Momentary Marriage (13 page)

“August 15!” Mary exclaimed. “That’s less than a month away.”

“We know,” Jared said. “But I phoned Reverend Kinney on the way down and he’s available to do the service on that Saturday.”

“But the rest of the arrangements,” his mother sputtered. “Kelsey won’t even have time to find her dress and get it ordered and—“

“I’m sure she can find something wonderful in a city the size of New York,” Jared said, his voice reassuring. “If we have to have someone whip something up, it can still be arranged.”

Kelsey went still as his hand rested lightly on her shoulder. She wasn’t yet accustomed to the drum roll his touch elicited from her body.

“Will your mother be able to attend the wedding?” Tom asked, interrupting her thoughts. “Jared tells us that she’s living in
Spain
.”

“Yes, in Madrid,” Kelsey responded, trying to ignore Jared’s hand tracing delicate patterns across her shoulders. “Her husband is a Spaniard. I—I’m not sure if she’ll be able to get away.”

“You must give us her number,” Mary Barrett said with a smile. “We’d like to call and introduce ourselves.”

Jared stroked his fingers up the nape of Kelsey’s neck.

“Of course,” she said, praying she’d be able to reach her mother before the Barretts did. Chloe wasn’t big on maternal instincts, but she’d be a little upset to hear the news of one of her daughters’ impending nuptials from the prospective in-laws.

“Still, Jared,” his mother protested. “What about caterers, flowers, the reception hall?”

“I'm in the hotel business, mother,” Jared reminded her lazily. “I’ll have my own staff do the catering. One of the local hotels will probably be willing to work with us on a place for the reception. We'll work it all out.”

“I suppose so,” his mother said, her face still faintly troubled. “You will let me help, won’t you? With both of you working full time, there’ll be so many things to do.”

“We’re depending on you,” Jared assured her.

For the rest of the afternoon, conversation shifted between family discussions, Carla’s due date and wedding plans. Kelsey couldn’t help but feel guilty that Jared’s family was welcoming her so completely when the whole thing was a lie.

But what really nagged her were questions about the man she’d agreed to marry. He’d told her one set of reasons for his proposal, but given his manner and her heirloom ring, she was beginning to think she didn’t have the whole picture.

*
*
**

Jared walked across the lawn, Kelsey’s hand in his. A deep contentment filled him as he opened the car door for her. His family loved her, as he’d known they would. Kelsey had joined in the laughter and teasing, seeming as comfortable with them as they’d obviously been with her.

She was quiet now as he got into the car and started the engine.

“Your father’s not in the hotel business?” Kelsey asked, a pensive expression on her face.

“No, he was an accountant before he retired.”

“You said something once about inheriting a hotel,” she said, staring ahead at the road.

“Yes, from my maternal grandfather.” He wasn’t sure what was going on in her head, but she was clearly pondering something.

“Oh.”

“Why do you ask?”

She moved restlessly in her seat. “It’s the kind of thing most fiancées would know.”

“Did you enjoy yourself today?” he couldn’t resist asking.

Kelsey glanced over at him. “Yes, very much. You have a wonderful family. I hated lying to them.”

“I know,” he said, appreciative of her feelings. “But I’m sure they’d understand if they knew the whole story.”

He’d had no qualms about the deception because he hadn’t needed to fake anything. Kelsey was the only one with whom he’d been less than honest and that had clearly been a necessary evil.

“About a prenuptial agreement,” she said abruptly. “I don’t want any kind of settlement when we divorce.”

“Nothing?” he said, sending her a searching glance after a moment.

“Of course not,” she said, indignation in her voice. “Our arrangement is mutually beneficial. I’ll live at your place and pay my own bills. When we split, there’ll be no reason for you to give me any financial assistance.”

“Why don’t we let that be a private understanding just between the two of us?” Jared said, intending to dodge the issue. He was a rich man, but he hadn’t gotten where he was by hedging his bets. He was fully intending to keep Kelsey as his wife. No divorce, no need for a prenup.

“Keep it private?”

“Try to imagine the gossip that could leak out if I gave my lawyers instructions to write up a prenuptial like you’re suggesting,” Jared said dryly. “I doubt we would escape question if that got around.”

“Oh.” Kelsey sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Then we could do whatever is…standard and then I’ll just give you the money back when we divorce.”

“Whatever,” he said, suppressing the grim note in his voice. A more optimistic man might revel in hearing the woman he pursued showing signs of concern for his future financial well-being. At least, he’d be reassured that she wasn’t just after his money.

Jared, however, hadn’t built his success by being blind. He knew his sweet Kelsey wanted to keep everything between them on a business-like level. For some reason, she seemed to be more distant now. He didn’t know what had triggered it, but he hadn’t lied when he’d told her he didn’t give up easily.

It might be an up-hill battle, but he would win her heart.

*
**

Sliding into the room as quietly as possible, Kelsey found a seat in the back row and sat down. The investment seminar was already in progress and she was glad she didn’t have to chit chat with her neighbors. The awkward clutch of tension in her throat would have made doing so difficult.

Taking the packet offered her by a man in a suit who stood at the back of the room, she flipped it open automatically, her gaze fixed on the men who were presenting the evening’s program.

Before coming here this evening, she’d dithered about it all day. Several days, actually, ever since seeing the notice in the paper.

She’d taken to reading the financial section of the paper in the last few weeks. It was good to be informed. The fact that she’d run across her father’s name several times really had little to do with it.

But when she’d seen the notice of this seminar, presented by his investment firm, Kelsey had been curious. That was what brought her here tonight. Nothing more. She hadn’t said anything to Amy. Her sister was so caught up in the progress she felt she was making with Doug that very little else penetrated these days.

