Momentary Marriage(91)

Because he’d been up to something, her mind whispered. She loved him and he was simply playing a game. Manipulating, maneuvering. Managing people’s lives without their consent. Jared liked controlling people.

“Listen,” Amy said, getting up. “I’ve got to get back to my desk. I just wanted to tell you I’m engaged! We’re going to get the ring this afternoon.”

“I’m glad,” Kelsey said numbly as her sister left the office. “Really glad. See you later.”

God, she couldn’t think! What did it mean? Jared had prompted Amy to leave Doug. Amy had then prompted her to…do something to set Doug free. She then had determined to marry someone…and Jared stepped into the breach.

Surely, not even Jared could contrive to make all that happen. He had no way of knowing she’d decide to get married.

And even if he’d hoped for that, or hoped that her concern about Doug might make her more receptive to his proposal, why would the man do such a thing?

We could…have kids, his voice said casually from her memory. Jared’s words floated in her head for a second. Would he? Would any man go so far to get a woman to have his children? He was a very wealthy man. He could buy a raft of women willing to have a child for him.

He’d denied trying to trick her into having a child. Denied so convincingly that he’d been trying to get her pregnant. But if that wasn’t his motive, what was? Could he simply have some sort of egomaniacal need to control others?

Had he considered her some sort of challenge, a conquest to be made? Why else would he have behaved so strangely? Working to get her sister to confront Doug. Taking Kelsey up on her declaration of needing a husband. Why would a man do those things?

Unless he was fundamentally incapable of taking the straight forward path.

If he’d had a physical attraction to her, why hadn’t he just come right out with it and asked her on a date?

None of it made any sense, but Amy’s revelation left Kelsey feeling furious and sick inside. All along, she’d sensed there were things he was keeping hidden from her, lying to her.

She couldn’t trust him. Couldn’t rely on him to be honest, much less rely on him to care for her the way she loved him.

How dare he manipulate her!

Kelsey had to talk to him. Scream at him. Had to make him explain the things he’d done. Now.

***

Kelsey stood in the lobby of the apartment building she’d lived in with Jared for the happiest, stupidest month of her life. Stood waiting for him, a fire of anger, resentment and thwarted love burning in her chest. He had to explain himself, had to be made to explain his behavior.

If she hadn’t given all the damned roses away, she’d have brought a couple of vases full to fling in his face.

The brass-framed main doors opened, the doorman holding it for an elderly couple.

Kelsey stood to the side of the marble-floored lobby, her chest tight with anger and sick with anticipation.

“Mrs. Barrett?” the doorman said, a puzzled look on his face. “Are you sure you won’t go up? I can’t say for sure when Mr. Barrett will be coming home.”

“No, thank you, Anthony,” she said quickly, “I…can’t go up. I-I’ll just stay a few more minutes. I, uh, I have somewhere else I have to be.”

“If you’re sure,” the older man said, a worried expression in his kind eyes.

“I’m sure.” She smiled at him in an attempt at reassurance, but the effort felt tight on her lips.

With a last glance, he withdrew to his post on the sidewalk.

Hugging her arms around herself nervously, Kelsey paced the small lobby, her thoughts scurrying around in her head like demented rodents. How dare he lie to her and manipulate her? Like some kind of con man, he’d insinuated his way into her life under false pretenses. Led her into a fantasy he couldn’t fulfill. Led her into hope and heartache, all for his own dark purposes. His own need for power and pulling the strings.

Deep inside, she almost hated him for making her love him. Jared had managed in six short weeks what she’d been able to keep a score of men from accomplishing in her adult life. He’d robbed her of her heart.

This wasn’t the same as all the times before. This time, she’d let her guard down and come to cherish him, conniving jerk that he was. He’d only wiped her face when she was ill and rescued her from the rain. There was no reason she should love him like this, no reason to feel as if every organ had been unplugged, leaving her hollow inside.

Anyone could buy roses. Wasn’t that what men usually did when they’d screwed up? Bought flowers?

Conscious of the curious stares as people passed through the lobby on their way to the elevators, Kelsey tried to look nonchalant. Tried to shutter the misery from her face. When a woman who lived on Jared’s floor came through, pausing to say hello, she stammered something about waiting for her husband.