The Temporary Wife (6 page)

Owen nodded and Nate smiled, and then Jason started to walk her out of the room. But before he could leave, Owen caught his arm to say what Jason had needed to hear when they were in high school.

“I had no idea you were such an asshole.”

“Now you know,” Jason responded.

Meg was barely moving as they went through the rooms of the main floor. The house rambled—it was one of the things Meg said she loved about it—but at that moment he could see she was trying to stop sixteen-year-old Meg from bursting into tears. “Your friends are nice.”

“They’re good guys.”

“I didn’t realize you were in business with people from high school.” Her voice was a little shaky, and he could hear her fighting back the old hurt. He’d been such a moron in school, so much his father’s son, that he’d worried his rich, prep school friends would think he was dating down. So he kept Meg a secret—seeing her at home, stealing kisses and then later sex with her whenever he could. She was so giving, so trusting, she never asked about the nights he wasn’t around because of events at school or days he had hockey games. In truth, he would have loved to have her with him, but he thought about how she’d fit in and he hadn’t listened to his heart. He’d listened to his parents.

He stopped her in the dining room, turned her toward him, and rested his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry about that. I never thought—”

“Thought what? Were you planning on keeping me a secret again?” Meg wiggled free and looked away.

“No. I’d like to think I’ve grown up.” He knew she didn’t want to deal with this old baggage between them, but it couldn’t be avoided, not with Nate and Owen being such a big part of his life. She was still fighting back the emotion, and in some ways he wished she’d just let go and have a good hard cry.

“I don’t know why it still bothers me, but I guess I couldn’t purge it all. I should have been prepared for something like this. But I am a champ at sticking my head in the sand.”

Jason didn’t like that she was blaming herself for what happened. It was true, she’d been in happy denial about everything until his mother showed her his prom pictures. It had been a cruel act and meant to hurt. He’d taken one of his classmates, a pretty girl named Phoebe, and the next night he was making love to Meg in the boathouse. Right before he left for Princeton, everything went south.

“I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a nice afternoon for you. Did you get your dress?” He’d reverted back to his more formal self, when all he wanted was to take her up in his arms and try to make up for lost time.

She nodded. “It’s lovely. Everything will be fine.”

***

Once Jason stepped into the kitchen, four pairs of eyes turned in his direction and Molly charged him, launching herself into his arms.

“We went shopping for fancy dresses!” Molly squealed.

“I heard that,” he said. “Oh, Meg, Gwyneth dropped off the design sketches for your approval. That big envelope there.”

He tilted his head toward the table in the corner of the kitchen, and Meg opened the envelope while Jason made a conquest of her friends and family.

Pulling out the drawings, Meg inspected each one, thinking about this monstrous house that was to become her home. He’d done his best to keep them in the same general area, mostly so Molly wouldn’t have to change schools. But the place had six bedrooms. Six. Each one with its own bathroom.

It was going to be beautiful, though. Gwyneth had made some incredible color choices. The furniture was gorgeous. Simple, classic, and casual. It was like she’d read Meg’s mind. She wasn’t supposed to be this happy, especially after what just happened. Nothing about this arrangement was going to be easy, but glancing at her fiancé charming four women, including her mother and her very skeptical sister, Meg couldn’t stay mad. Which was the problem she’d had when she was a teenager.

Glancing back at the sketches, she tried to get her head out of the past. He was trying. First by giving her a beautiful ring, and second by giving her the opportunity to make the house something special. The gesture was appreciated. The problem was that the ugly reminders of their differences, of what had driven them apart in the first place, kept intruding on the fantasy. And Jason was the fantasy. He always had been. But there was so much hurt in the past, allowing herself to believe that the relationship would survive was simply foolish. The men in his study were his best friends, friends who’d known him almost as long as she had, and they’d never even known about her. It wasn’t just that Jason worried about her not fitting in with his friends; he had kept her a secret. That was the moment Meg realized if she didn’t secure her heart, keep the wall in place, she’d be heading for another crash landing. This was going to be a beautiful house, but it would never be a home.

Charlotte was next to her, grinning before she’d even gotten through the drawings. “You could do worse than him.”

