by Lori Ryan
“Well, maybe it won’t last.” Caroline reached out and pretended to brush an imaginary piece of lint off of Jack’s shirt in a blatant excuse to touch his chest. “You always know where to find me if things don’t work out.”
Kelly had now seen Jack uncomfortable twice since she’d known him, but Caroline ignored his discomfort and Kelly’s shocked look.
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Hell, the marriage might be fake and she might not be able to compete with Jack’s exes, including the blond goddess standing in front of her, but she’d be damned if she would sit by and let this woman hit on her fake husband right in front of her.
A woman has her pride, after all.
Kelly leaned in and possessively caressed Jack’s chest in the very spot where Caroline’s hand had just sat. “I’m sure Jack won’t be needing your….” She paused and looked the other woman up and down as if she found her wanting in all manner before continuing, “Your…uh, company in the near future, Caroline. But it was a pleasure to meet you. Good-bye.”
And with that, she dismissed Caroline Harridan, supermodel and cover girl.
Jack pulled Kelly tighter to him and Kelly could see him pressing his lips together.
In a huff, Caroline turned and stalked away from the table. As soon as they took their seats again, Kelly felt the heat climbing her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered across the table to Jack.
“What for?” he whispered back, smiling.
“You probably wanted to see her again after this is over, and I think I must have ruined your chances for that. I just thought… Well, I couldn’t. I mean, she was just so rude, I just….” She blew out a puff of air, blowing her bangs up in a small gust. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think.”
“Kelly, first of all, I’m married to you for the next year.” Jack spoke quietly so no one would overhear their conversation. “I won’t embarrass you or treat you with disrespect during that time. While we’re together, we’re together, and I won’t be with another woman even if you and I aren’t exactly together in the traditional sense.”
He continued as she stared at him with wide eyes. “But second, that woman drives me up the wall. We went out a handful of times over the period of a month or so and she’s stalked me ever since. Lord knows how she knew we were here today, but you can bet it wasn’t a coincidence. She shows up at events and fundraisers and throws herself at me because she’s determined to marry a wealthy man, and she couldn’t care less that we had nothing in common and no spark whatsoever between us. You can chase her away any time you’d like,” Jack finished with a smile and a wink at Kelly.
“Hmm,” she said, frowning.
Jack laughed. “What now?”
“You didn’t have a spark with that?” she asked, looking toward the door Caroline had walked out moments before. “How could you not sizzle with that?”
He looked at the door and back to Kelly and shrugged. “Just didn’t. She’s pretty vacant. A big old empty package with a huge bow, but not a damn thing inside the box.”
Chapter 27
The following Monday, Kelly went shopping at the mall and then drove to New Haven to meet Jennie for lunch. Pulling her car into a space in the parking garage, she glanced in the rearview mirror before opening her car door to get out.
Kelly had a strange feeling that the car pulling past as she got out of her car was the same one behind her earlier that day at the mall. She watched as the car continued by and figured that she must be imagining things.
She walked through the parking garage and took the elevator down to the street level and went two doors along to the café where Jennie was waiting.
It had been a couple of weeks since she’d seen her friend, and they definitely needed to make up for lost time. She needed to fill in Jennie on her ‘married’ life with Jack, and she wanted to know how her friend’s new job was going.
Kelly spotted Jennie at a table and pointed to the counter to signal that she’d grab a coffee and order lunch then join her. She ordered a turkey and avocado sandwich, picked up her iced coffee, and made her way over to the table.
Jennie’s eyes immediately went to her left hand and the rather large diamond that sat alongside her wedding band. “He bought you an engagement ring?” she whispered in surprise as Kelly sat down.
“I know,” she said and squirmed under Jennie’s scrutiny. “I felt a little weird about it, but it was sweet, don’t you think?”
“Very,” said Jennie and she took Kelly’s hand and examined the setting. “Tell me all about married life.”
Kelly lowered her voice, not wanting anyone to hear the strange conversation they were about to have, given the state of her rather unconventional marriage. “He’s actually really sweet. I mean, who would think that Jack Sutton would be sweet, right? We have dinner together almost every night. He asks about my day…. We watch movies or TV after dinner. It’s nice, right?”
They paused while their sandwiches were delivered to the table.
Jennie watched Kelly for a minute as if reading the emotions on her friend’s face. Her eyes were big and round, and she leaned in to whisper at Kelly. “Uh oh. You’re falling for him a little, aren’t you? You have a crush on your husband!”
“Ugh,” Kelly said and rolled her eyes. “I am most definitely falling for him. His aunt moved into the house with us last Monday. She pretended it’s because she’s having work done on her townhouse, but we’re pretty sure she’s trying to prove the marriage is fake. That, of course, means we’re sharing a room…and a bed.”
“Oh boy, have you…?” asked Jennie as her eyes went even wider.
“No!” She shushed Jennie and looked around to be sure no one was listening. “No, I’ve been going to bed ridiculously early and pretending to be asleep when Jack comes in,” she confessed with a grimace.
“Oh, God, you are not!” Jennie covered her mouth with her hand but couldn’t cover the laughter. Kelly nodded and felt the now-familiar red heat creep into her cheeks.
