Kelly swallowed hard as she heard Jack’s answer to her ‘proposal.’ She was relieved he was going along with it, but a tight ball of nerves had been growing in her stomach since she walked in the room and she felt that ball taking over her entire being.
Chad excused himself to return to his office with a look on his face that promised Jack would be grilled for details later. Kelly watched Jack out of the corner of her eye as she continued to talk to his aunt. She had seen Jack Sutton on occasion coming in and out of the building when she’d met Jennie for lunch and Jennie had told her he was handsome. But, handsome didn’t even begin to describe the man.Jack was tall, about six foot three inches. He had dark brown hair that curled up at the edge of his collar. His eyes were a rich, deep brown, almost mahogany, and his face had chiseled features with a strong jaw. There wasn’t a damn thing about the man that didn’t sizzle.He wore a suit, but even in that Kelly could see his body was hard and fit under it – his tall, lean form toned and strong. His intense gaze made Kelly’s breath go ragged. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be alone in the room with him if he had this kind of effect on her with his aunt and cousin with them.Jack sat on the edge of his desk, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. He watched her quietly while Kelly finished chatting with his aunt.Kelly wrapped things up and ushered Aunt Mabry out the door by four o’clock as she made excuses about Jack needing to get back to work. She closed the door behind his aunt and turned to Jack. That’s when Kelly felt the ground fall out from under her and her world tilt on its axis.Suddenly, she faced Jack Sutton. Kelly found herself feeling very shaken, to say the least. She looked up at Jack and realized that, in essence, she had just waltzed into his office and proposed.“I can’t believe I did that,” Kelly began to pace frantically. She wrapped her arms around her waist and circled the room.“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she said and she began to feel like she might hyperventilate. She slid down onto the couch that sat along the longest wall in Jack’s office and tried to breath but ended up taking in huge gulps of air that felt as if they might choke her. For the first time since she came up with her hair-brained scheme to get her hands on enough money to attend Yale Law School, the reality of what she had done hit her like a ton of bricks. *Jack studied Kelly as she began to fall apart in his office. She had been so cool and collected two minutes ago – so totally in control of the situation. Now he watched her crumble as if all the steel she seemed to have running through her veins moments ago was suddenly drained, leaving her frightened and panicked.He smiled wryly as he watched his future wife burn a circle in his carpet. He suddenly felt back in control.I guess it’s my turn to be the calm, cool, collected one.The killer instincts he always felt when he walked into the board room or sat down at the negotiating table came back in full force. He crossed to Kelly and took both of her hands in his. He led her to the couch and let her sit down, then sat next to her. He spoke firmly and calmly.“You did great. You had them completely fooled and you did great. I don’t know how Andrew did this on such short notice, but you were fantastic.” Jack started to rub her back in slow, soothing circles, hoping to calm her down so they could discuss the details of their newly made arrangement. Since Andrew hadn’t had time to give him a heads up, he had no idea how this was supposed to work out.Jack continued to rub her back and he could hear her breathing begin to slow down and become more regular. Jack felt her body relax as her breathing returned to normal. “See,” he said, “that wasn’t so bad.”Kelly nodded and gave him a weak smile. She took several more deep breaths. Jack watched as her expression moved from panicked to resolved.“Ha! I did it. I knew I could,” Kelly said out loud.Great, she’s got multiple personalities or she’s bipolar or something. Jack watched as Kelly’s emotions swung back and forth.Then Kelly’s eyes went round and she sat up straighter. “Wait,” she said, “who’s Andrew?”Poker face or not, Jack needed to put some space between them when Kelly asked who Andrew was. He stood up and took a few steps back and schooled his expression once again. He forced himself to stay calm despite her revelation that Andrew hadn’t set this up. If she didn’t know who Andrew was, how did she come to be here, and who had he agreed to marry? All the calm that had come back to him in the last few moments fled and he felt himself floundering again. What was happening to his ordered world?“If Andrew didn’t send you, then who the hell are you?” Jack demanded. This day was getting worse and worse. Hell, it had to be a nightmare. There was no way he had just agreed to marry some complete stranger in front of his aunt and cousin. A complete stranger who happened to materialize out of thin air right when he needed a wife?Jack rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He hadn’t slept much the night before after he had lied to his aunt about having a fiancé and he had been wo
Jack faced Kelly again. He was now fully back in his element. He took control of the negotiations now that he had made the decision to run with this. He didn’t really have any other option and she didn’t appear to be a lunatic. In fact, as he watched her quietly come to grips with what she had done and get her confidence back, he marveled at her. It had really taken guts to walk into the room and pull off what she had. And she’d done it with such grace and confidence. She owned his office as if it were hers and there weren’t many people who could pull that off. He found himself a little in awe of the gorgeous creature who now sat quietly on his couch.“Okay. One year of marriage. You’ll sign a prenuptial agreement. You get your law school tuition and you’ll have a credit card for expenses while we’re married. You’ll have to attend occasional dinner parties and fundraising events, that sort of thing, so you’ll need appropriate clothes. Some of them will be black tie. Put anything you n
