The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,19

friends, it would have stayed in a lab and not made its way into the market. They also knew how to keep him sane, which, in his line of work, was always a challenge.

The three of them were single, rich, and in no particular hurry to settle down, but here they were, helping Jason move furniture into his new office, and he was a couple of weeks from becoming a marital statistic.

“This desk is fucking heavy.” Owen positioned the mahogany desktop on the cabinet bases. The three of them had spent the entire afternoon getting the desk together so Jason could have command central at his new house. Meg thought he could delegate parts of his job to others, but what she didn’t understand was his role in supporting client software, and that meant midnight calls to Hong Kong or India or being available when the European markets opened.

Troubleshooting an issue for a major bank on the spot or dealing with a hacker threat before account numbers were compromised and millions stolen weren’t things that he could save to do between nine and five. It didn’t happen a lot, because the software was pretty much bombproof, but Jason dealt with security problems personally. It was why clients trusted them and why he was so successful. The truth was Reliance was still relatively small. Their numbers were huge, but Jason, Owen, and Nate were very hands-on.

“It’s a nice room, though,” Nate said. “Damn big house.”

“Yeah, we needed something so Molly has a place to play.”

“I cannot believe you’re getting married, man.” Owen dropped onto the leather sofa that had been delivered earlier in the day. “Of all of us, you were the last one I expected to get caught.” Jason just smirked, unable to tell them he was the one who went looking for marriage and essentially coerced Meg into it. He heard the door slam across the house and wondered if Meg mentioned that she was coming here this afternoon. He knew she’d had the appointment for her dress earlier, though. How long did it take to pick out a wedding gown? He heard her voice, heard Molly, and then he heard a peal of laughter and realized his bride-to-be brought friends.

Nate smiled when he heard the noise. “Ah, the womenfolk are home. We get to meet your mystery girl.”

Jason cocked his head, but remained silent. He was actually looking forward to the two of them meeting Meg.

“By the way,” Nate began, “does this room have cave status?”

“You need a moose head on the wall,” Owen said. “Or better yet, Bambi. That’ll keep the chicks out.”

“What are you putting on the wall?” Jason turned when he heard her voice, but it was Nate’s quiet reaction that got his attention.

“Whoa,” his friend whispered.

Meg stood in the office doorway, gave a little wave, and smiled the sweetest damn smile he’d ever seen. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“No, not at all.”

She took a cautious step into the room, and Jason had to love that both his friends were struck mute at the sight of her. She put a small, shiny bag on a table near the doorway and continued in. Her hair was pulled back on the sides, away from her face, tumbling down her back, and all he could think about was how it felt in his hands the other night when he was kissing her. Her pale blue sweater scooped low in the front, and the slim tan skirt hugged every curve. There were heels, of course, ridiculously high, sexy heels. She was a teacher fantasy, the stuff of every high school boy’s wet dreams.

It was a good thing her students were only five.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He moved toward her, loving how she fiddled with her ring and feeling oddly happy that she brought people here to see their new home. “Home office setup,” he said, as he took her hand and led her toward his friends, I was high time she met them. “Meg, this is Owen Kent and this is Nate Bayard. We run Reliance together.”

“It’s nice to meet you both.” She shook their hands, but something in her manner changed. There was a pained expression on her face, a chill, and Jason realized she recognized Nate and Owen’s names. She knew these were friends he’d known since high school and they had no idea who she was.

Shit.

Meg glanced down and he could see she was trying to regroup. Talk about an emotional slam. “So,” she finally