“I know.” It was true. He wasn’t a bad guy. He was smart, gorgeous, and rich, but he’d never love her. He never had.

“Are you sure about this? I get the feeling this marriage isn’t what it looks like on the surface.”

Meg shrugged. “Things are complicated.”

Charlotte picked up two of the sketches and put them side by side. “This house is going to be beautiful, but these two rooms are interesting.” Charlotte examined the drawings, which were labeled
Master 1
and
Master 2
. “Two master bedrooms? Where will you keep your toothbrush?”

Meg looked away from the drawings, which were full-color representations of their lie. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

***

It had been a busy day, and Molly had conked out the minute her head hit the pillow. They’d had fun. Even with all her misgivings, Meg had to admit the dress buying expedition had been everything she’d always hoped it would be. Molly’s dress was beautiful, a frothy white confection with yellow flowers embroidered into the bodice. It was adorable, and she couldn’t wait to see her in it.

Her own dress was the stuff of bridal daydreams. The shop, knowing they had carte blanche from Jason, brought out one expensive dress after another, but there was only one that took her breath away. She hoped it would take his breath away, too.

Meg’s problem was that every dress conjured up the memory of the kiss from the other night—a kiss that made her feel like a real bride with a groom who truly loved her. Jason’s hands, his warm breath—everything had her wanting him, and that was a big problem. It was bad enough that he’d never entirely left her. Thoughts of him had always drifted in and out of her life, and it was only in the past couple of years that she could seriously consider moving on. There had been other boyfriends, other experiences, but she’d never loved anyone else. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be in love; it was that no one ever measured up. Even as teenagers, their relationship was magic. At least she thought it was. He thought it was something to be hidden.

She hated that it still upset her. Putting it behind her would be the best thing, so they could move forward on this plan without complications. Meg would have to be strong, or she’d have to find a way to get the upper hand.

Doing chores at the end of the day was a way for Meg to unwind. The mindlessness of stacking the dishwasher or putting away toys helped her put the day in order. Wiping down the kitchen counters was the perfect remedy to her carnal thoughts. That was, until she saw the familiar halogen headlamps turn into her driveway.

Jason.
Of course.
She was concentrating on getting him out of her head, and here he was. Nothing was easy with him. Nothing. She needed him to go the hell away so she could think about how she was going to deal with all these mixed-up emotions. Meg needed one emotion where Jason was concerned. Indifference would be best, but she’d never pull that off. Getting really pissed off would do, but she didn’t know if that was going to work, either. She liked him too much. She might hate him for what he did to her, but Jason always got to her, without fail.

The car door thumped closed and, not wanting Molly to wake up, she wiped her hands on a dish towel and walked to the foyer.

***

He hadn’t even gotten up the front steps when she pulled open the door and folded her arms. Defensive. Great. Not what he needed tonight. After setting up the home office, he’d had to deal with an emergency that developed at a Hong Kong bank and had barely gotten up from his chair since. He should still have been there, handling things, but he’d wanted to see Meg. He needed to see her.

Now she stood there, staring at him like he was toxic waste, and all he wanted to do was kiss her brainless.

Instead, he handed her the envelope of sketches.

“I thought you might need these if you were going to talk to Gwyneth about any changes.”

“Thank you. Everything is fine, though. I called before dinner.”

“Oh, good. You said you got a dress?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you for arranging everything.”

“My pleasure. May I come in?”

Meg took a deep breath, like she was trying to calm herself, and stepped away from the door, carrying the envelope into the house.

Jason took the hint to follow. He nudged the door shut with his foot. “So, do I get to see it?” he asked.

“What?”

“Your dress.” He had no idea why he asked—he knew she’d look gorgeous in a paper bag—but it was a way to make conversation and hopefully get them back to a friendlier place.

“No. You’re going to have to wait.”

“Nothing, I don’t get even a hint?”

She dropped the envelope on the kitchen table and turned to face him.

She was angry. At him. But in spite of that, just being in her presence sparked his desire. It was nuts, and he didn’t see how they were going to keep things platonic. If this were any other woman, he wouldn’t be reacting this way. He was reacting because it was Meg.

