The Temporary Wife (2 page)

Moving through the grieving process was different when you were helping someone else through it, too.

“Meg, you know we’ll all do what we can. Mom, Kevin, and I will help you through this.”

Meg nodded. She was thankful she had her family. Her brother played professional baseball and lived across the country, but she knew when he heard about this he’d be back here with a Louisville Slugger in hand to crack heads. He’d also be the one she’d ask to hire a lawyer.

But none of this solved the problem she had with her life. She was a teacher who didn’t make the kind of money she needed to fight the Campbells and their lawyers, and she wasn’t married, something that was going to be a factor in any argument in court. If she’d been related to the Campbells it might be different, but she wasn’t. Things hadn’t changed. She was still the house manager’s daughter, nothing more.

Mr. Campbell had once said that Meg should “learn her place.” Yeah, nothing had changed. That family was still trying to put her in her place.

Chapter 2

Meg curled into the corner of her couch and sipped the hot chocolate her sister made before she left. It was a comfort to have had someone else in the house. Someone to talk to. They’d watched some ridiculous reality TV and shared some gossip. It was a perfect way to get her mind off her problems. But now that Caroline had gone, Meg couldn’t stop thinking about Molly and the Campbells.

What was she going to do? How was she going to fight them?

Meg looked toward the front window and noticed headlights shining in the driveway. “What now?” It couldn’t be another round of legal papers so soon, could it?

She saw the shadow of a tall man walking toward the front door and up the steps. And when she flicked on the front porch light, her stomach dropped.

Through the window she saw the marine blue eyes of Jason Campbell staring back at her. Meg turned away and pressed her back into the door, feeling the burn in her stomach creep up into her throat. Oh. My. God. Jason? Why was he here? Grace said he and his parents didn’t speak. Could he really have taken their side in this nightmare?

This wasn’t fair. She could have handled another lawyer, but not Jason. Why was it that just when she was starting to relax a little, even if it was for just a few minutes, something forced her to face that she might lose Molly? And now she had to face the guy she never quite forgot.

The one who had crushed her.

Meg steadied herself and grasped the doorknob. She could do this. She just had to stay calm. Not let him affect her.

Right.

Taking a deep breath, she yanked open the door and exhaled just as quickly. Her reaction to Jason was the same as it had been when she was sixteen. Her pulse picked up, her knees went a little soft, and heat crept into her cheeks.
Crap.

But this wasn’t the skinny teen who’d been her first love. Tall and broad-shouldered now, he’d filled out. Nicely. And even though he was thirty-two, there was a boyishness about him, with his tousled nut-brown hair and a nervous grin that revealed a few crinkles around his eyes.

God, he’d gotten more handsome.

He was still that cute nerd, but better. Deep inside, her heart gave her a nudge, reminding her of how much he used to mean to her, how much they’d shared. Conversely, Meg’s brain reminded her that he’d devastated her with his betrayal all those years ago.

And now he was going to help his family take Molly away from her.

This wasn’t going to be an easy visit on so many levels.

“What are you doing here?” she finally asked him.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and his eyes darted around the foyer, and Meg felt comforted when she realized he was as nervous as she was. God knew why. He held all the cards.

“I want to talk about Molly.”

The knot that formed in her stomach burned, and her nerves frayed even further. This wasn’t a good thing. He was a Campbell, and even though she knew the family wasn’t close, she didn’t trust any of them. Time to get him out of here. “If there’s to be any discussion, you’ll have to call my lawyer.”

When she started to close the door, Jason caught it and pushed it open. “You don’t have a lawyer, and you’re in trouble.”

“I . . . I’m hiring one. I don’t want to talk about this with you.” She looked away because the same rush of emotions that had her crying before were threatening again and she couldn’t let him see her cry. The last time Jason saw her cry, she had been sixteen and he’d just broken her heart.

“Okay, but what if I could help?”

“How could you possibly help? It’s your family that’s causing the problem.”

“I have a plan. It’s a little crazy, but try to keep an open mind.”

“Jason, I really wish you’d go.”
No tears, no tears.

“Not until you hear me out.”

“Please go.”
Oh, shit. She was going to cry.
“I don’t want your help. Your family has done enough.”

“Meg . . .”

The tears tracked over her cheeks and her voice became low and soft. If he wouldn’t listen, she’d beg. She wasn’t beneath begging. “Please, please leave. I can’t get into this with you.”

“You don’t really have a choice. Either you listen to me or my parents will take Molly, and I don’t want that any more than you do.”