When she recovered, Jennie pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “Well, you could go with it and have hot, wild monkey sex for a year with one of the hottest men on the continent.”
Kelly laughed at her characterization of the situation but then dropped her smile. “No way. I couldn’t do that. The guy dates supermodels and actresses with gorgeous, stick-thin bodies. I’d feel so stupid.”
Jennie’s normally fun demeanor was gone, and she put her coffee back down on the table and leaned toward Kelly. “Hey, you’re gorgeous and you know it. He probably wants you already.”
She gave a little shake of her head and smiled at her friend. “Uh uh. He just kisses me to keep up appearances. I’m no idiot, Jennie. I mean, don’t get me wrong…. You know I’ve always liked the way I look. My body’s not bad. But I’m no model. Let’s face it—Jack Sutton is in a totally different universe in the looks department. He could easily be a model himself, and he dates models who wear a size two not ten.”
“Don’t knock the ten. Wasn’t Marilyn Monroe a size ten or twelve? Something like that,” Jennie grinned.
Kelly shook her head at her friend. She picked at her chips and then pushed her plate to the side and changed the subject. No matter how attractive he was, and how much they shared space, she was not going to throw herself at Jack; whether she was married to the man or not.
“Tell me about your new job. What do they have you doing now?” Kelly quickly changed the subject away from herself.
Jennie brightened and launched into the topic wholeheartedly. “It’s great, actually. Whenever Sutton Capital is looking at investing in a company, they send someone from our office to do an audit. I go in with whoever we send and serve as their secretary for the time they’re there. Then, I just work my magic.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of people thinking I’m so innocent they forget not to talk in front of me. Or, I play up the ditz factor, and they just think nothing they tell me will matter. Other times, people
end up opening up to me because they feel guilty about something they’re not disclosing, so they want an outlet and they think it won’t matter to tell me.
“So, even though they know I work for Sutton, they often seem to just open up and tell me stuff. Like, if there’s any weakness in their company, or if they’re hiding anything about their finances, or a problem with a patent, it has a way of coming out.”
“Really?” Kelly asked. “They just tell you stuff even though they know it might hurt their chances of getting financing?”
“Yup. It’s weird. Sometimes it’s another secretary or support person and they want to gossip, but other times it’s even the higher-ups that blurt stuff out. Chad says a lot of times, people are just looking to spill their guts, and they’ll do it if you give them a chance. It’s nice because I thought I’d have to lie to people and I was worried I would feel dishonest, but I don’t even have to lie. I’ve only been on three assignments so far, but people just told me what we needed to know within days.” Jennie seemed really happy with her new role.
Kelly grinned at her thinking back to Jennie’s introduction of her and Jack. “It’s not as if you’re above a little spying now and again though, huh?”
Since Jennie couldn’t deny it, all she could do was laugh and Kelly joined her, feeling better by the time they finished lunch.
Kelly walked out the front of the restaurant with Jennie after lunch.
“I never thought I’d say this, but good luck avoiding sex with your hot-as-hell husband,” Jennie said with a smile.
Kelly laughed. “All right, I’ll see you next week for lunch?”
As she dug in her purse for her car keys, she looked down the street past Jennie…and froze.
Kelly was absolutely sure that the car she had seen in the parking garage was now parked halfway down the block with a man sitting in it. He pulled out and turned at the corner, moving away from them, but she was positive this time it was the same car and the same man.
“Hey, Jennie,” she said as she watched the car move away from them. “I think I’ll walk up to Jack’s office with you and stop in and say hi to him.”
Chapter 28
Jack’s new temp secretary had apparently been told who Kelly was because she sent her right into Jack’s office. He smiled as she walked in, and she thought of the other time she’d been in his office and smiled back.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, fusing his mouth to hers for more than just a little peck.
Kelly kicked herself for melting in his arms, and briefly noted he’d kissed her when there wasn’t an audience that made it a necessity. She chalked it up to habit or as an unnecessary precaution on Jack’s part and jumped into the reason for her visit.
“Um, Jack, I feel a little weird saying this, but I would swear someone was following me today,” she said, biting her lip. Now that she was here, she felt a little silly telling him.
He apparently didn’t think she was silly. He took Kelly by the shoulders and leaned down to look her directly in the eyes. “Tell me what you saw. Tell me everything you can remember,” he said.
She was surprised at his response. She almost thought he’d tell her she was imagining things. Or at the very least that he’d try to reassure her and convince her it was nothing to worry about.
Kelly told him about the car and the man driving it. “It wasn’t creepy like in a stalker, scary-guy kind of way. It was more like he was a private detective or professional kind of guy. “
She frowned. “Do you think your aunt is having me followed? Maybe she thinks she’ll get proof that the marriage isn’t real.”
Jack considered this. “That’s definitely a possibility. I wouldn’t put it past her. I still don’t like it, though. Do you have any ex-boyfriends or anyone who’s ever bothered you in the past? Anything you can think of?”
She shook her head and shrugged. “No.”
