The Earl's Outrageous Lover Page 0,45

there, looking so strong and confident, absolutely sure of his ability to win her over. “We’re not, but I sincerely appreciate your offer.”

Edward shifted slightly and shook his head. “That wasn’t an offer, Jessica. We’re getting married. Saturday. You’re an extremely smart woman but you’re not grasping that I will win at this argument.”

She did laugh at that, but it came out to her ears sounding a bit more like a sob. “I have to go now.”

He wanted to stop her but the sad look in her eyes held him back. “What are you planning to do?”

She put her hand on the doorknob. “I’m going to go find a wedding dress, I suppose. And then I’m going to try and find a job. I have a degree in a field that I love, I think I could do well at and I’m going to take my career and start building.”

“Your degree is in psychology, am I right?” He wanted her to stay and tell him more about her plans, but she seemed determined to leave the room.

“Yes.” She pulled the door open and walked out, not even looking back at him. “Thank you very much for your proposal.”

Edward stepped out himself and watched as she walked slowly up the stairs and turned to the left, heading down the hallway to her bedroom. Edward didn’t accept her rejection. As he stared at the now empty hallway, he smiled and worked things through in his head. Jessica was only saying the words she thought he wanted to hear, but she hadn’t taken his ring off of her finger. He noticed that her fingers were closed into a fist, as if she didn’t want to lose the ring he’d just put there.

He chuckled and walked out of the house. Her car was still parked in front of her house and he smiled at the Mini Cooper. The style fit her, he thought. It was relatively new, but he made a mental note to have Tim look over the car to make sure it was running properly. He was suddenly finding himself very protective of the woman who only a few days ago seemed like an irritating burden.

Well, to be honest, she’d only felt like a burden when he’d been discussing the situation over the phone with his uncle. The moment he’d seen her sitting so prettily at a table full of police officers, she’d become something completely different. What that was, he still wasn’t sure how to define.

But he liked it. And he liked her.

Chapter 8

Jessica left the luxurious offices feeling horrible, almost as if she were betraying Edward in some way. She had an envelope filled with eligible bachelors, all of them handsome and wealthy, all wanting a wife who was on an equal social and economic footing and had contacted the agency to find a wife. There wouldn’t be any issues with a prenuptial agreement with any of them. All gentlemen who had signed on with this particular agency would require that original funds from each party would stay with that person in the event of a ‘dissolution of the partnership’ as the contract put it.

Her cell phone rang and she lifted it absently to see who was calling. She considered just ignoring the call, not wanting to talk to anyone right at the moment. She didn’t like any of the men in the envelope and all she wanted was to curl up on Edward’s lap and sob out her heart to him.

Unfortunately, she just couldn’t talk to him right now. He would know that something was wrong and she couldn’t face his inquisition, even over the phone. Once she felt better and could think more clearly, maybe she could go to him and ask him for advice on the gentlemen in question.

She pressed the ignore button and moved back to her car, tossing the folder onto the passenger seat. Driving home, she thought about the men the agency had brought up. The lady she was dealing with was very smart and had a sense of confidence that would probably rival Edward. She smiled as she thought about the two of them together. They would probably make a perfect match.

No, not nearly as perfect as he and Julianna. She still thought about them that night despite Edward’s assurance that they’d broken up. They were such a perfect couple, could their disagreement last? Was James involved, or was he just with Julianna as another one of his women? She thought of that