Momentary Marriage(46)

“Does your father even know you’re getting married?” Jared asked, hefting several boxes in his arms.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not unless he saw that announcement your mother put in the newspaper and even then, he might not recognize it was actually me.”

“Damn,” Jared said under his breath as he turned toward the door. “I’m taking these down to the truck.”

“Okay.” Kelsey watched him leave, balancing three boxes. Jared was a marvel in so many ways. Now that she knew him better, she couldn’t imagine him fathering a child and leaving it to grow up without his love.

He’d been so sweet to his pregnant sister, actually seeming interested in the normal aches and pains of bearing a child. Carla and he were really close. Their whole family appeared to enjoy each other which had startled her at first.

Jared kept surprising her, like when he announced his intention of helping her move the small stuff from her apartment to his. The man certainly didn’t act like a millionaire.

He hefted her heaviest box with a mere rippling of muscle. The sight almost made her wish the professional moving men weren’t handling the few pieces of furniture. Watching Jared move was more engrossing than a night at the theater.

Dumping more books into a box, along with her bills and blank checks, she acknowledged that the man actually seemed interested in her family. In her. When they’d first agreed to this marriage, she hadn’t envisioned them sharing personal information. In desperation to right her wrongs against Amy and Doug, she’d bartered a year of much-anticipated, but not yet experienced, mind-blowing sex for his willingness to play her love-struck husband.

But for some reason, she hadn’t thought about spending quiet moments together. Hadn’t really considered the hundred daily intimacies they’d share.

Heck, Jared had even seemed tolerant of her admittedly different mother, something Kelsey’s previous male companions hadn’t managed. One boyfriend had even called Chloe a parasite. But Jared, while surprisingly understanding about the difficulties she and her sister had encountered as children, seemed to accept her mother as the mixed blessing she was. He was altogether an unusual man.

Kelsey felt drawn to him. Of course, she’d always thought he was a decent man, despite his teasing comments and gloves-off business style. Otherwise, she’d never have accepted his proposal, regardless of how urgent her need to make things right for her sister. But closer contact had revealed him to be strong and sensible as well as considerate and thoughtful.

More dangerous because of all that. He made her want to trust him. She couldn’t let herself fall for him, though.

There was no denying that his presence made her heart beat faster, his touch sending it into supersonic speed. She’d never been indifferent to him, not since she’d first met him.

Being with him left her itchy and breathless, like taking the first puff of a cigarette when your body craved more. Jared was like that. He packed a punch that could be addictive. She’d just have to be sure she didn’t inhale.

If he could warm her just by threatening to break her father’s face, make her feel so cherished with a simple hug, how much more of…everything would she feel when she lie in his arms?

***

“…then he grabbed me and kissed me!” Amy exclaimed, her face lit up with excitement.

“Wow.” Kelsey sat back in her desk chair, thrilled that her sister’s dreams were coming true. When Amy had swept into her office, minutes ago, carefully shutting the door behind her, Kelsey hadn’t known what to expect.

Now, Amy paced the small section of clear floor, dodging a chair and several stacks of files. “We ended up making love for an hour! It was beautiful and incredible. He’s the most wonderful man alive!”

“You and Doug…?” Kelsey stared at her sister in bemused fascination. “You actually did the nasty? Right then?”

“Uh huh,” her sister said, giggling. “You wouldn’t believe how…inventive he is.”

Kelsey threw up a hand. “No details, please! Not yet. I’m still getting used to the thought of the two of you as a couple. Later, we can exchange sisterly confidences when I’ve adjusted.”

“Take your time,” Amy told her smugly. “The hot romance of Amy and Doug has just begun.”

Reaching out, Kelsey grabbed her sister, bringing her exuberant pacing to a halt. “Amy, you don’t have any doubt that he’s the right man for you?”

“None,” Amy said firmly. “I love him and I know he loves me.

“Good,” Kelsey replied as she hugged her, feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. “Then everything is all right.”