Celia sniffed once more. "We do love you very much, you know. We always have. And we are very proud of you."
"Thank you." Jen echoed her mother's sniff. "I love you, too." Jen smiled and turned to leave the room. "Now I'm going to get out of here and let you get your nap. It wouldn't do to have you go out tonight looking tired and puffy-eyed, and not like your usual lovely self."
As she opened the door Celia said softly, "Thank you, Jennifer. Have a nice dinner with the help."
Startled, Jen glanced back in time to see her elegant mother give her a wink. Laughter bubbling up inside her, she closed the door.
But when she was back in her apartment, Jen had to sit down and take a moment for herself. An arranged marriage. Her parents had an arranged marriage. She could barely wrap her mind around it. While it helped her to understand what was going on between them, it was strange to know that she was the product of a union between two people who were not in love, and never had been.
Jen moved to the queen bed in her bedroom, intending only to rest for a while, to give her mind the time to process all that she had learned. Suddenly, an image of Marsh came to mind, and she shivered, realizing the similarity between Marsh's proposal and the marriage her parents shared. She closed her eyes against the sudden sting of hot tears. She couldn't-absolutely could not stand it if, having agreed to marry him, Marsh later met and fell deeply in love with another woman. She didn't think her heart could take that. But wasn't that what would happen, if she entered into an arranged marriage of sorts with Marsh? If he wasn't in love with her, he certainly wouldn't stay with her if he fell in love with someone else. A man like Marsh had opportunities all the time-it wouldn't take much for him to accept one.
Jen knew right then and there that she couldn't continue to work for Marsh, to live with him...to be with him. It was too dangerous for her heart. She would go back to the house after the Terrells' party and hand him her notice in answer to his proposal.
Running away again? The thought drifted through her tired mind. She didn't run from life-did she?
Actually feeling sick to her stomach, she banished the thought for a few moments of calming meditation. She created a beach scene in her mind, wavelets rippling upon the sand. And a woman, hands jammed into the pockets of a jacket, head down, walking down the beach...alone. Tears streaming, Jen finally drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Leaving his workout room on the second level of the garage, Marsh was covered with sweat. Frustrated by what he thought of as Jennifer's defection after the incredible times they had shared the previous few days, he had tried to work out his simmering anger by punching the hell out of the big bag hanging from the ceiling.
When that didn't work, he followed up by running like a fighter in training on the treadmill.
That didn't work, either.
In fact, it hadn't helped much at all except to make him sweaty and tired. After a shower, Marsh pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and walked barefoot down the stairs to his office, only to stare sightlessly at the cursor on his computer screen.
She hadn't called since she'd left. He couldn't believe that he'd been waiting to hear from her, but he had. Marsh had never, ever in his entire life "sat by the phone," so to speak, waiting for a woman to call him. He just wasn't that type of man.
Or at least, he hadn't been...until he'd met Jen.
He missed her, more than he had believed himself capable of missing any woman. I want a life with her kept ringing through his head. He had never had that thought about anyone before, not even the woman he had married.
Damn, why had he let Jen go to Dallas?
Marsh snorted aloud at himself. How could he have stopped her? By taking her to bed? While the idea held appeal-a lot of appeal-Marsh knew that Jen would have resented him for using sex to keep her there. And she probably would have left afterward anyway.
Just the thought of sex with Jen made Marsh crazy with longing. He shifted on his leather desk chair to relieve the ache in the lower part of his body. Images of her beautiful naked body ran through his head and he was powerless to stop them. Her incredible eyes, her perfect breasts, her flat stomach, the sweetness between her long legs...
He needed her. It was a very difficult admission for him to make, even to himself. But he wanted her. And despite the fact that he'd gotten hard just thinking about her, he didn't just want her naked in his bed. He wanted her here in the house, in the swimming pool, riding horses over his land, cooking with him on the patio grill, softly singing while she went about her work. A shadow of a smile feathered his lips as he wondered if she hummed while working in her office.
"Oh, hell." Marsh gave up and, bending to the trash basket beside his desk, picked out a silver-trimmed black card. The printing on the card was bloodred, requesting his company at the Terrells' Annual Halloween Ball. He had, as usual, received the invitation weeks ago, even though he not only never attended, he didn't even bother to respond.
Sighing in defeat, Marsh put his computer to sleep, pushed back his chair and strode from his office to the stairs.
If you can't fight 'em, join 'em, he thought.
Hell, he'd have to find a costume. The very idea of him, Marshall Grainger, putting on a stupid costume for a woman, was a hard truth to swallow.
But then an idea struck him in a flash. It was easy enough to pull off. And the best part was, he had almost everything he needed right in his apartment in Dallas.
A few hours later, Marsh was exceeding the speed limit as he headed for the city. He caught sight of the perfect shop only because he had to stop for a red light-Holidays, Holidays, Holidays, it was called. Making a quick turn when the light turned green, he parked and strode into the shop and found what he needed to complete his outfit.
Marsh grimaced as he tossed his store bag into the car. He detested getting dressed in a stupid costume, even if it was the simplest disguise he could come up with. He shook his head and slipped behind the wheel.
The lengths a man will go to just to get a woman into his bed...permanently.
Nine
The phone on Jen's bedside cabinet buzzed, waking her from her nap. Yawning, she picked up the receiver. "Yes?" she asked, still only half-awake.
"Good morning, glory, did you see the rain...dear?"
Tony's chipper voice sang in her ear.
Jen laughed. "You're a goof, and it's not morning and it's not raining."
"I know, but her majesty has left the building and supper is ready, so rustle your tush down here."
"Give me five minutes," she said.
"Okay, princess, see you in five." He disconnected.
Jen didn't move for a moment, as the conversation she had had with her mother came rushing back to her. She pondered the situation for a minute, reminding herself that her parents' lives were their business. And Celia's heartfelt avowal of their love for her eased a hurt that Jen had buried deep inside herself.
But she still couldn't help thinking about how her parents' situation compared to her situation with Marsh. She knew what she had to do. She hated it, but she knew it.
She set the phone aside and went to her bathroom to splash water on her face before brushing her teeth. Exactly four and a half minutes later she ran into the kitchen announcing, "I'm here and I'm starving. What's for supper?"
"One of your favorites," Tony announced. "Cheeseburgers and Greek salad," he finished.
"Oh, heavenly," she said, running around the table to hug him. "You whip up the best Greek salad in the whole world."
"I know." Tony grinned back at her.
Ida stood patiently behind her chair at the table, smiling indulgently. "If you two are done with your comedy act?" she said dryly.
Tony gave Jen a quick hug before stepping back from her embrace. "You see, Jennifer, that's the reason I don't marry her. I hear nothing but nag, nag, nag."
"Oh, I see," Ida shot back, primly seating herself at the table. "I'm good enough to sleep with but not to marry."
"Ida!" Tony glanced at Jen in alarm. "Cover your ears."
"I'm a big girl, Tony, and I've known about you and Ida for years now."
Tony appeared half-sick. "How did you find out?"
"For heaven's sake, Tony," Ida chided him. "I told her."
Tony brought a hand up to his chest as if in pain. "I can't stand it," he cried dramatically as he set a luncheon plate in front of Jen. "Anyway," he groused, "I did ask her to marry me, at least a hundred times. She said no."