“My dress is white,” she said. “And it has a little bit of lace.”

“That’s it? Is there a picture?”

“Yes, but you can’t see it until the wedding. It’s tradition.”

“Honey, our marriage is anything but traditional.” He moved closer, leaned in, and whispered in her ear, loving that she sighed. “Show me.”

“No,” she whispered back. Jason wasn’t going to let the moment get away from him, so he let his mouth travel with a brush of his lips from her ear, over her jaw, and finally he nipped at her neck. “You’re not playing fair,” she said.

“I’ve never played fair with you. Ever.” He kept nuzzling until he drew another sigh from her. “I’m sorry about what happened today with Owen and Nate.”

“Everything that happened was a long time ago, but I won’t lie. It hurt to be reminded that I was never good enough.”

“You were good enough. I wasn’t. If it’s any consolation, my friends think I was a prick. They got a kick out of the picture you brought.”

“Did they?”

He nodded. “Why did you bring it?”

He looked down, and Meg was doing her best not to make eye contact, but he could see the light flush in her cheeks. “I thought you might like it. I don’t know. It will, ah, lend some credibility to the story.”

Jason stepped back, giving himself some space to look at her face, and that’s when he had his own reality check. She was still hurt; it was right in front of him. All these years and the wounds were still there, still part of her. He was sure she’d moved on in most ways, but the events with his family, having to deal with him again, must have brought it all back to the surface. This was going to be rough.

Meg looked up at him through the veil of her lashes, and a ball of desire formed at his core.

God, she is beautiful.

“Jason?” She might be annoyed and hurt, but Megan could read him like a book, which was what she was doing now. Her voice held the question of what this all meant, of why she still felt things, and for the life of him he didn’t know why he could still get her to respond. She should be keeping her distance. He didn’t deserve her trust, her friendship, but just like the girl he knew before, the Meg who stood in front of him led with her heart.

Her hips pressed into his, and their fingers wound together, and he figured he was going to die right here in her kitchen when she left a soft kiss at the base of his throat. “I shouldn’t be like this with you. I shouldn’t,” she said. “Why do you do this to me?”

Holy shit.
“Meg.
Christ.
I don’t know.”

“I’ve been trying to get good and pissed off at you, and I do, and then you’re here . . . Kiss me now, okay?” It was said in a whisper, and suddenly he could relate to Adam, Prometheus, Odysseus, and all the men who’d been tempted by beautiful women throughout the ages. Megan was his siren song, and he couldn’t resist. He never could, and it had hurt them both.

But he was so hot and so hard, he didn’t care. Jason was just about to give her what she wanted, what they both wanted, when his phone rang.

“Don’t answer it,” she cooed.

He pulled the phone from his pocket and saw his personal assistant was calling. She never called this late unless there was a problem, and considering he’d just been dealing with an emergency, he figured he should answer. “I have to take this; it’s my assistant.”

He put some distance between them so the blood could return to his brain. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jason. Just wanted to touch base since you were out of contact all day.”
Okay. Not an emergency.

Harper Poole may have been called an executive assistant, but she was a Harvard MBA who earned a quarter of a million dollars a year to keep his life in order and the company running like clockwork. She spoke three languages, knew everyone from the most elusive five-star chef to the best massage therapist, managed her own staff of six people, and didn’t take Jason’s shit. She worked all hours and, although she’d been offered bigger jobs, she made it clear she liked her work and the benefits Reliance offered.

“I set up the new home office. Come by tomorrow and I’ll give you the lay of the land and a key to the house.”

Meg had slipped away and was watching him from the other side of the room. She didn’t look happy. Not at all. Jason would have to explain how Harper would be part of things when they got married, how she might be around the house. A lot, if he was working from home. He depended on her for so many things, but the bottom line was the business wouldn’t be running as smoothly as it did without her. Of course, he doubted he’d tell Meg that he and Harper had slept together. Since he wouldn’t be sleeping with her anymore, it didn’t make sense to upset his fiancée, who, at this moment, was casting daggers at him with her fey green eyes. Yeah,
now
she looked pissed. No, Meg was insecure enough where he was concerned. And it was completely justified. There was no need to tell her his history with Harper.