Married by Contract (7 page)

It turned out it didn’t matter because there was a knock on
the office door.

“I’m sorry,” Mary said, after waiting for Jenn to tell her
to come in. “I’ve been taking messages on all your calls while you were at
lunch, but there’s a call that sounds personal, so I wanted to check to see if
you wanted to take it.”

“Who is it?”

“A Jack Watson.”

Nick stepped back with a frown, finally dropping her hand.

“Jack?” Jenn said, so surprised her voice broke. “Seriously?
Yes, I’ll take it.”

She turned to Nick. “You remember Jack, don’t you? From back
home?”

“Yes, I remember Jack.” His voice wasn’t particularly
excited.

“Didn’t you like him?” Jenn asked. “I thought everyone liked
Jack.”

“I remember
you
certainly liked him. You followed him
around like you were a puppy.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” There might have been a little truth
to the words, though. Jack had been four years older than her, and she’d had a
huge crush on him for a couple of years. “I’ve talked to him on and off over
the years, but not for a long time. I wonder what he wants.”

“You better pick up the call and find out.” Nick’s eyes had
narrowed on the blinking light on her phone.

“I am.” She smiled at him. “Thanks so much for lunch. I had
a good time.”

“Take your call.”

Jenn frowned at his tone, but she reached to pick up the
handset. She expected Nick to leave then, but he didn’t.

He stood beside her desk while she talked to Jack, who
wanted to get together to catch up. They made plans to have lunch on Friday,
and Jenn was smiling as she hung up.

“He does know you’re married, right?” Nick asked.

Jenn had been in a good mood, but now she scowled at him.
“Of course he does.”

“Then why is he asking you out on a date?”

“It’s not a date! It’s lunch. You can come too if you want.”
She mostly said it to get him off her back and to stop acting so territorial.

It was just like a man, getting riled up at any perceived
encroachment, even on a fake marriage.

“Okay,” Nick said. “Maybe I will.”

On Friday, Jenn walked into a cute
little café at three minutes until noon.

A big man with an easy smile and a cleft in his chin stood
up as she entered.

“Jack!” she said, walking over to hug him. “It’s so good to
see you!”

Jack Watson had been the high school football star of their
small hometown, and he still had the large build and broad shoulders. He was
dressed casually in khakis and a crew-neck shirt, but Jenn recognized that his
shoes and his watch were expensive, so he must be making pretty good money in
the sporting goods franchise he’d inherited from his father.

When she pulled out of the hug, she looked around. “Is Nick
here yet?”

“I haven’t seen him.” Jack grinned and glanced at the door
to the restaurant. “Do you want to tell me why he’s joining us for lunch?”

“We’re married,” she admitted, giving him a slightly
sheepish look. “Hadn’t you heard?”

“I had heard, and I thought it was the strangest thing. He
doesn’t seem like your type at all. How did the two of you hook up?”

Despite what Nick had implied, it was clear to Jenn that
Jack wasn’t remotely interested in her romantically. His gaze was friendly but
not overly warm. It was the same look he gave everyone he liked. Plus, he’d
always been a decent guy, and he’d never come on to a married woman. “It just
kind of happened,” Jenn said, purposefully keeping the answer vague. “Let’s go
get a table, and he can join us when he gets here.”

 The hostess showed them to a table, and Jenn asked Jack how
his mother was and how his business was going. She was telling him about her
own company when their server came over and asked a second time if they were
ready to order. Glancing at her watch, Jenn realized it was already twenty
after noon. “Nick is really late,” she murmured. “Maybe we should go ahead and
order.”

After she’d ordered a salad and Jack ordered a sandwich and
fries, Jenn pulled out her phone to check that she hadn’t missed a message from
Nick. While he wasn’t as ultra-punctual as she was, he usually got places
within a reasonable window of time.

She hoped he was all right.

She was just about to worry when Jack said, “There is he,
looking like he just rolled out of bed.”

Jenn turned to see him approach. He did look rather worse
for wear. He needed to shave and his clothes were wrinkled. He hadn’t slept in,
though. She’d seen him getting coffee as she’d been leaving for work that
morning.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, when he sat down with
a distracted smile, after shaking Jack’s hand.

“Yeah.” He gave a dismissive shrug. “Just work stuff.”

She was about to follow up when he gave her a quick look
that told her not ask anymore right now. Despite the questions in her mind, she
made herself relax. “Jack was just telling me about his business. They’ve
opened up six new stores and moved the headquarters to here in Minneapolis. Did
you hear about that?”

“No, I hadn’t. Good for you.”

Jenn thought Nick could have sounded a bit more sincere in
his response, but maybe he was still distracted by whatever work thing had been
going on.

