The Temporary Wife (18 page)

His phone rang. The caller ID told him it was the CEO of Greek Isles, and Jason expected, since it was eleven thirty at night in Crete, that he was pretty pissed off.

Time to face the music and maybe look into Meg’s idea that this could be an inside job. He didn’t care what kind of credentials people had. Just knowing how his family treated people made Jason believe people were capable of anything.

Chapter 19

Meg wanted nothing more than to spend some time alone with Jason. But by ten thirty, she’d cleaned up the kitchen, helped Molly with her homework, her bath, and her nighttime reading, and she was tired. But Harper was still in the house, and there was no sign that the security problem would be solved any time soon.

The last thing Meg had done before heading to bed was bring them each a steaming mug of coffee.

Now it was the middle of the night and she was lying awake, wondering what was going on downstairs. She hadn’t heard any voices in the last hour and she wondered if his promise this morning, of talking through what they were feeling, was what he really wanted to do or if it was just him coming out of a deep sleep.

Tossing back the covers, Meg intended to find out. She couldn’t keep living like this. Wondering what he felt, what he wanted, was driving her crazy.

Leaving her bedroom, she knew immediately he was still up. A light shone up from the stairway landing, and Jason was always flipping off switches when he came to bed. Heading downstairs, she didn’t know what she would find. Was Harper still there? Were they still doing damage control?

There was a dim light coming from the study, what she’d come to learn was the glow of all the monitors. It was a little eerie, but other than that, there wasn’t a sound.

She poked her head in and saw Jason sound asleep on the couch. He was on his back, one hand dragging on the floor clutching his headset, and there was no sign of Harper. But Jason looked absolutely wiped.

Padding across the room, Meg sat on the edge of the sofa and leaned in. He was so handsome that looking at him made her heart hurt. He had the same boyish qualities he’d had when he was younger—not much of a beard, and the shock of dark hair that wasn’t always easy to control hadn’t changed—but he wasn’t lean and wiry anymore; his body was all man, big, broad, and strong.

“Jason,” she whispered. “You need to come to bed.”

Meg stroked her hand over his face, and he turned into it. “Meg.” He opened his eyes and smiled. “God, I could wake up looking at you for the rest of my life. So beautiful.”

His hand came up and grasped hers, winding his fingers around and bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

“We should get you to bed.”

He sat up, and this time his fingers combed through Meg’s hair. “You were right about the hacker.”

“What? I was?”

“It was someone on the inside. He masked the pathway, but once we started looking we were able to pinpoint the source of the breach.”

“I’m glad. That’s . . . that’s good—”

Her words were cut off by his mouth taking hers in a perfect, sweet kiss.

“Thank you for your help. We were so fixated on an outside attack, we didn’t look for anyone on the inside.” Still touching her face, holding her in place, he smiled. “We never got to talk.”

Meg felt suddenly shy and unnerved by the heat building between them. His smile, his touch, everything about him made her feel a little dizzy. This was beyond desire, beyond controllable. This attraction was going to explode in fifty different ways, and all Meg hoped was that her heart survived, because there was no way for her to resist him. No matter what her brain told her to do, Meg loved him, and she’d do whatever he asked.

His fingers slipped around one of the ribbons on her nightgown, twisted it, and held. “I love these white gowns you wear to bed. You look so pretty and sweet, and all I want to do is open these buttons one at a time . . .” His voice trailed off, and Meg looked down to see he was doing exactly that. Opening the buttons. With each move of his hand, he stroked one breast, then the other, slowly, deliberately driving her crazy until she felt her skin grow cool because he’d pushed the entire top of her nightgown around her waist, holding her arms in place and leaving her open to him.

“Hold still,” he said, dropping his head and taking one of her nipples in his mouth. Meg gasped while he teased and licked, and she tried to catch her breath. The tugging and pulling was causing an ache in her core, and when her eyes locked on his, she saw the mischief. He knew he was driving her insane and he was enjoying it.

Finally, he pulled her into his lap so she was cradled in his arms, and Jason’s hands traveled over her calves and thighs until he finally stroked the bare skin of her bottom. Again, Meg didn’t know how she was going to think coherently, much less respond.

“Jason?” It was all she could manage. “Let’s go upstairs.”

