The Earl's Outrageous Lover Page 0,44

real reason.

“Jessica, Julianna wasn’t there about me. Not really anyway.”

“I saw her there. And she was crying. What did you say to her?” she asked, her body angry and stiff with both curiosity and frustration.

“She came to tell me that she’d been…..intimate with James Cavanaugh,” he said, carefully watching her face to see if there was more to the relationship than he’d thought. But when her face only brightened, her eyes clearing up at the news, he breathed a little easier. “I don’t know what’s going to happen between them, but it’s up to them to work things out.”

“She was there to break up with you?” she asked, her voice whisper soft with hope and relief.

“Yes. But I was never as attracted to Julianna as I instantly was with you. Hence the reason we ended up in bed both last night and today.” This was the strange part. They’d been together for too short a period for him to think she might feel something for him. Even knowing how he felt about her, he still didn’t understand it. But he had to get her married. It was that important to him right now.

He took out his ring and shook his head. “Now about that other issue we’ve been working on. I think I have the perfect solution. “

Jessica watched with curiosity as he took her hand. With a gruff voice, he pushed a startlingly beautiful ring on her finger, then said, “We’re getting married this weekend. And there’s really nothing you can say that will change the situation, so you might as well just accept it and get used to the idea.”

Chapter 7

Jessica wasn’t really sure what was happening. She looked down at her hand, saw the ring and blinked. Took a breath. Then looked down at her hand again.

She would never have expected a ring like this. From Edward, she imagined a solitaire, possibly an emerald cut or a similar ring with elegance and old-world beauty.

This ring was the most incredible set of diamonds set in a flower arrangement, with the center stone being the largest. There were tiny swirls and miniature leaves but the setting was actually magnificent. It was the perfect ring and she couldn’t believe how much she instantly loved it.

Jessica stood up and walked over to the fireplace, wishing that there was a roaring fire that was snapping and crackling. The silence of the room was haunting because she knew that all of her problems could so easily be solved by a simple yes. But she didn’t say that word. She couldn’t put her finger on the issue, but something just didn’t feel right.

She fiddled with the ring, then turned back to face Edward, noticing that he stood in the center of the living room, his arms crossed over his chest and looking like the ultimate alpha male with confidence oozing out of every cell. He might be elegant and handsome, but the man was high test testosterone, a lethal problem for her.

“Thank you very much for the offer, but I don’t know if this is a very good idea. I’ve thought about this over the past hour, worrying about what we’d done. I know we discussed this over lunch and you disagreed with the idea, but I still think it would be best if I simply went to an agency that will help me with this problem. I’m sure they have a very good process for doing background checks on the clients. I’ve also contacted my father’s lawyer. He will draw up a prenuptial agreement that will eliminate any possibility of my future husband gaining control of my father’s money.” She looked down at the ring, still unable to take it off of her finger. “I appreciate the sacrifice you’re willing to make to help me, but I just can’t let you do this.”

Edward watched her carefully, not sure where she was going with this. Not that he was going to allow her to marry any other man, much less go to an agency to find a husband. He moved to stand next to her, looking at her face as she looked into the blackened fire area. “We’re getting married, Jessica,” he declared firmly. After yesterday and today, he wasn’t letting her get away from him. He stood there, arms crossed over his chest waiting for her to argue with him. As soon as she offered whatever objections were in her pretty little brain, he’d refute them easily.

Jessica almost laughed at how he stood