“I don’t know,” he said slowly. “I’m in the public eye a lot, but I’ve never had someone in my life that people know I care about. That might have made you a target for anyone who wanted to hurt me or wanted to get at my money. There might be more to this now that word about our marriage is getting around. I’ll have security put on you.”
Now that she had thought of the connection to Jack’s aunt, Kelly felt a lot better about things and really thought they should turn this to their advantage. “No, no, no, Jack! I’m sure it’s just your aunt. And, we can use this to our advantage. She isn’t going to find anything. I mean, it’s not as if I’m going to run out and sleep with some other guy or anything.”
Kelly thought she saw Jack freeze for a split second when she said that, and wondered if he thought she was going to blow their cover by doing something that could prove their marriage wasn’t real.
“Let her have me followed. The faster she sees that there isn’t anything to dig up, the faster she’ll back off and accept our marriage.” Her enthusiasm for the idea increased the more she thought about turning the tables on Jack’s Aunt Mabry.
As soon as Kelly said good-bye to Jack, promising to call him when she got back to the house, he got on the phone to Chad. He knew if he put a bodyguard with Kelly 24/7, it would scare her. He filled Chad in on the guy following Kelly without mentioning the possibility that it was Chad’s mother who put the guy there. They talked about possible ways to protect Kelly, but Jack told Chad to keep her safe without scaring her too much.
Chad sent him a panic button with GPS that he’d have Kelly carry with her, and they settled on having one of Chad’s people watch her from a block away at all times so they could get to her if she hit her panic button. With this in place they could watch her, but she wouldn’t be frightened by the precautions. Chad also said he’d investigate the person tailing her and see what he could find out.
Jack felt better as he hung up the phone, but his response to the thought of someone threatening Kelly unnerved him. It was more than the ordinary level of protectiveness he expected to feel for her. It was a gut deep feeling of fear that something might happen to her.
Not something Jack was used to at all. And not something he liked.
Chapter 29
Andrew caught up to Kelly in the elevator. He’d seen her go into Jack’s office and wanted a chance to talk to her.
She tucked her hair behind one ear nervously as he entered and pushed the button for the lobby.
He waited for the doors to slide shut before turning to her. “How’s everything going? You settling in at Jack’s”
“I am.” The smile she gave him was tentative. “It’s a beautiful house.”
Andrew knew it was beautiful. He wondered if she would really be willing to give it up after a year. Prenuptial agreement or not, if she decided to fight Jack, she could easily threaten to go public with the agreement if Jack didn’t let her stay. Or give her a big payoff. There were any number of ways this could go wrong.
“It is,” he said as the elevator lowered. “Jack seems pretty happy with things. I take it everything is going well?”
As he said the words, he realized he’d really understated things. Jack had been more than happy lately. His friend seemed different. Relaxed. He was going home at a decent hour and more often than not, he had a smile on his face when he walked the halls of the company.
Hell, Andrew had walked into a negotiation the other day to find Jack joking with the people across the table. That wasn’t something that happened. Ever.
Kelly turned to Andrew, facing him fully and he saw the steel in her eyes this time. She might be nervous around him, but she apparently wasn’t going to let that stop her speaking her mind.
“Mr. Weston, I appreciate that you’re concerned about Jack and I’m glad he has a friend to watch his back like that, but I’m not going to talk to you about our marriage or his personal business.”
Andrew’s smile was slow but it was genuine. He wasn’t willing to completely write off his concerns, but he like
d that she would stand up for Jack that way and respect his privacy.
He nodded. “Good enough for me.”
Chapter 30
Jack got home from work that night and slipped the panic button into Kelly’s purse in the front hallway. She had started volunteering at the New Haven Legal Aid Clinic, and that wasn’t located in the best part of town.
Between that and the guy following her, Jack felt better knowing she’d have some way of getting help if needed. He’d have to remember to tell her it was there and show her how to use it, but he didn’t want to mention it in front of Aunt Mabry.
He walked into the kitchen and found Kelly and Mrs. Poole cooking dinner together. His wife looked up and smiled at him.
He thought she was gorgeous when she smiled at him like that, and he loved the sight of her in his kitchen. Hell, he loved coming home to find her anywhere in his house.
The irony of having the strongest feelings he’d ever had for a woman while in a fake marriage to her wasn’t lost on Jack. He had spent years looking for the type of connection his mom and dad had shared, and now, when he finally gave up and entered into a fake marriage, he found himself looking smack at the woman he knew could have given him just what he had been looking for.
“Mrs. Poole is teaching me how to make her homemade manicotti,” Kelly said as she carefully placed a ricotta-filled noodle in a pan.
He inhaled a deep breath. The room smelled amazing and he knew the pot on the stove must contain Mrs. Poole’s pasta sauce. It did something archaic to him to know Kelly was cooking for him. Neanderthal though that might be.
“I see,” Jack said with a smile as he walked over and kissed her on the cheek, letting his mouth linger to take in her soft skin and the subtle scent of her.
She smiled at him before spooning the filling into the next noodle and rolling it up. He knew from experience they would fill the pan with the rows of noodles before layering sauce and cheese over it and baking it. The end result would be a gooey mess of cheese filled noodles drenched in mozzarella and sauce that he could never get enough of.