He lifted her without a second thought, and Meg thought about all his contradictions. He was big, physical, and yet at the same time he was a total nerd. Instinctively, Meg wrapped her arms around him, curling against his warm body as he walked with her through the house and up the stairs to their room.

This is where she should have been all along. The years she avoided him, the years she let herself be consumed by anger, were years she spent without him. Instead she searched for someone else, tried to be content, even though she knew she was missing her other half. Meg knew she could live without him, but she’d never love anyone else. Now that she’d decided to embrace their marriage, she cherished it. It seemed he did as well.

***

At a little after five in the morning, Jason crawled back in bed beside Meg and pulled her into his arms. She snuffled a little against his chest and then looked up. “Who was on the phone?”

“The president of Greek Isles Banking.”

“Oh, that couldn’t have been good.”

“It’s not bad, but I have to go to Crete.”

Meg turned on her belly and folded her arms on his chest before resting her chin there. She looked up at him, and he knew she was worried. “Will everything be okay?”

“Yeah. He’s a blowhard, and he’s making me jump through hoops because he feels we didn’t keep our end of the bargain.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t have hired ex-cons to handle one of their secure servers.”

He smiled and loved how she defended him. He’d told her how they’d discovered the head of IT had a criminal record, but since he was related to one of the vice presidents, he’d still been hired. The guy used his talents to give the bank trouble. A lot of it. No money was lost in the attack, and Jason’s software had kept anything truly destructive from happening, but he still had to go to the bank’s head office and make nice.

“I want to talk to you about our arrangement.”

God, he hated how she washed out, expecting the worst. Then again, maybe the thought of staying with him was going to be the real problem.

“What about it?”

Jason took her hands and kissed her. “I don’t want to get divorced.”

Meg lifted her head a little and started to say something, then stopped. She looked stunned. “You don’t?”

“That’s all you have to say?” He brushed her hair away from her face. “I thought you might be a little happier about it.”

“I am, I mean, I . . .” She dropped her head onto his chest and hid her face.

“Meg? What is it?”

“Do you mean it? Really?”

He lifted her head and made her look at him. She was trying to be tough, no tears were falling, but every emotion in the world was swirling around in her eyes. “I mean it. I don’t want to lose you or Molly, and we’re going to get this whole thing settled as soon as I get back.”

Meg sat up and played with her fingers right before she launched herself into his arms. She didn’t say anything, she just held him. He could feel her trust in him, her faith, and there was no better feeling in the world.

***

Jason kissed Meg and Molly good-bye as the car waited in front of the house. It was only a three-day trip, but he wanted to get home as soon as possible so they could get their life, their real life, started.

“I’ll miss you,” he said, kissing Meg again. “Keep the bed warm.”

“I will. Call me if you can. I want to hear how it’s going.”

He nodded and squatted down in front of Molly. “Don’t make Mommy crazy.”

She giggled and threw her arms around his neck. Bringing her lips to his ear, Meg heard her whisper, “I won’t,
Daddy
.”

For the last three months, Jason had been the rock in the relationship, and Meg had been the emotional basket case. But with that one word, Molly took him out at the knees.

Meg had to fight back the misty eyes, but it was Jason who was holding Molly so tightly and who finally broke. Wetness pricked at the corners of his eyes, and she could see the same mixed feeling she’d had when Molly crossed over and called her Mommy. He wanted Molly to feel that security, but right then, Jason was losing part of his sister.

Jason tilted his head back and brushed Molly’s dark hair away from her face. “I love you, Molly girl. Be good, okay?”

“I will.”

He blinked and smiled at both of them before he went to the waiting car. Molly shot off the porch and caught him, pulled him down, and whispered something that she couldn’t hear. Jason dropped his bag and scooped her up into a powerful hug. When they finally broke away from each other, both of them had tears tracking down their faces.

Meg had no idea what was going on.

Molly returned to her side, and they waved at the car together.

“What did you say to him?”

Molly looked up. “That it was okay for me to call him Daddy, ’cause my first daddy said so.”

Meg raised an eyebrow. “He told you?”

“He and Mommy come visit me in my dreams sometimes, and they said it was okay to call you Mommy and okay to call Uncle Jason, Daddy. They don’t want us to be sad anymore.”