“And you’re a private detective?” Jack asked, although he
obviously already knew this was true. “How’s that going?”

“Fine. Nothing flashy or impressive, but it’s work.”

Jenn frowned. “It’s great,” she corrected. “You do really
good work.” She turned back to Jack. “He’s been looking for a missing teenage
girl lately. She ran away from home, and her parents are trying to find her.”

“That’s got to be tough. You think she’s still in the area?”

“I don’t know.” Nick took a sip of water and cleared his
throat, looking relieved when the server came over to take his order too.

When the server had left the table, Nick turned to Jack. “So
why did you call Jenn up for lunch?”

“Nick,” Jenn admonished softly, increasingly worried that
something was really bothering him. He wasn’t always an easy talker, but he was
usually polite and friendly.

Jack just laughed. “I didn’t have any ulterior motives, if
that’s what you’re thinking. I’m not sure Jenn’s baby clothes would work in my
stores.”

It had never occurred to Jenn that Jack would be thinking
about their doing business together. As he said, there wasn’t any potential
crossover. “Not unless I decided to design baby football jerseys and
swimsuits,” she said with a smile. “If I’d thought it could have worked, I’d
have come to you a long time ago.”

“I was just back home,” Jack said, answering the question
Nick had asked earlier. “And it made me think about old friends. Since I knew
you were in the city, I called you up.”

Jenn reached over to pat his forearm. “I’m glad you did. How
were things at home?”

“About that same.”

“I’m so glad your mom is doing well.”

Jack’s face sobered slightly. “She’s getting older, but
she’s still out in the garden or on the tennis court every day.”

“Good for her.”

“I saw your folks, when I was there,” Jack said, nodding
toward Nick.

When Nick didn’t respond immediately, Jenn filled in the
gap. “Did you? We need to get out there to see them soon.”

She said this because it sounded like something a wife might
say about her in-laws. Never once had she and Nick gone to visit his parents
together, and he hadn’t brought it up again after she’d offered last week.

“My mom said your folks were selling their house. That’s too
bad. I love that old house.”

Nick just looked at him, his expression stoic, which wasn’t
at all like him. Jenn had no idea whether he’d already known this or not.
She
certainly hadn’t known it.

Jenn felt uncomfortable by this conversation, but she knew
what was bothering Nick right now. It felt like Jack knew more about his
parents than he did, and that would really get to him, considering his issues.
Wanting to smooth it over and move on, she murmured, “Yeah, but it’s a really
big piece of property to keep up. Is your mom still living in the same house?”

That effectively turned the conversation, and they talked
about casual topics connected to their hometown and jobs for the rest of lunch.

Rather, Jenn and Jack talked. Nick didn’t say much of
anything.

Nick got a call as they were finishing up, so he stepped
outside the café to pick it up. Jenn watched him, unable to smother that
flicker of concern. He wasn’t acting at all like himself. She wondered why he’d
even come.

“So what’s going on with you two?” Jack asked, his tone
still casual and slightly amused.

Jenn widened her eyes as she met his gaze. “What do you mean?
We’re married.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like any marriage I’ve ever seen.” Jack
shook his head and smiled. “I’m not as clueless as I might look. Why does he
think I’m going to swoop in and steal you away?”

“He doesn’t—” She broke off because she wasn’t entirely sure
he didn’t think something similar. “It’s not like that.”

“Are you two having problems?”

“No. No, nothing like that.”

“Well, I’ve never seen a husband be so unsure of his wife.
If this really is a normal marriage, you might want to talk to him about it.”

Jenn couldn’t tell Jack the truth—that this wasn’t a normal
marriage, and the only thing either of them could be sure of was that they’d
hold to the terms of their five-year contract. She tried to brush off the
comment. “He’s just in a mood today. Things are fine between us.”

“If you say so. But you’re too great to be stuck in a
half-assed marriage. He didn’t marry you for the money, did he?”

“No!” Jenn moderated her tone. “No, of course not.” Part of
her was aware that this wasn’t entirely true, but she ignored it.

“Well, you might want to talk to him. The vibes he was
giving off today didn’t feel entirely satisfied.”

It was the sex that had complicated things between them,
Jenn realized. Things had been perfectly easy and simple before they’d started
having sex. Things had definitely gotten weird if even Jack had picked up on
the undercurrents.

Both she and Nick were both reasonable adults, however. They
could work things out in a way that both of them would be content with. She was
going to talk to him as soon as they were alone.

“Stop putting your nose into what doesn’t concern you,” she
told him bluntly. “Or I’ll start to ask you about your own love life.”

“That’s easy. I don’t have one at present.”

“I don’t believe that for one minute. You’re saying there’s
really no one?” She peered at his face and saw a flicker of something. “Ah ha!
There is someone. Who is she?”

