The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,63
and grinned. Damn. What was he up to? “Come along, lass,” he said. In one quick move he scooped her into his arms, and the kids cheered. They wouldn’t have done that if they could read the look on Jason’s face, which had gone from amused to lethal in a split second.
The situation was bad. Grant’s behavior wasn’t acceptable, and yet, on the inside, Meg’s heart did a happy dance.
Jason was jealous. Her husband was wonderfully, dangerously jealous, and there was nothing that could have given her more hope than the way his arm shot across the doorway, blocking Grant from leaving the room.
“You should put her down now.” Jason’s voice was low and steady. No-nonsense. Grant looked at him, then at her. Meg nodded.
“You should put me down.”
Grant didn’t take another step and lowered her to the floor. Jason stepped toward her and set his left hand on her back before extending his right hand to the pirate, who looked more confused than fierce.
“Jason Campbell. Meg’s husband.” Grant shook his hand, glanced at her, and then mumbled something before he left the room. Meg wasn’t sure what he’d said. The only person she could focus on was the man she’d married.
He wasn’t intimidated by Grant’s size. In fact, she was starting to see that not much intimidated Jason. The secure feeling that washed over her was something she never expected. He really was going to protect her, and protect Molly. He wasn’t a big, burly guy, but he was a man, and he was a man who defended the people he loved.
Kathy, her classroom assistant, had the children lined up, and all Meg could do was look at her husband. His handsomeness took on something new, something stronger. A calm settled in Meg’s heart, and she knew everything was going to be okay; she knew she wasn’t alone.
The announcement came for the kindergartners to head outside, and Kathy, who was dressed as a black cat, led the class out of the room.
Meg and Jason stood alone in the classroom for a few seconds, the quiet descending as the children got farther and farther away from the room.
His hand was still on the small of her back, the warmth of it seeping through her costume and deep into her core. Turning, Meg reached out, and Jason did the same. They held each other, just held each other, in the empty classroom.
“I think I hate that guy,” Jason said.
“You made that pretty clear.”
“I don’t want his hands on you. Ever.”
“I think he got that, too.”
He brought his head back, and Meg saw something spark in his eyes, something that was both happy and sad. Wanting to soothe him, she stroked her hand over his cheek.
“What is it?”
“I’m glad I came here today. Glad I got to see you with your students.” He swallowed hard. “Those kids just adore you.”
Meg gave him a little peck on the lips, happy beyond words that he was there, that her world mattered to him. “I love them, too, each and every one.”
He looked at her, his eyes filled with emotion. “No wonder Grace named you as Molly’s guardian.”
“Why do you say that?”
He examined her face. Meg saw pain in his eyes and she wanted to make it better, find some way to give him what he needed. “You’re always giving of yourself, Meg, and you love so much. I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if I have it in me.”
Meg hugged him again, hoping that he would see in himself what she had always seen. “You do. It’s in there. It’s always been in there.”
***
Jason saw Meg’s car pull into the driveway from his office window, and he was glad she was home. After the way his visit to her school had unfolded, they had a lot to talk about. He’d watched the Halloween parade and loved seeing how happy Molly was with the other kids, and he got more than a few dirty looks from Meg’s ex-boyfriend. But that was well worth it. He wanted to make sure the asshole knew Meg was not on the market and he should keep his hands off.
He didn’t think it would be an intense afternoon, but the short time he and Meg were alone in her classroom had knocked the wind out of him. When he saw Nielsen pick her up the way he did, Jason’s vision burned red. The rage he felt, the jealousy, that another man was touching his Meg