When Mabry Thompson left Jack and Kelly she walked down the hall to her son’s office. She entered without knocking and immediately dove into a tirade.“Married, my ass. That engagement is as fake as my highlights. I don’t know how he did it or who she is, but we need to expose this marriage as a fraud.” Mabry tossed her purse down on one of the two chairs in front of Chad’s desk and lowered herself into the other.“Hello again, Mom. Long time no see,” Chad deadpanned as he turned away from his computer to face his mother. Chad didn’t know quite what was going on with Jack’s sudden marriage announcement and he agreed something didn’t smell right. But, Chad couldn’t care less if Jack had cooked up this wedding to save his position as CEO. If it meant keeping his mother out of his hair about taking over control of Sutton Capital, he was fine with whatever arrangement Jack made.His mother ignored his reply and continued her tirade. “They’re apparently going to be married by the end of the
Jack and Kelly drove to Hamden for her parents’ weekly Sunday dinner. They were in Jack’s Jaguar and she couldn’t help but appreciate the buttery softness of the leather as she melted down into the seat.“Are you close to your family, Kelly?” Jack asked as he turned off of the highway at the sign for Hamden.“Uh huh. I don’t make it for dinner every Sunday but I try to get there two or three times a month. My mom is a great cook so it’s not a hardship,” she said, with a small smile at Jack.Jack made a left turn onto a tree-lined residential street. “Tell me again how many of you there are?” Kelly had told Jack about her brothers and sisters before and she suspected that in his line of work, he remembered names and details with very little effort. Kelly had a feeling that he wanted to keep her talking to calm her nerves and she was thankful to him.“There are four of us. My sister Jessica who’s two years older than I am, and our older brothers Liam and David. My sister and my mom and
Kelly was sitting next to Jack at the dinner table but he couldn’t read her face as they all passed around bowls and platters, filling plates with her mom’s homemade chicken, macaroni and cheese, salad, and green beans. It was comfort food at its finest and Jack wouldn’t mind coming to more Sunday dinners if her mom’s cooking tasted as good as it looked.“So, Kelly, Jack tells us you met at his office?” Kelly’s father’s question sent Kelly’s iced tea down the wrong pipe so that she coughed and sputtered. Jack laughed and patted her on the back while she tried to catch her breath.“Um, yes, Dad. We met at Jack’s office,” she finally managed to spit out. “Oh, what do you do, Jack?” asked Kelly’s mother.“I’m in venture capital,” Jack answered. “My company identifies companies at various stages of development that we think are good risks to invest in. Sometimes they need seed money, sometimes growth or expansion. We invest and we get a share of the company if they’re a success.”When Kel
Kelly had finished her registration for Yale and Jack sent the tuition in as promised so she was all set to start school in September. Over the next week, Jack, Kelly, and Mrs. Poole fell into a comfortable routine around the house. Jack left for work before Kelly got up in the morning so they didn’t see each other before work, but Jack started coming home for dinner in the evenings. He was surprised to find he liked the time with Kelly at night, liked talking to her and having someone at home waiting for him at the end of the day.Mrs. Poole often sat down and ate with them, instead of leaving a plate warming in the oven for him like she had before Kelly arrived. Then, Mrs. Poole headed back to her room and Jack and Kelly went into the den to watch a movie or T.V. together. After a movie, Jack would go into his office to work and Kelly would read a book before heading up to her room.After a week of falling comfortably into their newfound life together, Kelly happened to get up earlie
Kelly stood with Mrs. Poole and Aunt Mabry in the kitchen when Jack came in from work that evening. Kelly had poured a glass of wine for herself and Aunt Mabry and turned to ask Mrs. Poole if she wanted one. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aunt Mabry’s eyebrows shoot up but chose to ignore the look. Apparently, in Aunt Mabry’s world, Mrs. Poole was paid help, and one didn’t ask the help if they want a glass of wine. Wait until she sees Mrs. Poole sit down to dinner with us. Kelly smiled.Jack walked into the room and said ‘hello’ to Mrs. Poole and planted a peck on Aunt Mabry’s cheek before turning to take Kelly into his arms. “Hello, beautiful,” he said before he ducked his head to kiss her. It was a warm, gentle kiss but Kelly could feel the arousal bubbling just under the surface and knew that if either one of them moved to deepen the kiss, the passion would rise to the surface quickly. Damn, I’m going to make a fool of myself if he keeps kissing me like this!As Mrs. Poole s
The morning after her first night in Jack’s bed, Kelly woke to find that Jack had already left their bed. She had heard him come into the room the night before and held her breath as she listened to him get ready for bed. She feigned sleep as he brushed his teeth and slipped out of his clothes. When he slipped between the sheets in nothing but boxer shorts, Kelly thought she would burst but she focused on keeping her breath steady so she wouldn’t have to face Jack.With a sigh, Kelly slipped from the bed and showered and dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. She found Jack, Aunt Mabry, and Mrs. Poole in the kitchen.“Good morning, dear,” Mrs. Poole called out cheerfully, making Kelly smile. Jack and Aunt Mabry looked up and Kelly wished for a moment that the smile that came to Jack’s face as he looked at her was genuine and not for Aunt Mabry’s sake.“Good morning, sweetheart,” Jack said as Kelly joined them at the breakfast nook with her coffee.“Morning,” Kelly smiled shyly