“They don’t?” Meg didn’t know how she was not going to be sad. She missed Grace so much, she was sometimes in physical pain.

“No. Do you believe me when I tell you they visit?”

“I believe that you see them in your dreams.” Meg saw Grace and Mark in her own dreams, but obviously she’d never stopped to listen. Not like Molly.

“They will always be with us, and they want us to be happy,” Molly said. “I asked if it was okay if I called you Mommy and Daddy, and they said yes.”

“I’m glad.” Meg was going to have to ask the school psychologist about this, but Molly was doing okay. She had her moments, but she was doing okay.

“Mommy did say Grandmother Alicia was a nut job and we should be careful of her, but that was all.”

Meg laughed and wrapped an arm around her little girl. “Honey, your mother was always a very wise woman.”

Chapter 20

Jason dropped his bag when he walked into his suite and wished he was dropping into his own bed. He’d left New York at nine a.m., and now with the time zone changes it was three a.m. in Crete. He’d slept part of the flight, so rather than going to sleep, he was going to call Meg and Molly, shower, and just stay up until it was time for his meetings. Once that was done, he could hop on his jet and head back home.

Molly’s words were on an endless loop in his head. “They said it was okay,” she’d told him. He had no idea if it was just her subconscious talking or not, but it meant everything to him.

Did children really see angels? Jason didn’t know, but it did make him wonder if Grace had a hand in helping him understand what was important in his own life, if she had a hand bringing him back together with Meg.

And
thinking about his sister made him miss her even more, but he’d finally figured out that the best way to honor her memory was to live the kind of life she’d respect. It meant he had to stop being a self-centered ass and stop blaming every personal misstep on the fact that he worked too much. He’d told Meg he didn’t want a divorce, but now he had to make sure she knew he was in this. He wasn’t looking for a convenient wife or great sex, he wanted everything. Every up and down, every crisis, every triumph. He wanted children, their children, so Molly would have lots of little brothers and sisters to boss around.

But more than anything, he wanted Meg. She was his soul mate, his best friend, the one who knew him and loved him anyway, no matter what.

Jason didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her. He checked his cell and found the signal nonexistent, so he opened his laptop and figured he’d send her an e-mail and call tomorrow when he was in the middle of the city. He knew she’d check her phone a few times before she went to bed, so the message would get there.

But what did he want it to say?

I love you? I need you?

All Jason knew for sure was that life without Meg would be emptier, colder, and a lot less fun. He didn’t want to go back to who he was before they were married, and that meant he had to make sure Meg knew how he felt.

He was going to have to man up and admit every weakness, every vulnerability, and pray she was willing to be with him in spite of it all.

***

Meg settled herself into the desk chair in Jason’s office and turned on the computer. She keyed in the password he’d left her. There was something stupidly comforting about being in his space; using his computer meant he trusted her. He let her into his world.

The browser opened with a click, and she fiddled around on Facebook before she checked her e-mail and was relieved to see something from Jason. He’d warned her that his cell signal was spotty at his hotel and he might not be able to call, but as promised, he got a message to her.

His flight was long, and he was tired. And he missed them. Meg passed a hand over the screen and longed to have him home, longed to touch him.

Their bed would be cold tonight. Jason threw off the most amazing warmth, and Meg had grown accustomed to having his big body folded around hers. When he did that, peace settled over her and she found a sleep like she’d never known.

Meg couldn’t quite believe that after all this time, all the stops and starts, the mistakes of their youth, the drama, the loss and the incredible hurt, they had found their way here.

Her response was short because everything she wanted to say couldn’t fit in an e-mail.

Closing the browser, she saw there were files open in the tray along the bottom of the screen, and one had a very strange title.
Poole termination.

Knowing she shouldn’t, Meg clicked on the document. Sure enough, Jason was composing Harper’s termination letter. Meg almost felt bad for Harper. She was in an impossible situation, wanting to be able to control Jason and his life, but not having the right to do so.

Jason could be flaky, there was no doubt, but when the chips were down, he got things done. Meg knew part of the firing was about her, even if it wasn’t stated outright, but that all stemmed back to Harper’s control issues. Meg was a variable in Jason’s life that Harper couldn’t control, which was why there were problems.

But did Harper deserve to be let go? Meg wasn’t so sure.