***

Meg snapped her head back and looked up into Jason’s eyes. That had gotten her attention. Maybe he could reason with her now. She was staring at him, every emotion was right there, just like always, cutting through him. Ever since they were kids and he defended her from a playground bully, Jason had always been proprietary and protective where she was concerned, and he guessed if he dug deep enough Meg was a big part of the reason he felt the need to get involved in the situation with Molly.

He’d gone through all the angles, and what he was about to propose was the only solution. But looking at Meg, seeing her feeling so scared and helpless, the only thing he wanted to do was hold her. The algorithms he was running in his head kept his libido in check, because even in baggy sweats and with a runny nose, Meg exuded more sex appeal than a supermodel, but nothing could squelch the primitive urge he had to comfort her.

She’d always been a pretty girl—blond, petite—but since the last time he saw her, at his sister’s wedding, Meg had gone from girl-next-door pretty to knockout gorgeous. Still small—she was maybe five-two—every inch of her was now soft and curvy. Her long blond hair was pulled into an off-kilter ponytail, and her eyes . . . they were as green as he remembered, but the sadness, the tears, made Jason even angrier about what was happening.

He knew what he had to do, but looking at her, he didn’t know if he’d be able to pull this off without a lot of collateral damage.

“Did you talk to your parents?” she whispered. “Maybe you can convince them.”

He saw how broken she was by this already, and he knew he couldn’t let it go on. He could fix this. He was probably the only one who could. “I tried. They’re not budging. They want Molly with them and they’re pulling out all the stops to do it.”

“I’ll fight back. I’ll figure out a way . . .”

“You can’t fight back on your own.” Jason raked his fingers through his hair. “You need me.”

“No,” she said firmly. “I
don’t
need you.”

“Be reasonable. You do need me, and I have an idea.”

There was something in Meg’s eyes when she heard him say he had an idea . . . hope maybe? But it was shadowed by the suspicion he knew she felt toward him. He deserved all of it, and more; the trust wasn’t going to come easy.

“What’s your idea?” she asked.

This was it. He had to tell her straight out what he wanted to do, and then hope her reaction wasn’t to throw him right out of her house. “We need to get married.”

Chapter 3

Jason wandered into the empty classroom and looked at the miniaturized world of Megan Rossi. There were tiny desks and chairs. The sink was low, the cupboards were low, and there were reminders everywhere that children occupied the space. In the corner there was a rug and a big armchair that he assumed was used for story time. In the opposite corner was the teacher’s desk. It was piled high with papers, books, and art supplies, and there were a few photos tucked inside a desk blotter. There were pictures of Meg with her siblings, and he remembered good times they all had growing up together. He glanced at one photo of Meg and a big blond guy with a blocky head and no neck. He had one arm around her shoulder, and they looked like they were at a barbecue. Nothing strange or unusual, just people getting together. Normal. Something he didn’t do often enough in his overchoreographed life. He thought about it; this was probably the first time in months he’d been out of his office during the day. That couldn’t be a good thing.

Jason wondered about the guy in the photo. Was it her boyfriend? Was it serious? He was freaking huge and hopefully the guy didn’t have a temper.

He felt strange being there, like he was invading her privacy, but this couldn’t wait. He needed to talk to her. After she turned his proposal down flat the other night, he had to find a way to convince her that getting married was the only solution to the problem of Molly’s custody.

Considering their past, it was a pretty crazy idea. Hell, the last thing he wanted to do was get married; he liked his life the way it was. But even though their history wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, it was a sound idea, and one that could keep his parents from pulling Molly into their ugly little world.

It was only for a year. Surely they could tolerate each other for a year. He’d already had his lawyer draw up the prenup, and it would give Meg everything she needed to keep his parents from petitioning for custody again when they separated. Then they could both move on with their lives and Jason could relax knowing his sister’s wishes had been honored.

He heard Meg’s voice come from an open door on the far side of the room. “Where are those markers?” she said, talking to herself.

Then something crashed to the ground and he couldn’t get back there fast enough. When he rushed through the door of what was a very large closet, he was faced with the finest ass he had ever seen. She was packed into a slim skirt that hugged every glorious curve. The woman was built like a dream.

Of course, she also seemed to have a death wish, because she was wearing a pair of ridiculously high heels and now stood on a chair, on her toes, reaching for something on the top shelf. What kind of kindergarten teacher dressed like she did? He looked around and saw a box of crayons scattered on the floor, while Meg pitched herself forward, trying to get her hand around another box. Before he could offer to help, she made a furious attempt to grab what she was going for, and that’s when momentum took over.