Kelsey was glad for her.

So she’d kept John Layton’s seminar to herself, not sure until she’d turned left after leaving the office that she would even come here tonight. Why should she? Her father had shown no interest in she and Amy all these years.

But she’d wanted to see him from a distance, to see what he looked like and how he carried himself. She’d sit here for a few minutes and then pick up her supper from a deli on her way home.

It hadn’t been so far out of her way to stop in.

CHAPTER EIGHT

This wasn’t the kind of place she’d have expected Jared to choose for a business dinner. In Kelsey’s experience, he didn’t usually conduct his meetings with such formal pomp.

The restaurant was sumptuous and muted in both decor and lighting. Dark, rich woods paired with burgundy and hunter green prints. Everything was hushed, from the diners’ voices to the clink of cutlery on china. Brass hunting horns hung on the walls.

Kelsey prodded the elegant concoction on her plate, trying to look nonchalant as the men’s conversation eddied around her. She liked good food as well as the next person, but preferred that it at least be identifiable.

Her knife slipped, clanging against her plate with greater emphasis than she’d intended.

The noise drew a glance from the third person at the table. Stewart Black’s brow lifted, a sympathetic smile quirking the corner of his mouth.

Kelsey smiled back without making any comment, turning her fork to try a different angle. She was here as window dressing, she supposed. Certainly, Jared didn’t need her help in handling his business.

In his middle-thirties, blond and pleasant, Stewart was nothing like she’d imagined a union representative. This guy looked like a lawyer or businessman. Stereotypically, she’d have expected someone less at ease in these rarefied surroundings.

From the conversation flowing between he and Jared, Stewart seemed sharp as a tack.

Jared, of course, was no slouch in the intelligence department. He sat next to her, darkly attractive in his expensive navy blue suit, exuding power and sex appeal. As usual, he seemed confident and at ease.

The snowy white of his shirt, just visible beneath the sleeves of his suit jacket, seemed to emphasize his strong, tanned hands. Despite the fact she was trying not to envision their future, she couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like to have those hands on her body.

Soon, she’d know. The wedding plans were progressing with the speed of light. All due to the combination of money, influence and Mary Barrett’s management, Kelsey knew.

He might have gotten that killer smile from his father, but Jared’s mother had definitely contributed the force of character.

Jared had called Kelsey last night to ask if she were available to join he and a business associate for dinner tonight. She’d agreed, of course. Her participation in social and business activities was part of their deal. Then again, now that she was officially engaged, her social life was going through a definite transition. She’d had the night free.

Being picked up at work by the limo was different. She’d had the oddest sensation. Mr. Barrett’s car was waiting for her, the doorman had said.

Weird. She’d gone out with wealthy men before, but never had she felt so…owned. It was an odd sensation, as if she were a package to be delivered. Jared Barrett had bought himself a fiancée. Not with money, but in an even more bizarre exchange.

She felt, however, that she’d gotten the better end of the deal. The situation with Amy and Doug left her few options. She needed a husband more than Jared needed a wife. If he wanted her to come along on his business dinners, what the heck?

“We’re very interested in getting the new contract pushed through,” Stewart said, adroitly spearing an odd-looking vegetable from his plate.

“Then we’re both after the same goal,” Jared responded calmly.

Stewart smiled. “I certainly hope so. The only snags we haven’t been able to work through in preliminary talks involve the number of sick days and the exact percentage of pay raises over the term of the contract.”

“Yes,” Jared said, his face pleasant, but not reflecting much. “So my people tell me.”

Kelsey quietly chewed a bite, intrigued to see Jared in action. He’d be a hell of a poker player, that much was evident. But what fascinated her was the difference in his eyes. Jared’s eyes were normally as rich and warm as dark chocolate. A woman could drown in his eyes.

Tonight, there was nothing seductive in his glance. He smiled as affably as did Stewart, but Jared’s eyes were cool and shrewd. He gave the appearance of a gamesman, waiting for his opponent to slip. It occurred to Kelsey that she wouldn’t want him to set that mind against her.

She’d always known he had shark tendencies, but she’d never really seen him as predatory. Even when he’d arranged to get the ad space they needed to launch the new hotel early.

“We think our request of five more sick days annually is in line with—“

“Forget it,” Jared said suddenly, leaning back in his chair. “I have half a dozen five-star hotels and several lesser ones. My sick day policies are company-wide and are already twice as generous as most. If you want concessions, pick another area of the contract.”

Stewart look down at his plate, seeming surprised by Jared’s unequivocal position. “So you’re saying that the sick days are a contract breaker?”

“Only if you insist on it,” Jared said pleasantly enough, his eyes still cool. “I’m prepared to work with you on your people’s specific needs, but I’m not altering something that would spread to the entire company.”

“Of course, we aren’t concerned with all your employees,” Stewart pointed out.

“No, but I am.” Jared leaned forward. “Let’s concentrate our energies on something we can agree about. The pay increases and dismissal policies.”

“Dismissal policies?” Stewart repeated. “I wasn’t aware of a problem in that area.”

“I want the right to fire people who don’t do their job without going through a lot of union hassle,” Jared said, meeting the other man’s gaze. “I understand your union is concerned that the members are treated fairly. That’s my plan, too. But I won’t have my hands tied. Employees who don’t do their jobs don’t have a right to stay employed just because they pay their union dues.”

“The purpose of our organization,” Stewart protested, “is to require that management behave responsibly with our members. We can’t give you carte blanche to fire whomever you want.”

Kelsey listened as the conversation went back and forth, neither man giving much. The situation obviously wouldn’t be solved tonight.