Jack faced Kelly again. He was now fully back in his element. He took control of the negotiations now that he had made the decision to run with this. He didn’t really have any other option and she didn’t appear to be a lunatic. In fact, as he watched her quietly come to grips with what she had done and get her confidence back, he marveled at her. It had really taken guts to walk into the room and pull off what she had. And she’d done it with such grace and confidence. She owned his office as if it were hers and there weren’t many people who could pull that off. He found himself a little in awe of the gorgeous creature who now sat quietly on his couch.
“Okay. One year of marriage. You’ll sign a prenuptial agreement. You get your law school tuition and you’ll have a credit card for expenses while we’re married. You’ll have to attend occasional dinner parties and fundraising events, that sort of thing, so you’ll need appropriate clothes. Some of them will be black tie. Put anything you need on my card. After the divorce, I’ll get you a condo in New Haven and some spending money for the three years you’ll be at law school. After graduation you’ll be on your own. You’ll move into my house in Fairfield while we’re married. At the end of the year, we cite irreconcilable differences and end the marriage.”“I hadn’t really thought I’d need to move in with you. I-I thought this would only be on paper,” Kelly stammered while Andrew watched the scene play out, with a look of shocked amusement on his face. It was more than obvious Andrew didn’t know who this woman was or how Jack had found her – and that he couldn’t wait to hear the details.Jack shook his head. “Uh uh. My Aunt Mabry and my board of directors will need to be utterly convinced this is a real marriage. We need to live together. Don’t worry, there are nine bedrooms so we won’t need to sleep together. I have a housekeeper who lives in an apartment over the garage but she’s very loyal and discreet. She won’t say a word if we aren’t sharing a bed. The house is on the water so you can spend the summer relaxing and hanging out before school.”Kelly blushed at his mention of shared bedrooms. Jack found himself intrigued as he watched Kelly’s cheeks flame red. She was gutsy and courageous one minute and sweet and innocent the next. It was a captivating combination.Wait.Jack shook his head to clear his thoughts.What am I thinking? Focus on the big picture, Jack. She’s a means to an end.Nothing more.Andrew piped back in. “I left you alone for three hours and you found a wife?”“She found me,” Jack answered in a distracted manner, not bothering to elaborate.Andrew raised his eyes to the ceiling and muttered to no one in particular. “Whole industries are built on helping men and women try to find someone and Jack has women walking in off the street to marry him. Wait, why did she walk in off the street?” Andrew asked as he directed his eyes back to Jack. “She just happened to know you were in the market for a wife? This is like an episode of I Dream of Jeannie.”Jack ignored Andrew’s questions and kept his focus on hammering out the details with Kelly. “We’ll have to spend some time getting to know each other, go out to dinner and things occasionally, maybe kiss once or twice in front of the right people,” Jack continued.Now Jack could really see the heat climbing its way up Kelly’s cheeks. Jack was almost enjoying this and wanted to see how red he could make those cheeks burn. Her eyes had gone big and round at the mention of a kiss. What would those doe eyes do if he told her what else he was thinking of doing as he watched her now?Jack glanced over at Andrew and saw Andrew had one eyebrow raised as he regarded Jack and Kelly. He leaned a shoulder on the wall, crossed his arms, and watched the scene unfolding before him. Jack knew he was going to catch a lot of flack about this from Andrew but he needed to focus on Kelly for now. Andrew shook his head and muttered something about a bottle and Jeannie and Captain Nelson. Andrew looked amused now, but Jack knew once he heard the full story, Jack was going to catch hell for what he was planning to do. *Kelly watched Jack as he detailed the terms of their deal. She hadn’t really thought through the actual implementation of her plan. Her palms were sweating and her cheeks flaming as she listened and considered the implications. She wasn’t a virgin but she certainly hadn’t thought through the possibility they would need to share a bed, so she was relieved to hear that she would have a separate room.She could handle being housemates if necessary, but the thought of kissing Jack made Kelly feel like an inexperienced 15-year-old. In a normal world, she wouldn’t dream of kissing a man like him. He was powerful and striking, with achiseled body and eyes that felt like they could melt her with a glance. When she was with Jack, she felt like a whole swarm of butterflies had been let lose in her stomach. Her breath came faster and shorter. She felt like she might pass out when he looked at her with that steady, sensual gaze as if he could look right into her and read her thoughts.Kelly felt a tightening in her stomach and wondered for the fiftieth time that hour just what she had gotten herself into.When Mabry Thompson left Jack and Kelly she walked down the hall to her son’s office. She entered without knocking and immediately dove into a tirade.“Married, my ass. That engagement is as fake as my highlights. I don’t know how he did it or who she is, but we need to expose this marriage as a fraud.” Mabry tossed her purse down on one of the two chairs in front of Chad’s desk and lowered herself into the other.“Hello again, Mom. Long time no see,” Chad deadpanned as he turned away from his computer to face his mother. Chad didn’t know quite what was going on with Jack’s sudden marriage announcement and he agreed something didn’t smell right. But, Chad couldn’t care less if Jack had cooked up this wedding to save his position as CEO. If it meant keeping his mother out of his hair about taking over control of Sutton Capital, he was fine with whatever arrangement Jack made.His mother ignored his reply and continued her tirade. “They’re apparently going to be married by the end of the
