Momentary Marriage(12)

“Boy, have you not been paying attention,” Kelsey commented. “The music is usually lounge lizard stuff, too artsy for the business folk.”

“Too hip, you mean,” Jared accused, his voice provocative. “And since I’m in the ‘business’ category, I’ll take that as an insult. We money-men just aren’t smooth enough for you creative types.”

“You, personally, are smooth enough to charm a kiss from a nun,” she declared with a sputter of indignation.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice all velvet. “I’ll remember that if I meet any nuns I want to kiss tonight.”

She laughed as the limousine pulled up outside the hotel entrance. The man deserved a kick in the seat of the pants.

Jared offered her his hand, tugging her out of the limo. When they climbed the stairs to the hotel lobby, he put his hand at the small of her back, his touch leaving her warm and disgustingly aware of him.

As escorts went, he’d earn her points, she knew. The fact that he was a successful, rich man was only part of Jared’s allure for females in general. Beyond that was his attractive physique, his smiling eyes and the damned pheromones that swamped her every time he got near. Most of the women in the room tonight would wonder what it would be like to go home with him.

Kelsey refused to consider the possibility.

It was fun playing with fire, but she wasn’t a girl who liked to get burned. Jared met her point for point and she had the sneaky sensation that he never fully showed his hand.

He might be her date for the night—out of desperation, she reminded herself as they found their table in the ball room, but she wasn’t dating him.

Jared pulled out her chair for her.

“Kelsey?” Doug stared at her from across the table. “You’re here with…Jared?”

“Yes,” she said as blandly as possible, dropping her napkin into her lap. “Amy, you look great tonight.”

Her sister, sitting beside Doug, beamed across the table. “So do you.”

“Good evening,” Jared said to those seated at the table. “Doug.”

Doug rose and introduced Amy.

“We’ve met before at the agency,” Jared commented pleasantly as he shook her hand.

“Listen,” Doug said, getting up. “Why don’t we move around the table to those empty seats so you girls can talk more easily.”

Amy sent him a puzzled look, but got up and followed him around to the chair he indicated, a seat away from Kelsey. Doug sat in the chair between them.

“So,” he said, turning to Kelsey and lowering his voice. “I thought you said I didn’t know your date for tonight.”

“Oh.” She’d forgotten that. Thinking fast, Kelsey said, “I meant you didn’t know about him, that we're going out.”

Doug shot his boss a dark glance. “No, I didn't know.”

Next to her, Jared continued chatting with several others at the table. If he’d heard her lie, he gave no indication.

“I wish you’d told me you were dating him,” Doug said, his gaze both worried and proprietary. “I thought you said your date was with someone I didn’t know. Jared can be a tough character. You could get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, patting his hand. “I can take care of myself. You just have a good time with Amy tonight.”

Doug glanced over at her sister as if he’d forgotten she was there. “Oh. Of course.”

Jared caught her eye, his expression full of sardonic comprehension mixed with an irritating tinge of humor. She glanced away, annoyed with herself for caring what he thought.

The waiters began moving between the tables, placing dinners before all the guests. Kelsey did her best to talk with everyone at the table, taking trouble to draw Amy in several times. Beside her, Doug seemed preoccupied. Throughout dinner, he only spoke twice to Amy, Kelsey noticed with a sinking heart.

When the lights went down and the awards part of the evening began, Doug leaned over to Kelsey and whispered, “You look fantastic tonight. Is that a new dress?”

“No,” Kelsey said briefly, wanting to wring his neck. He’d always been attentive to her, but tonight by ignoring everyone else, including his own date, he was crossing over into rudeness.

Doug wasn’t generally inconsiderate. He was, in fact, one of the nicest people she knew. When his friends were in trouble, he jumped to help them out.

It was just her. She had a deplorable influence on him.

Tonight, he was acting like a dog whose bone had been stolen. And it was her fault because all these years, she’d relied on him like a worn house coat. Naturally, he’d gotten the impression that eventually she’d give up catting around and decide to come home to him permanently.