The final lunge forward caused an equal tilt back. Her arms windmilled for balance, and her feet slid on the chair. Seeing that Meg was headed for a crash landing, Jason moved quickly and stepped behind her. She squealed as she started to fall, but before it could develop into a full-blown scream, she landed neatly in his arms.

Her face was pure panic as she recovered from the fall and looked at him. Her breathing caught and her eyes grew wide. Jason smiled, simply because she was so pretty and she felt so damned good in his arms. Okay, maybe he could get used to this.

“Oh, my God,” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you, it seems. What were you thinking, climbing up there? You have zero balance.” He’d forgotten that Meg was the most accident-prone person he’d ever met. She’d trip over her own feet if she didn’t watch where she was going.

“I do so have balance,” she blurted out.

He raised an eyebrow and had no trouble calling her bluff. He’d known her too long not to. “Seriously?”

“You don’t have to pick on me.” She swatted his arm. “Put me down.”

He let her down, and she was a little unsteady on her feet, so he kept his arm around her shoulders. “Maybe if you stopped walking around on those stilts, you could stand up better.”

He looked at her feet as she admired her shoes. They were hot shoes, but she was going to break her neck if she kept wearing them.

“It doesn’t matter what I wear.” She shrugged. “I fall anyway.”

Jason grabbed the box from the shelf and followed her back into the classroom. When she wasn’t stumbling, Megan moved like a runway model, fluid and graceful, but remembering what he’d just seen, he reminded himself the woman was a five-car collision waiting to happen. “Where do you want this?”

“That table is fine.” She motioned to a crescent-shaped table that was surrounded by little chairs on one side and had an adult desk chair on the other. He put the box down, turned to face her, and found she had backed herself against her desk.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

“I’m hoping you’ll listen to reason.”

The oath she muttered under her breath was a little strong for kindergarten-land, and Jason almost laughed when she walked over to the table and unpacked box after box of markers. The anger was just sizzling, and she was damn cute when she was mad. “I’m not getting into this with you. Your idea is ridiculous.”

“Why is it ridiculous? You need help keeping my parents in check, and I can help you.”

“Getting married is not help, Jason. It’s absurd. No one will believe for one minute that it’s legitimate.”

“Why not? We could make up a cover story. It would give you everything you need to keep my parents from getting custody of Molly.”

“Why this sudden interest in me and Molly? Why do you care?”

He took a step toward her, and then another. Crowding her was a deliberate attempt to make her uncomfortable and intimidate her, but when Meg folded her arms and gave him a look that could have frozen fire, Jason stopped with the game. “I don’t want my parents messing with Grace’s will. She didn’t want my parents in Molly’s life all that much when she was alive, and she wouldn’t want them to have a hand in raising her. This isn’t about you or me. It’s about my sister and my niece.”

Meg looked away and then straightened her back before looking him right in the eyes.

“Okay. But marriage? They’ll have their lawyers all over that. Everyone knows we can’t stand each other.”

Jason felt a twinge of anger at the comment. “I don’t have a problem with you.”

“Oh, well . . .” Meg fumbled with her words, and when she took a step away from him, her heels betrayed her once again and she stumbled. Fortunately for her, Jason caught her before she hit the deck. Although after that comment, he almost would have enjoyed watching her land right on that glorious ass of hers.

“I think,” he said, “that you like me just fine, but you’re still hurt.”
Just like me.
“We broke up, what? Fourteen years ago?”

Meg pushed away from him and tugged at her top. “Something like that.”

“And you don’t want anything to do with me?”

“I don’t particularly care for you, no.”

“Well, that actually makes this perfect.” He had to find a bright spot here. Maybe this was it. “If you don’t like me, it will be easier to separate once we decide my parents have been sufficiently reined in.”

“This has disaster written all over it. There has to be another way.”

Meg went to the classroom door, poked her head out, and glanced around. Almost as if she was looking to see if anyone was listening. “I’d have to explain things to my family. My mother and sister won’t understand, and forget my brother. I have a boyfriend, and none of my friends will buy what’s happened. I don’t see how this could work.”

“We’ll have to sell it. Make people believe that since Grace died, we’ve taken comfort in each other.” He stepped closer and took up a golden lock of her hair and let it slide between his fingers. “That our grief brought us back together and . . .” He leaned in and locked his eyes on hers.

She sighed.

“That we fell in love.”

Meg swallowed hard, and Jason stopped himself before he went the final inch and took her mouth with his own.
Jesus.

Both of them stepped back at the same time, and Jason shook off the lust racing through him. Even as he realized how hard this was going to be, he still believed marrying her was the right thing to do. The necessary thing to do.

“I can’t,” she said, her breaths coming in fits and starts. “I talked to Kevin. He said he’d get me the best attorney. There’s no reason to go through with this.”

