off the side of the kitchen, curlers in her hair, her right hand holding the neckline of a quilted robe closed and fluffy slippers peeking out from the bottom. “Have you seen Jessica?” he asked, unaware that he was scowling worse than his father ever had.
The woman stepped back involuntarily and nodded. “She went out the back door about fifteen minutes ago, my lord. And she didn’t look very happy.”
Edward cursed and hurried back through the rooms. He grabbed a set of keys from the bureau in the foyer and ran down the stone steps out to the garage. He actually had no idea which bay the sedan was parked inside so he entered through the side door. There was a Bentley, a BMW and a Mercedes besides the limousine Tim usually drove him around in. He swung around to the BMW, not wanting the pretentiousness of the other two cars right now. They served a purpose, but the Bentley had been his grandfather’s and was still in perfect condition. He needed speed right now, and agility. Glancing at his watch, he noted that it was still relatively early but he still felt the need to hurry.
He wanted this marriage issue settled and Jessica running away after their afternoon in bed was not helping the situation.
He reached into his pocket and dialed her number. Of course she didn’t pick up, but he suspected that she’d gone straight to her house. He went there himself, seething with fury, both at her as well at himself. He couldn’t believe she’d just walked out after the afternoon they’d shared. And he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t put his ring on her finger the moment he had her in his bed.
He made one stop though. He had to make this official because Jessica wasn’t the kind of woman who would accept a tentative commitment. He needed a firm promise and a plan of action.
The jeweler had exactly what he was looking for. He had the ring wrapped up and in his pocket in less than fifteen minutes and he was back on the road. He’d left Tim back at the house, preferring to speed through the London traffic. This was too important to meander in the back of a limousine so he was driving himself in his black BMW.
At her house, he banged on the door, instinctively knowing that Jessica was inside. Something also told him that she was hurt and trying to avoid him.
When Beth opened the door, he pushed his way inside, ignoring the housekeeper’s astonished and offended look. “Where’s Jessica?” he demanded.
Beth stepped back, her hand coming to cover her throat in outrage. “Excuse me, but Ms. Mallory isn’t available.”
Edward wasn’t having any of that from Jessica’s housekeeper. “Which means she’s here somewhere. Go get her,” he said and stared at the woman with his hands on his hips until she started moving.
Jessica had heard the whole interchange and, before Beth could move out of the foyer, she stepped out from the living room where she’d been curled up with a cup of tea. “I’m right here,” she said, wishing she could hide her red-rimmed eyes from this man.
“Why did you leave?” he asked, stepping closer but most of his anger dissipating at the sight of her sad eyes. Those chocolate eyes should never be sad, he thought. She was just too….alive…for sadness. He reached down and touched her gently, caressing that soft skin and wondering how he could make it better.
Jessica didn’t want to admit that she’d seen green when he was in his living room talking with Julianna. The other woman had invaded her dreams and now she was working on building up her defenses once again. “Your company didn’t need me to stick around.”
He looked confused for a moment, then realized that she must have seen Julianna with him. That explained a lot. It also told him that she was jealous which, normally he would feel bad about, or even irritated, but with Jessica, it told him that she was emotionally invested. That was a start.
Not that he wanted her to continue to feel that horrible emotion. He wanted her to feel other things for him, but not jealousy. It was a gut wrenching emotion that he’d experienced enough of each time he’d seen Jessica in another man’s arms, or even contemplating her in another man’s arms. He was quick to disabuse her of the notion that Julianna had been at his house for anything other than the