And that Meg was willing to give Harper the benefit of the doubt proved she was sure about Jason and his feelings. There was no insecurity, no doubt anymore. It was glorious.

She minimized the letter again and had to think about whether or not she’d say anything. She didn’t want to interfere with his business, and she appreciated that the reasons for letting Harper go could be totally unrelated to her, but her intuition said they weren't.

Meg logged out and turned off the monitor, but stayed sitting in his chair, looking at the frames he had situated on his desk. For someone who said business was all he thought about, Jason had an awful lot of pictures of people on display. There were pictures of him and his siblings when they were children. Pictures of Grace, Mark, and Molly. A picture of Jason with Owen and Nate playing pond hockey. The picture she gave him was there, as well as several shots from their wedding, including a portrait of her alone.

Her portrait was the largest.

All of these could have been explained away as part of their cover story, but there was one picture that didn’t need to be there, and its presence reached right in and touched Meg’s heart.

It was from Halloween, right before they’d left her mother’s to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood. Jason had handed his phone to her mother to snap a shot of the three of them before they headed off.

It was a family moment, and what struck her about it was how happy they looked. They were a family. A happy family.

It was real.

***

“Mommy?” Molly climbed up on one of the stools at the kitchen island.

“Yes?” Meg was flipping through the newspaper on her iPad while she ate her cereal. They had to leave for work and school in an hour, and breakfast was a time when she and Molly got to catch up. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“I don’t know. What kind of breakfast do they serve in jail?”

Meg froze with a mouthful of Cheerios. “Excuse me? Jail?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Molly, why would you ask such a thing?”

“Because of the police car out front.”

“Police car?”

Just as she said it, the doorbell rang, and Meg’s stomach sank. Had there been an accident? A crash? Horrible scenarios played through her head. Scenarios that included everyone she loved, including Jason.

When she got to the door and opened it, the person she encountered was Jason’s mother. Standing behind her was a county sheriff’s deputy and a young, attractive woman who could have been one of Meg’s colleagues, based on how she was dressed.

“Mrs. Campbell? What are you doing here? It’s barely seven thirty.”

“I’m here for my granddaughter.”

“Molly has to go to school, but I’ll bring her over later if you’d like.” What the hell was going on? Then things started to click as Meg took in the whole scene. The woman was carrying a folder that was embossed with the seal of the county family court.

Family court. Sheriff. Wicked mother-in-law.
Oh. shit.

Meg took Molly by the shoulder and gently shifted her so she wasn’t right near the door. The sheriff took a step, and Meg stepped back.

“No.” She started shaking her head violently. “No, you can’t take her.”

“Mommy?”

“Mommy?”
Mrs. Campbell said. “She’s not your mother, Molly. Not even close.”

“Ma’am,” the sheriff said. “We have an order executed by the family court that the child is to be removed from the home into the custody of her grandparents until such time that the court decides on a permanent placement.”

The young woman stepped forward and handed Meg a stack of papers, and Meg could barely hold on because everything in her was shaking. She was fighting off a wave so icy cold, she was shivering from the fear. They were taking Molly. Taking her, and Meg didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to be safe with Jason in this house, but they were taking her baby, and Meg couldn’t do anything but scream.

“NO! NO! You can’t take her. You can’t! Why would you take her? My husband—”

Meg was cut off by the snide response of her mother-in-law. “Your husband isn’t here. He’s out of the country. But just like the past, Meg, when you thought he was yours, he stayed loyal to his family.”

“No, he wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t.”

His mother tapped the folder. “He signed one of the documents. It’s right in there.”

Meg didn’t even have time to process Jason’s betrayal before the sheriff pushed her aside and took Molly by the hand. “NOOOOOOO!” the little girl screamed, and when she fought him too much, the deputy picked Molly up and carried her to the car.

“Noooo, Mommy! NO! I don’t want to go. Mommy!!! No, let go of me! Mommmmmy, M-m-o-ommy.” Her sobs were only drowned out by Meg’s as she followed the sheriff and Molly to the car.

“Molly, oh, no,
please
. Don’t do this. Molly.” The court worker sat with Molly in the back of the sheriff’s car, and the deputy held Meg back. Molly was still screaming and lunging for the closed window. Once he let her go, Meg pressed a trembling hand to the glass. The sobs were choking her. She couldn’t cry, couldn’t scream; everything was bottled up inside, and before she could do anything the sheriff’s car pulled away.