“She’s no one. She lives next door, but she’s not remotely
interested in me. So, like I said, there’s no one.”

Jenn kind of liked that Jack was so willing to talk about
his romantic interests. Most men she’d known hadn’t been open like that at all.
“Well, she’s crazy if she’s not interested in you.” She reached over to put a
hand on his wrist. “And you can tell her I said that, if you want.”

Jack laughed, his eyes briefly flickering over her shoulder
before they held her gaze again. “I’ll tell her that. Thanks.” His tone got
warmer, and his gaze softened in a way that seemed entirely out of place.

Jenn realized why when she became aware of a tense presence
behind her. “Are you ready?” Nick asked curtly.

Jack had done that on purpose—tried to make Nick jealous. Jenn
stiffened as she realized it. Boys were always playing games like that.

With a sigh, Jenn stood up. “Yeah. It’s about time for me to
get back to work.” She gave Jack a hug as they said goodbye and promised to
stay in touch. Jenn wasn’t sure if it would happen or not, but she hoped so.
She liked Jack a lot.

Nick was glowering as they left the restaurant together.

When they got to the end of the block, she stopped and
glared up at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You know what’s wrong.”

“I do not. Jack did absolutely nothing inappropriate.”

“I’m always going to think it’s inappropriate if another man
comes on to my wife.”

She smothered an impatient sound. “He didn’t come on to me.
You were right there the whole time. He was just being friendly.”

“We’ll have to disagree on that fact.”

“You’re being ridiculous. You can’t possibly think that I
would cheat on you.” Her voice broke at the idea of Nick’s trusting her so
little. “You can’t think that.”

Nick sighed, some of the tension finally leaving his face.
“No. I don’t think that. But you could decide to end the marriage. Any time you
want.”

“So could you, but why would I want to do that?” She stared
up at him, trying to convince him of her sincerity. “Why would I want to end
things? I’m happy, Nick. I’m
happy
.”

As she said the words, she realized how true they were. She
was happy in her marriage to Nick—happier than she’d ever been. And that
knowledge suddenly terrified her, the idea that it might get taken away.

“Are you?” Nick asked, slightly rough.

“Yes. Of course, I am. Aren’t you?”

“I am.” He let out a long sigh and rubbed his hand over his
face. “Why do you think I acted like such an asshole just now?”

For some reason, his tone and words made Jenn laugh a
little. “You
were
an asshole. Don’t do that again.”

“And you don’t take lunch dates with old boyfriends again.”

She gasped. “Jack wasn’t an old boyfriend!”

“You were crazy about him.”

“When I was fifteen! And he never even looked at me twice.”

“That was his loss.” Nick’s expression had changed now. It
wasn’t really relaxed, but the tension was of a different variety. His eyes
were hot, and his expression almost possessive.

It made her feel things she definitely shouldn’t be feeling
on the corner of a city street. “I need to get back to work,” she said, just a
little wobbly.

“Do you?”

“Yes. So you can stop looking at me that way.”

“What way?” His voice was still thick, but not for the same
reason. She recognized this voice of his well, and it made little shivers run
up and down her spine.

“You know what way. You’ve got that sex-look in your eyes.”

“I don’t have a sex-look.”

“Oh yes, you do. And you’re wearing it right now.”

“There’s nothing I can do about that.” He wasn’t touching
her, but it felt like he was.

“You can stop looking at me that way.”

“No way to stop myself. I’m way too far gone.”

“Then you’re just torturing yourself. I have to get back to
work.”

“That’s what you said before.”

“I meant it. We can’t have sex. I have a three o’clock
appointment.”

“It’s just after one. Plenty of time.”

She leaned closer to him and whispered, “I’m not going to
have a quickie in the back of my car or in my office!”

“I know. We need someplace we can be really loud, anyway.”

“Would you stop that? We don’t have time to go back home.”

“I wasn’t thinking about home.” He glanced down the street,
at an elegant, well-established hotel.

She gasped again. “We can’t check into a hotel for sex!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s…it’s crazy.”

“Maybe. But you can’t tell me that you don’t want to do it
too.”

She did want to. Her body was coursing with excitement, and
her skin had flushed with a delicious heat. But she was a mature, reasonable,
professional woman. She didn’t play hooky from work to check into a hotel for
sex, no matter how much she wanted to. “But…I have that…appointment.”

“I’ll have you back in the office before three.” He gave her
a smile that was almost predatory. “Be bad for once. You know you want to.”

“Okay.”

She couldn’t believe she’d just said that. Her eyes widened
as she realized what she’d agreed to. But Nick didn’t give her time to rethink
it. He grabbed her hand and dragged down her the block toward the hotel.