He threw me a cheeky smile. “My favorite kind of therapy.” Then he sighed heavily and shook his head. “My father plans to retire within the next year or so, but he’s pressuring me to get married before I can take over as CEO. I thought dating you would appease him, but he insists that marriage would prove that I’m stable enough to take over the reins. I just don’t know what he wants from me, Blaire. I’m the most stable person in our family. I don’t party. I don’t do drugs. I just… I don’t know.”

He blew out an exasperated breath, the furrows in his forehead making his handsome face look older than I’d ever seen it, and it hurt to see my best friend struggling like that. Evan Cavanaugh was the kindest, sweetest man I had ever known, and I wished he could just come clean with his father and be accepted for who he really was.

“What if we pretended to be engaged?” I asked. “It’s not that much different than fake dating. We just add a piece of jewelry to the scene. I mean, you don’t have to buy me a real ring or anything. I could probably find a decent fake.”

Evan swerved the car into the parking lot of a Burger King and shifted it into park before turning to face me. “I’ve actually thought about that and… okay, just hear me out before you say no.” He was chewing his bottom lip nervously, and I was starting to get concerned. Evan was always level-headed and calm in every situation, but he was starting to perspire, and his breathing rate had increased considerably.

He swiped a hand down his face and started talking. “What if we got married for real?” At my startled look, he held up a hand. “Ah! Let me finish. It might not be as crazy as you think. What if we got married and lived together as husband and wife, but without the, you know, benefits?” he said, widening his eyes significantly at me. “I could help you raise the baby and put you both on my health insurance plan. You don’t have to list me as the father on the birth certificate or anything, but you know I would do anything in the world for that precious little girl. I love her already, Blaire.”