The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,11
the families. Neither side had any idea what was coming.
Meg felt like she was taking part in a series of emotional ambushes. She ended it with Grant last night, and that was horrible. All she’d said was, “I can’t keep seeing you because I’m getting married.”
Grant hadn’t accused her of cheating on him, but it’s obvious that’s what he thought. She’d hurt him, and after he brought her home, Meg had cried all night, because he didn’t deserve to feel like a castoff. Once he found out who she was marrying, she’d be branded as an opportunist—throwing over a nice guy for money. The damage to her reputation would be epic.
But Meg said nothing. She put the what-ifs out of her head and focused on what was in front of her. Take one for the team.
“This next contract is a separate agreement. It’s a little of everything, including possible custody arrangements,” Jason said. “This is between us.”
“I don’t understand the need for a second document. What’s in something like this?”
“It helps if things are spelled out. Especially regarding Molly. It basically says that we’re to function as a family, be faithful, agree to certain conditions.”
“Conditions? What conditions?”
“Well, we talked about exclusivity, not seeing other people to keep up appearances. You’ll need to break it off with the man you’re seeing.”
“I already did.”
He acknowledged her with a nod. “You should know I haven’t been with anyone steadily for a while.”
“Okay, but I don’t know why we need paperwork when these conditions, as you call them, are pretty obvious.”
“It’s good to have things in writing. It protects everyone.”
Her mind flashed back to his earlier words. “You said something about a house. We have a house?”
Jason nodded. “We’re going there later. We have an appointment with the interior designer.”
Meg felt a grin tease the corner of her mouth. “An interior designer?”
“Yes.” Jason looked up from one of the documents. “She’s excellent. I think you’ll be pleased.”
“Really? You’ve worked with her before? Because, I don’t know, Jason . . .” Meg waved her hand around. “I’d want to see her portfolio before we make a commitment.”
“Her portfolio? Meg . . .”
Meg examined her nails, putting on her best attitude for her soon-to-be husband. She glanced over and saw he was trying to think of something to say, and she’d stunned him speechless. She’d challenged him, and Jason the Magnificent wasn’t used to being challenged.
“I can assure you that her credentials are impeccable. She did my apartment in the city, my offices . . .”
Meg couldn’t stand it anymore. She exploded in laughter, which was just what she needed, because if she didn’t laugh at what was happening, she’d have time to think about how her life would never be the same. The life she’d made for herself.
Jason’s lips pressed tightly together, and his eyes narrowed. Meg willed herself to stop so he didn’t get really pissed. But Jason only shook his head and shot a crooked grin in her direction.
“I guess I deserved that for being a pretentious ass.”
“Just a little,” she said, chuckling. “Where is this house of ours?”
“Cold Spring Harbor.”
Meg loved Cold Spring Harbor. Sandwiched on the North Shore between two busier towns, it had a beautiful main street and wonderful schools. It was an expensive, exclusive hamlet that felt like a small town. Molly wouldn’t even have to change schools.
But suddenly, the fear hit. Fear of the changes she was facing, of the loss of her independence. And it wasn’t jitters. Plain and simple, Meg was afraid of losing everything she was. She felt the burn in her eyes and blinked hard, but a tear escaped, rolled off her cheek and plopped on the paper, spreading out, just like everything she was feeling.
Jason reached for the tissues that were in a pretty wooden box at the center of the large conference table and handed her one. “What’s wrong? Gwyneth is a wonderful designer. You can do whatever you want in the house.”
Meg sniffled and dabbed at her eyes, but the tears kept coming. “This isn’t about the designer or the house. I don’t know why I’m crying.” Fingering the pen on the table in front of her, Meg took a deep breath. As much as Jason was trying to make this easy, she felt the despair flood her heart. Her life was gone. She’d hurt Grant, she was going to hurt her family. Everything she knew was going to be gone.
The tears came faster, and Meg hated that she couldn’t control