Chasing it about halfway down the driveway, Meg stumbled and landed on her knees, crumbling onto the pavement. She let out a howl of pain that sent the birds scattering from the trees.

Unable to stand, she stayed on her knees in the cold driveway until a pair of designer shoes appeared in front of her.

“You were never going to win,” Alicia Campbell said. “The marriage is a sham. Everyone knows it, and we petitioned the court to grant us custody based on your fraudulent adoption application.”

“It’s not a sham. It’s not. We love her, and we’re going to be a family.”

“No, Megan. Jason never had any intention of making this permanent. You should know by now he can’t be trusted. Look what he did to you last time. Did you really think he would change?”

Meg was sobbing now, freezing, and still on the ground. She wanted to turn on her side and curl into a ball. The pain of losing Molly and hearing that Jason knew about this was killing her. If she couldn’t have them, she’d just as soon curl up and freeze right here.

“Learn your place, Megan. You’ll never win against us. Never. I wouldn’t stand for it.”

***

Meg didn’t know how long she was curled up in the driveway when she heard another car pull in. She slowly realized she was still clutching the court documents that remanded Molly to the Campbells’ care, unable to believe this was happening to her. “Why? Why did they do this?”

“Meg? Oh, my God. Meg, what happened?”

It took Meg a second to realize the voice belonged to Harper.

“Are you hurt? Meg, say something!” Harper looped her arm around Meg and helped her sit. The cold took hold and Meg started to shiver, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. “God, you’re freezing. Let’s get you inside.”

“They took Molly.”

“What? Who? Who took her? Was she kidnapped?”

Meg shook her head and held out the court papers. Her hand was shaking, but it didn’t take Harper long to read the first document and see what had happened. “Son of a bitch. Oh, no.”

Meg still hadn’t moved. She was bone tired, shivering, and had nothing left. Nothing that mattered.

“Come on.” Harper grabbed her under the elbow and got her to her feet, wrapping her arm around her as they walked to the house. “You need to warm up, and I have to mobilize the troops.”

“She said she knew our marriage was a fake and they told the court the adoption was a scam. But it’s not, Harper. It’s not. We want to be a family.”

Harper nodded as she moved her through the house to Jason’s office. “I know, Meg.”

“Mrs. Campbell said Jason knew this was going to happen, that he . . . he . . .” Tears started to choke her as she dropped into a large chair. “He wouldn’t do this. Why would she say he would? He wouldn’t.”

“Not a chance.”

***

An hour later, Meg was sipping hot tea that Harper was forcing her to drink, and she was feeling warmer, but not any more hopeful. “They always win, don’t they?”

Harper was sitting at Jason’s desk, working on her laptop. She turned and pushed her hair behind her ear and then moved herself next to Meg.

“People like the Campbells don’t care about anyone. I’ve known a lot of people like them, and they don’t care who they hurt as long as they come out on top.”

“They said Jason knew what they were doing. That he betrayed me once and he was doing it again.”

“I don’t believe that. And I hope you don’t, either.”

Meg shook her head. “No. Have you talked to him?” Harper glanced away and pressed her lips together. Meg had a pretty good idea that she hadn’t. “Has he ever been out of contact like this?”

“Yes,” Harper said. “The last time he was on Crete. Look, this has got to be killing you. I know his itinerary had him with several members of the bank’s board of directors for a dinner cruise on the chairman’s yacht. Then he’s supposed to get some sleep and leave there at five in the morning their time.”

Meg drew a breath. “That’s ten o’clock tonight.”

“I know. He won’t be here until about noon tomorrow.” Meg dropped her head and tried to keep the tears at bay. She didn’t know what Jason would do if he were here, but she just wanted to talk to him. Just needed him to hold her.

Harper stood and came to where Meg was sitting. “I don’t believe for one second he betrayed you. I looked at all the documents, and the one with his signature looks funny to me. Our attorneys have mounted a challenge, and we’re all calling everyone we can.”

Meg nodded, acknowledging what Harper was saying, but all she could think about was the way Molly was taken from her. “I want Molly home,” Meg said. “I keep hearing her screams, and it’s awful.”