“I’ll trick her. I could do that.” He would tell her he was eloping and wanted her there for the wedding. Then he would lock her in the newly bought condo and—

He looked at Camryn. “Why did she tell you all this?”

She ducked her head, but not before he saw color flare on her cheeks. “She, ah, thought I would be a good candidate.”

Jake hadn’t realized the situation could get worse, which he should have. When it came to Helen Crane, that was always a possibility.

“My mother invited you to her house to discuss the possibility of us marrying?”

Camryn nodded slowly. “Although she did say she thought we should start dating first. Get to know each other.”

“You’re defending her?”

“No, it’s just she was impressive, and talking about it like this makes her sound…”

“Outrageous? Impossible?”

“A little. I understand why you’re upset. She actually wanted me to provide proof of fertility, which is what set me off.”

Proof of— He stood again, only to realize there still wasn’t anywhere to go.

“I’m sorry about all of this,” he said stiffly. “That she butted into your life and dragged you into one of her crazy schemes. I’ll make this go away.”

Somehow. There had to be a way to get her to stop what she was doing.

Camryn rose. “There are other candidates. I don’t know who they are, but she mentioned them. Some might have kids. She said my younger sisters were a plus. She called them instant grandchildren.”

He held in a groan. Other candidates? Unsuspecting women who were going to be approached by his mother?

She looked at him. “She’s lonely, Jake. She lost her husband less than two years ago and she’s by herself in that huge house. I know she has friends and a life, but it’s not like having a husband around. Wanting grandchildren is pretty common at her stage of life.” She held up a hand. “Still not defending her. It’s just, I get what she’s doing and when you think about it, she’s really very sweet.”

“Then we’ll let her find you a husband. See how sweet she seems then.”

Camryn laughed. “Point taken. Anyway, I wanted you to know.”

“I appreciate you coming here and warning me. I owe you.”

Her eyes brightened. “Really? Because I could bring some custom wrapping paper samples by for you. They’d look lovely under the dozens of trees I know you’ll be putting up.”

“Sure. Make an appointment with Margie and bring them by. We support local whenever we can.”

“Then I’ll see you again, soon. Samples in hand.”

“I look forward to it.”

He escorted her out of his office. Once she’d left, he turned off his computer, grabbed his coat and then headed for the door. He paused by his assistant’s desk.