Review: DisEngaged

DisEngaged by Jan Hinds
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 ⭐⭐ - Meh!
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She realized the magnitude of her mistake when he’d sleepily whispered, “I love you” and called her by another woman’s name on their wedding night.

Angie. She’d been Whitley’s friend. Whitley had exchanged her signature crimson hair for Angie’s honey blonde color in order to serve as a decoy to enable Angie’s escape from her abusive father. Angie had rejected Marcus, yet she still held his heart.

Until six days ago when he didn’t show up. Nothing. Not even a phone call or a text message saying he’d been thinking of her. No explanation.

And yet, even though it was Angie’s name Marcus whispered on their wedding night, Whitley couldn’t bring herself to hate her.

You deserve someone far better than the creep who wrote those texts. And if Marcus can’t appreciate the wonderful woman you are, you deserve better than him too.”

When he met Angie while guarding Paige, it seemed like a divine intervention had put her in his path. She was sweet, funny, and sarcastic. She’d been easy to talk to, and he thought he’d found someone to make a comfortable life with.

How would she react if she found out that he’d kept tabs on Angie—Anne—Angelica? After making love to Whitley on their wedding night, he’d whispered Angie’s name in a sleepy haze. He didn’t imagine Whitley would react well. He nodded his head when he realized Ted and the other men were waiting for him to answer.

Zach narrowed his eyes at Marcus. “You still seem invested in her safety. If she wanted you, would you go to her?”

“Later that night, you showed your heart longed for someone else when you called me by her name. I don’t blame you. She’s wonderful. But I’m afraid she’ll always be between us, that you’ll always regret that you’re not with her. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t expect anything from you, but at the same time, I’ve realized that I don’t want a marriage without love. You don’t need to manufacture a crisis overseas to justify wanting out.”

“I know you’re in love with someone else.” Her breath caught on the last word. “I don’t blame you. She’s one of my favorite people. I just want you to know that I’m not delusional. I don’t expect you to love me like you do her. The thing is, I don’t want to be your second choice.”

“Yeah, right. It was clear to everyone that you loved her. Tell me you wouldn’t jump at the chance to be with her if she showed up out of the blue.”

“What about Angie?” she asked quietly. Tina positioned the fabric under the presser foot of her sewing machine before she looked Whitley in the eyes. “I won’t deny they have a connection, but I never saw that kind of want in his eyes when he looked at her. There was tenderness, affection, friendship, but not the jarring desire he has when he looks at you. Not the love.”

“You’d do that?” It seemed too good to be true. “I don’t want you here until the threat is resolved, but Angie, if you’ll come back, I’ll love you forever.”

“I haven’t told anyone what happened on our wedding night. After we made love, he pulled me into his arms and whispered, ‘I love you, Angie.’”

Then tonight, after making glorious love, I dozed off. When I woke, I heard him talking on the phone to Angie, telling her he’d love her forever.”

“Riley?” “Excuse me. I’m picking my jaw up off the ground. Are you saying you married a woman just because she looks like Angie?”

Marcus nodded imperceptibly to Sawyer while trying desperately to keep his gaze from lingering on Angelica, who sat next to him. She looked nothing like the innocent girl he’d guarded earlier that year.

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