The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,20
said, “Is the big-screen TV or in here or the family room?”
She motioned to the the monitor still in a box on the floor. She was keeping her cool, but avoiding eye contact, telling him that Meg was hurt. Badly. However, she didn’t flinch, didn’t have a meltdown, she just carried on, so he did the same.
Clearing his throat a little, Jason answered. “That will actually be connected to the computers. Sometimes when I’m working out a problem, the larger image helps me see more of the picture.”
Her eyes widened, and he loved the shock, but also the admiration he saw. “That’s a computer monitor? Wow. How many monitors will be in here?”
“One large one and two smaller ones on my desk.”
“You’re going to glow in the dark from all the radiation.” Her mouth turned up at the corners and she stepped toward him.
Without any thought, Meg let her fingers run down the placket of his shirt. She was so damn sweet, so damned beautiful, and he knew already that he didn’t deserve her. When her pink tongue darted out of her mouth to lick her lips, Jason couldn’t stop his body from reacting. And dammit all if she didn’t know it.
He found himself chuckling, liking the familiarity between them. It felt like it did when they were younger, when they joked and teased and told each other everything.
When it was easy.
“What the hell is this?” Jason turned his head to see Owen and Nate pulling apart the gift bag Meg was carrying when she walked into the office. Leave it to those two boneheads to open someone else’s present. Jason moved toward them and saw Owen unwrap a small picture frame.
“Man, this is an oldie,” Nate said as he started at whatever was in the frame. Jason thought maybe it was a picture of Molly.
He guessed wrong. The picture was of him and Meg when they were together in high school, and the image hit him square in the heart. Jason remembered the day vividly. One of her friends had taken the picture when they’d gone upstate for a day of skiing—which meant Meg spent her day sliding down the bunny hill on her ass. At the end of the day, they were sitting together on a bench near the lodge while they waited for the bus to pull up. She had settled with her back against his chest, and Jason remembered his arms being securely around her waist. She had snow crystals in her hair, and she smelled like winter and sunshine. Her face had been turned toward his, and the smile melted his heart.
“Why don’t I remember this?” Owen’s face was a mix of confusion and disbelief because he didn’t remember going on that ski trip and he didn’t remember ever meeting Meg. This part of Jason’s life was new to them, and they didn’t understand it at all. Owen and Nate looked at Meg, who was fiddling with a scrap of paper she found on the desk, and Jason was reliving the entire nightmare from fourteen years ago, facing every mistake he made. Watching Meg’s stricken expression as Nate and Owen looked at the photo was ripping at him. The laughter coming from the other side of the house gave him an excuse to pull her out of there and try to fix this.
Jason stepped toward her and took the paper from her hand. “Who came in with you?”
“Some friends from school. My mom and sister are here, too. They surprised me. Everyone wanted to see the house, so here we are.” The way she said it sounded like an apology, like she’d intruded, and it made Jason feel even worse.
He nodded, brushing his hand over her shoulder. “Come on. You can introduce me to your friends and I can say hello to your family.”
Meg drew a breath, still holding on to her composure, but he could tell the old feelings had flooded back. But she didn’t lose control; she wasn’t sixteen anymore, and Meg’s inner strength wasn’t going to let her break.
Smiling weakly at Nate and Owen, Meg straightened and astounded Jason yet again, being gracious. If it were him, he would have escaped, which proved his inner seventeen-year-old was still alive and kicking. “It was nice to meet you both,” she said pleasantly.
Owen nodded and Nate smiled, and then Jason started to walk her out of the room. But before he could leave, Owen caught his arm to say what Jason had needed to