Jack and Kelly drove to Hamden for her parents’ weekly Sunday dinner. They were in Jack’s Jaguar and she couldn’t help but appreciate the buttery softness of the leather as she melted down into the seat.“Are you close to your family, Kelly?” Jack asked as he turned off of the highway at the sign for Hamden.“Uh huh. I don’t make it for dinner every Sunday but I try to get there two or three times a month. My mom is a great cook so it’s not a hardship,” she said, with a small smile at Jack.Jack made a left turn onto a tree-lined residential street. “Tell me again how many of you there are?” Kelly had told Jack about her brothers and sisters before and she suspected that in his line of work, he remembered names and details with very little effort. Kelly had a feeling that he wanted to keep her talking to calm her nerves and she was thankful to him.“There are four of us. My sister Jessica who’s two years older than I am, and our older brothers Liam and David. My sister and my mom and
Kelly was sitting next to Jack at the dinner table but he couldn’t read her face as they all passed around bowls and platters, filling plates with her mom’s homemade chicken, macaroni and cheese, salad, and green beans. It was comfort food at its finest and Jack wouldn’t mind coming to more Sunday dinners if her mom’s cooking tasted as good as it looked.“So, Kelly, Jack tells us you met at his office?” Kelly’s father’s question sent Kelly’s iced tea down the wrong pipe so that she coughed and sputtered. Jack laughed and patted her on the back while she tried to catch her breath.“Um, yes, Dad. We met at Jack’s office,” she finally managed to spit out. “Oh, what do you do, Jack?” asked Kelly’s mother.“I’m in venture capital,” Jack answered. “My company identifies companies at various stages of development that we think are good risks to invest in. Sometimes they need seed money, sometimes growth or expansion. We invest and we get a share of the company if they’re a success.”When Kel
Kelly had finished her registration for Yale and Jack sent the tuition in as promised so she was all set to start school in September. Over the next week, Jack, Kelly, and Mrs. Poole fell into a comfortable routine around the house. Jack left for work before Kelly got up in the morning so they didn’t see each other before work, but Jack started coming home for dinner in the evenings. He was surprised to find he liked the time with Kelly at night, liked talking to her and having someone at home waiting for him at the end of the day.Mrs. Poole often sat down and ate with them, instead of leaving a plate warming in the oven for him like she had before Kelly arrived. Then, Mrs. Poole headed back to her room and Jack and Kelly went into the den to watch a movie or T.V. together. After a movie, Jack would go into his office to work and Kelly would read a book before heading up to her room.After a week of falling comfortably into their newfound life together, Kelly happened to get up earlie
Kelly stood with Mrs. Poole and Aunt Mabry in the kitchen when Jack came in from work that evening. Kelly had poured a glass of wine for herself and Aunt Mabry and turned to ask Mrs. Poole if she wanted one. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aunt Mabry’s eyebrows shoot up but chose to ignore the look. Apparently, in Aunt Mabry’s world, Mrs. Poole was paid help, and one didn’t ask the help if they want a glass of wine. Wait until she sees Mrs. Poole sit down to dinner with us. Kelly smiled.Jack walked into the room and said ‘hello’ to Mrs. Poole and planted a peck on Aunt Mabry’s cheek before turning to take Kelly into his arms. “Hello, beautiful,” he said before he ducked his head to kiss her. It was a warm, gentle kiss but Kelly could feel the arousal bubbling just under the surface and knew that if either one of them moved to deepen the kiss, the passion would rise to the surface quickly. Damn, I’m going to make a fool of myself if he keeps kissing me like this!As Mrs. Poole s
The morning after her first night in Jack’s bed, Kelly woke to find that Jack had already left their bed. She had heard him come into the room the night before and held her breath as she listened to him get ready for bed. She feigned sleep as he brushed his teeth and slipped out of his clothes. When he slipped between the sheets in nothing but boxer shorts, Kelly thought she would burst but she focused on keeping her breath steady so she wouldn’t have to face Jack.With a sigh, Kelly slipped from the bed and showered and dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. She found Jack, Aunt Mabry, and Mrs. Poole in the kitchen.“Good morning, dear,” Mrs. Poole called out cheerfully, making Kelly smile. Jack and Aunt Mabry looked up and Kelly wished for a moment that the smile that came to Jack’s face as he looked at her was genuine and not for Aunt Mabry’s sake.“Good morning, sweetheart,” Jack said as Kelly joined them at the breakfast nook with her coffee.“Morning,” Kelly smiled shyly
The following Monday, Kelly went shopping at the mall and then drove to New Haven to meet Jennie for lunch. Kelly pulled her car into a space in the parking garage and glanced in the rear view mirror before opening her car door to get out. Kelly had a strange feeling that the car pulling past as she got out of her car was the same one behind her earlier that day at the mall. She watched nervously as the car continued by and figured that she must be imagining things.Kelly walked through the parking garage and took the elevator down to the street level. She stepped out onto the street and went two doors down to the café where Jennie was waiting. It had been a couple of weeks since she’d seen her friend and they definitely needed to make up for lost time. She needed to fill in Jennie on her ‘married’ life with Jack and she wanted to know how Jennie’s new job was going.Kelly spotted Jennie at a table and pointed to the counter to signal that she’d grab a coffee and order lunch then join
Jack got home from work that night and slipped the panic button into Kelly’s purse in the front hallway. He’d have to remember to tell her it was there and show her how to use it but he didn’t want to mention it in front of Aunt Mabry. Kelly had started volunteering at the New Haven Legal Aid Clinic and that wasn’t located in the best part of town. Between that and the guy following her, Jack felt better knowing she’d have some way of getting help, if needed.He walked into the kitchen and found Kelly and Mrs. Poole cooking dinner together. Kelly looked up and smiled at Jack. Jack thought she was gorgeous when she smiled at him like that and he loved the sight of her in his kitchen. Hell, he loved coming home to find her anywhere in his house. The irony of having the strongest feelings he’d ever had for a woman while in a fake marriage to her were not lost on Jack. He had spent years looking for the type of connection his mom and dad had shared, and now, when he finally gave up and en