Free Fooled Around and Fell in Love (A New Beginning Book 2) by Connie Stephany Page A

return to the house where she continued the act, looking panicked and scared.
    They were all trying to convince her to go back to the doctor when she started laughing hysterically. 
    The woman was merciless with her tricks and Tom decided it was time to get her back this year.
    “That’s why I want to get her back!”
    “Okay, then let’s hear it.”  Colleen waved him on in encouragement.
    Tom was thrilled for what he believed to be the ultimate hoax. 
    “I even have the perfect prop!” Tom grinned.  “You know my mom always bugs me about getting together with you, right?”
    “Uh, yeah…?” 
    Tom leaned in close, so close that he could smell her perfume and it almost drove him insane.  He explained his brilliant plan and shoved the prop in her face. 
    Tom saw Colleen’s blue eyes widen when she saw the sparkling diamond ring and then she looked back up at him with a questioning glance.  “Is that what I think it is?” 
    Tom nodded, grinning.  “It was my great-grandmother’s wedding ring, which was passed down to me.  They’d never guess I’d play a joke with that.”
    “You have got to be kidding.”
    His gut sank at her reaction.  “No.  Why?  It’s perfect!”
    She can’t turn me down.
    “Are you nuts?” Colleen’s eyes were wide. “I mean, that just seems wrong on too many levels.  Besides, they won’t actually believe it, will they?”
    “Why not?  What’s so wrong about it?  I think it will be good to finally get her back.”  Tom gave her a smirk.  “Trust me, she deserves it.” 
    They sat in silence while his best friend appeared to be thinking.  He could almost see the wheels turning in her pretty head and he smiled at her.
    For the millionth time he thought about how beautiful she was. She had very dark brown hair, to the point of being almost black, bright blue eyes and pale skin.  In the past, when she had boyfriends, he just tried to push aside his jealousy and tried not to let it show.  He’d also had plenty of girlfriends, but no one ever compared to Colleen. 
    He was just too chicken to admit it to her. 
    They’d both been single for almost a year, so he figured the prank would be harmless. 
    Seriously, what could go wrong?
     
    ***********
     
    Colleen looked into her friend’s gleaming eyes, and simply took the opportunity to stare.
    She contemplated his fake proposal, wishing it were real. 
    But they were best friends. 
    That was it. 
    Nothing more. 
    He grinned at her and she was glad she was sitting down.  That smile got to her every time. 
    His blonde hair, dark skin and green eyes made him the subject of many crushes from various women over the life of their friendship.  He was hot as hell, had a body to die for, one that he kept in shape with multiple trips each week to the gym.  To top it all off, he was a genuinely nice guy. 
    “Well?  What do you say?”  Tom pushed her.  “Want to give my mom a run for her money?” 
    He looked entirely too excited and she found that she couldn’t turn him down.  “I guess we could give it a try.  I mean, she totally deserves a joke on her for once.”
    Tom smacked his hands loudly together and a wild gleam filled his eyes. 
    “Yes!  You won’t regret this!  Now, let me tell you how it’s going to go down.” 
    Colleen listened to Tom explain his master plan, which although was quite brilliant, left her with an uneasy feeling. 
    Her gut told her they shouldn’t really be doing it.  She just had to tell herself it wasn’t real and she wouldn’t get hurt.
    She pushed the doubts from her mind and told herself his mom deserved it.
    She tried on the ring and looked down at her hand.  To her utter surprise, the ring fit perfectly and was exactly her style.  It was old fashioned with tiny diamonds surrounding the larger princess cut stone in the middle, and there was intricate detail on the sides of the platinum band. 
    She sighed deeply and wondered how she would manage to pull