The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,21
hear when they were in high school.
“I had no idea you were such an asshole.”
“Now you know,” Jason responded.
Meg was barely moving as they went through the rooms of the main floor. The house rambled—it was one of the things Meg said she loved about it—but at that moment he could see she was trying to stop sixteen-year-old Meg from bursting into tears. “Your friends are nice.”
“They’re good guys.”
“I didn’t realize you were in business with people from high school.” Her voice was a little shaky, and he could hear her fighting back the old hurt. He’d been such a moron in school, so much his father’s son, that he’d worried his rich, prep school friends would think he was dating down. So he kept Meg a secret—seeing her at home, stealing kisses and then later sex with her whenever he could. She was so giving, so trusting, she never asked about the nights he wasn’t around because of events at school or days he had hockey games. In truth, he would have loved to have her with him, but he thought about how she’d fit in and he hadn’t listened to his heart. He’d listened to his parents.
He stopped her in the dining room, turned her toward him, and rested his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry about that. I never thought—”
“Thought what? Were you planning on keeping me a secret again?” Meg wiggled free and looked away.
“No. I’d like to think I’ve grown up.” He knew she didn’t want to deal with this old baggage between them, but it couldn’t be avoided, not with Nate and Owen being such a big part of his life. She was still fighting back the emotion, and in some ways he wished she’d just let go and have a good hard cry.
“I don’t know why it still bothers me, but I guess I couldn’t purge it all. I should have been prepared for something like this. But I am a champ at sticking my head in the sand.”
Jason didn’t like that she was blaming herself for what happened. It was true, she’d been in happy denial about everything until his mother showed her his prom pictures. It had been a cruel act and meant to hurt. He’d taken one of his classmates, a pretty girl named Phoebe, and the next night he was making love to Meg in the boathouse. Right before he left for Princeton, everything went south.
“I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a nice afternoon for you. Did you get your dress?” He’d reverted back to his more formal self, when all he wanted was to take her up in his arms and try to make up for lost time.
She nodded. “It’s lovely. Everything will be fine.”
***
Once Jason stepped into the kitchen, four pairs of eyes turned in his direction and Molly charged him, launching herself into his arms.
“We went shopping for fancy dresses!” Molly squealed.
“I heard that,” he said. “Oh, Meg, Gwyneth dropped off the design sketches for your approval. That big envelope there.”
He tilted his head toward the table in the corner of the kitchen, and Meg opened the envelope while Jason made a conquest of her friends and family.
Pulling out the drawings, Meg inspected each one, thinking about this monstrous house that was to become her home. He’d done his best to keep them in the same general area, mostly so Molly wouldn’t have to change schools. But the place had six bedrooms. Six. Each one with its own bathroom.
It was going to be beautiful, though. Gwyneth had made some incredible color choices. The furniture was gorgeous. Simple, classic, and casual. It was like she’d read Meg’s mind. She wasn’t supposed to be this happy, especially after what just happened. Nothing about this arrangement was going to be easy, but glancing at her fiancé charming four women, including her mother and her very skeptical sister, Meg couldn’t stay mad. Which was the problem she’d had when she was a teenager.
Glancing back at the sketches, she tried to get her head out of the past. He was trying. First by giving her a beautiful ring, and second by giving her the opportunity to make the house something special. The gesture was appreciated. The problem was that the ugly reminders of their differences, of what had driven them apart in the first place, kept intruding on the fantasy. And Jason was the fantasy. He always had been. But there was so much hurt in the past, allowing herself