The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,26

you know that?”

“I feel like such a fraud.” Meg’s heart broke thinking about what her colleagues had done for her. “Everyone was so nice giving this shower and the gifts; it’s wrong. I didn’t want to drag the world into this lie.”

“It’s just me; let everyone else be happy for you.” Jill reached over and wrapped her arms around Meg’s shoulders. “I have to ask: What’s part of this agreement between the two of you? Are you getting any?”

Meg rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. We’ve had a couple of close calls, but I think we’re going to keep it platonic.”

“Platonic?”

“Yes. As in we’ll be friends.”

Jill sat still, a look on her face that Meg couldn’t quite read, and then she burst out laughing. Not a giggle or a chuckle, but a full-blown bwahahaha belly laugh. The bitch.

“This is not funny,” Meg said.

“Oh, yes it is. It’s hysterical. The two of you may have issues, but you’re attracted to each other. There’s no denying that. When I saw you together at the house, there was just something.”

“No, there wasn’t,” Meg argued.

Jill popped open a can of diet soda and took a sip. “Yeah, there was.”

“No, that’s not true. We’re going to keep things friendly. It’s the only way. No emotional messes, no complications.”

Meg stood and started putting boxes into the bags Jill had brought to the room. She didn’t want to have to answer questions about this or about Jason. The issues between them were too big for her to explain. In some ways, Meg was humiliated by the way she had been treated, and no matter how good a friend Jill was, she wasn’t telling her about it. Jason didn’t want to be married, but more than anything, he didn’t want her.

“Are you listening to yourself? You can’t help but be emotional, and you don’t need sex for things to get messy. You care about everything. And I think you still care about him, but you aren’t so sure what he feels.”

“I can’t get emotionally invested in this, Jill. He doesn’t want to be married in the first place. His commitment is to his company, but he’s willing to do this to protect me and Molly. You can’t fault him for that.”

“I don’t fault him, but this is a pretty big step to take for someone who is such a commitment-phobe.”

Meg knew that, and it worried her. His whole life—including his friends and social life—was based around his job. Now Meg was going to be part of both, and she didn’t know how this was going to work.

Jason said he hadn’t ever considered getting married because he didn’t have the right mental focus to be a good husband. Meg thought that was a load of crap. He was a big chicken. Relationships took work, and it meant standing up to his parents. Even this thing with Molly, Jason wasn’t full-on confronting them, he wasn’t going to the judge, no; he was taking a back road to outsmart them. The problem with that was it wasn’t neat and clean. It was going to get messy because Meg’s fragile heart went a little crazy when he was around. There was so much chemistry and so many unresolved issues; it was going to blow up in their faces, and they were going to end up in bed. It wasn’t if, it was when.

“He doesn’t want me, Jill. He’s trying to do the right thing, but he doesn’t want me. He has this assistant, and I think they had something going at one point. She’s his type, not me.”

“Wait a second. You think he’s going to marry you but keep things going with someone else? How is that right? You gave up a very nice guy and you’re not going to fool around. Are you?”

Meg smiled. “No. I’m not. He said we’re going to be faithful, but I don’t know. This woman is in his business night and day. Apparently she’s beautiful, smart, and doesn’t sing bad karaoke on Friday nights.”

“So she’s boring?” Jill rose and started stacking boxes. “If he can’t see how amazing you are, he’s an idiot.”

Meg stopped and thought about that. Maybe it was true, but Jason never took the time to understand her, not the way she understood him. “We’re very different. We have different backgrounds and upbringings. Different priorities.”

“You’re wrong there. You are both completely dedicated to Molly.”

“Yes, we are.” That was true. Jason was wonderful with his niece, and his only concern in their arrangement was