He was sure the last person her brother, Kevin, wanted her married to was him. They were the same age and had been good friends until Meg and Jason broke up. And if it had just been a breakup, everyone would have weathered the storm okay, but when Jason’s father got involved, painting Meg as a gold-digging slut, everyone went crazy. Hell,
he
went crazy.

The Rossis packed and moved off the estate, and Jason didn’t see Meg for years. He saw her when his sister married, and then again the other night, but that was all. He would have seen her at Grace’s funeral if he hadn’t been stranded halfway around the world. He still hadn’t forgiven himself for not being there. He didn’t know if he ever would. So maybe protecting Meg, and making sure Molly was secure, was a way for him to make up for being the absentee brother. Maybe it was a way for him to make things up to Meg, as well.

He had to convince her.

“Kevin’s intentions are good, Meg, but you’re going to need more than a defense. You have to show them Molly will have a stable family.”

“How is it stable if it’s a lie? How is it stable if
you’re
there?”

“Meg, you know I’m right.”

“You can’t be right. I can’t just give up my whole life—”

“We have to. For a little while.
For Grace.
”

He knew Meg would do anything for Grace and that bringing his sister into this argument wasn’t fair, but he had to convince her. Mentioning Grace seemed to do it.

When Meg looked up, her green eyes shimmering, her expression resigned, he knew it would be okay. She nodded and then turned, tripping just a little on the edge of the alphabet rug on the floor and Jason felt himself smile.

“I’ll come by your house later and we can talk this through,” he said.

“Okay. We’re having pizza for dinner. You might as well come then. You can spend some time with Molly.”

“Oh, ah, all right. Can I bring anything?”

“No.” Meg shook her head. “We’ll eat about six.”

She’d regrouped, steeling herself against the emotions he knew had to be swirling through her.

But before he turned to leave, to leave this world of children and get back to work, he looked once more into her eyes, and actually thought about what Meg must have been going through. She’d lost her best friend, was raising a child, and now had to face losing the life she’d built for herself. Even if it was temporary, she must be resentful. Things his family had done had wreaked havoc on the Rossi family in the past, and now, once again, her family was taking a hit for his.

***

“Molly, come here and let me do your hair.”

Jason was due at the house in ten minutes, and she’d just gotten Molly out of her post–soccer practice bath. Of course, the little girl wasn’t interested in doing anything but chasing the cat.

And Moe Kitty wasn’t interested in being caught.

“Why doesn’t Moe want to be friends?” Molly asked, shuffling into the room.

Meg wanted to tell her it was because cats were assholes, kind of like men. They were cute and warm and would cuddle, but they did it on their terms. If they wanted to be left alone, they’d run like hell.

“Sit still for a second while I braid your hair. Your uncle will be here soon.”

Meg started working Molly’s long dark hair into a pretty French braid. She was fidgeting, and every noise had the child craning her neck for the cat, but eventually Meg secured the elastic and let her young charge go cat hunting again.

In the eight months that Molly had been living here, Meg had learned a lot. Mostly that her very predictable life was no longer predictable. She was at the mercy of another person, and it required more than a little patience, especially since Molly was going through some major adjustments. Not that Meg would do anything differently. Taking care of Grace’s daughter was a gift, a way to keep her friend with her forever.

Meg walked to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water and listened to Molly sing along with one of her favorite videos. Jason was going to be here in a few minutes, and then she’d have to face yet another change in her life.

There had to be another way. Marrying seemed extreme, but part of her, a very small part, welcomed the idea of having someone else to share this new responsibility. She’d never say that aloud, of course, never give anyone that kind of ammunition, but she now had a new respect for single parents.

This job was not for sissies.

Meg glanced out the kitchen window and saw Jason’s Mercedes pull into the driveway. Right on time. That hadn’t changed; Jason planned and scheduled everything, which was what made the proposal so out of left field. There was desperation attached to a move like this, and Jason never acted out of desperation. Even when they were kids, every move he made, whether he was playing hide-and-seek or capture the flag or taking her to bed for the first time, was carefully controlled.

And that made her wonder what he knew. Was the situation worse than she thought?

She moved toward the door before he even rang the bell, partly because she didn’t want Molly throwing it open without her there and partly because she was anxious. Anxious to hear what he had to say about how they were supposed to sell this sham of a marriage to people and, she had to admit, anxious to see him. Meg had been head over heels for Jason when she was sixteen, but even if he did still make her girly parts sing, she had to keep her guard up. There was some serious chemistry between them, that hadn’t changed, but she didn’t know if she could ever trust him.