge smile before leaving. Kim leaned over the table. “Why did you let her think we’ve just gotten engaged?”
    He shrugged. “For all intents and purposes, we have.”
    She rolled her eyes. “We’re role-playing for Mom and Aunt Gert, not necessarily for strangers.”
    He chuckled. “Who’s to say she doesn’t know some one who might know you? You’d be surprised how small this world is sometimes. Besides, telling her we’re engaged gave me some practice time.”
    “Practice for what?”
    “Smiling whenever anyone congratulates us. I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot of that over the next few days. Did I seem genuinely pleased?”
    She momentarily clamped her mouth shut, not sure what to say or to question why she felt irked by what he’d said. Of course they were role-playing, but for some reason she was bothered by the thought.
    When he continued to stare at her, waiting for her response, she pasted a smile on her face and said in a syrupy tone, “You were simply marvelous, darling.”
    He wiggled his eyebrows. “Ready for an Oscar?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Um, I wouldn’t go that far.”
    He laughed as he reached out and took her hand in his, caressing the finger that wore his ring. “But you would say I was good, wouldn’t you?”
    The smile that touched her lips that moment was genuine. “Yes, Duan, you were good.”
    And then she gently pulled her hand away from his to eat her ice cream.

7
    “D UAN , I ’D LIKE YOU to meet my mother, Wynona Cannon-Longleaf-Higgins-Gunter. Mom, this is Duan Jeffries, my fiancé.”
    Duan kept his mouth from dropping completely open. Kim’s mother was a very attractive woman. Kim had said she was fifty-five, but to his way of thinking, she looked a lot younger. He offered the older woman his hand. “How do you do, Mrs….” Already he’d forgotten her names.
    She beamed happily. “Just call me Wynona. I don’t know why Kim insisted on saying all those names.”
    Kim smiled. “Because they’re yours. All four of them.” She glanced around. “And where is the man who might be number five?”
    Wynona gave her daughter a frown. “Edward will be here any minute. He’s probably stuck in traffic since he lives on the other side of town.”
    She returned her attention to Duan. “Your last name is Jeffries?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “And before you ask, Mom, the answer is yes,” Kim said. “He’s Terrence’s older brother.”
    “Best friends marrying brothers. How nice.”
    She studied his features for a moment and then asked, “And you’re willing to wait for Kim to finish med school before the two of you marry?”
    Duan gave Kim a loving smile and slipped his arm around her waist to bring her closer. That was number one on the list of questions Kim had known her mother would ask. Wynona