“So
is that what you think of when you think of marriage?”
Walls
not only up, but defenses in place and offense fully engaged. “Again, why?”
“Because
I’m married to you. And yes, it may be a business deal, and it may be for show,
but it’s still a marriage. And it sounds an awful lot like your parents’
marriage,” she added, crossing her arms in front of her defensively.
“Are
you looking for more, Emma?” he asked mockingly, crossing his arms as he
continued to lean against the door frame. “Is this your way of asking for a
different kind of relationship? Because I’d be happy to join you in your bed
this evening. While it’s not part of the contract, I would be willing to work
around that.”
She
blushed, but didn’t turn away. He was deliberately trying to provoke her, and
she wasn't having any of it. She stated firmly, “No thank you.”
Mason
watched her closely. She was flustered, and flustered made her absolutely
beautiful. Just like the other night, the physical pull he felt toward her was
strong. And her quiet refusal irritated him. Women wanted him. This woman
wanted him, he was sure of it. But she wasn’t doing anything about it, and that
bothered him.
Chaos
appeared at the door and barked once, shortly, looking for entry. Emma turned
away and opened the door for him, and he came bounding in, his tongue hanging
out and his tail wagging furiously. His two favorite people in the whole world
were in one room. That was nirvana for any dog. Trying to decide who to slobber
on first, he paced between them, wagging with joy.
“I’d
better let you get some sleep,” Mason said finally, after giving the dog an
affectionate scritch on the head. “Amanda liked you, by the way.”
“I
liked her. And your Mom. Good night, Mason.”
Mason
was in his room pacing. The past few weeks had been different from what he’d
expected, but this evening had, without a doubt, been the most trying. Emma was
starting to get to him. And for someone who was damn good at keeping his
emotions contained, this was more than disconcerting, it was troubling.
It
wasn’t just the way she looked in her dress tonight, though Lord knew he’d had
heart palpitations when she’d opened her door and he’d caught a glimpse of her.
And it wasn’t just the way that she’d moved, or the way that her hair waved, or
the glow on her face as she laughed at a joke. It was the way she had stood up
for him. Defended him. To his own mother, for heaven’s sake. Emma was right –
Mason had never had anyone in his corner before, and this was new to him. New
in a way that had him wondering if he might want to think about a relationship
with this woman. But also new in a way that made him question whether he needed
to cut his losses, divorce Emma, and just take the stock hit.
He
found himself testing the waters with Emma – pushing her to define their
relationship, and always hoping that she would respond in a way that let him
make a move of some sort. He knew that he could push her – that he could
probably even get her into bed with him before the weekend was over. But he
also knew that if he did that, she’d declare the contract void, and she’d run.
So that was a lose-lose situation for him. But damn, he wanted her. Sexually,
yes. But it was starting to be more than that.
She
honestly didn’t see her attraction. Growing up in the shadow of Jen must have
made her think that her own natural beauty was somehow less than the beauty of
her sister. And while Jen was, indeed, gorgeous, Emma had a glow about her that
was more intriguing to him than her sister. He knew, without a doubt, that
marriage to Jen would have led to sex. But he also know, without a doubt, that
he’d be moving on after three years without a backward glance, and neither of
them would expect otherwise. Emma was different, though. If he got involved
with her, he’d hurt her. She would fall in love. She would want forever. And
she would expect that Mason would want that too.
So
he needed to keep his distance. She already thought him cold. He needed to
reinforce that, but it was getting harder to keep his own needs and wants in
check. She had already won over his sister, and probably his mother. And Chaos
had wrapped his paws around Mason’s heart. In six weeks, they had each managed
to form bonds that he thought were impossible. He never wanted an animal in his
house – he avoided the emotional attachment. He never expected a woman to
please his mother. And he never had wanted to come home to a mess in his
kitchen, a dog on his floor, and dinner on his table. Emma was proving to be
far more trouble than she had any right to be.
Two
weeks later, while doing his best to keep distance between himself and Emma,
Mason realized that he’d forgotten to inform his wife about a dinner party that
he was planning for the weekend. Heading home from work in the early evening on
Tuesday night, he found Emma in her office, Chaos gnawing on a chew toy at her
feet.
“Cocktail
party? This Saturday?”
Mason’s
feeling of guilt was unusual for him, and he overcompensated. “Is something
wrong with your hearing, Emma? That’s what I just said.”
She
looked up at him incredulously. “But I have plans for Saturday.”
“Cancel
them.”
Emma
tossed down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms in front of
her. “That’s not fair. You didn’t tell me until just now. I can’t sit around
and wait for you in case you might have some event. I made plans with friends.
I don’t want to break them.”
“Our
agreement…”
“I
know all about what’s in the damn agreement, Mason. The agreement you forged
with my sister, I might add.”
“But
which you signed…”
She
sighed, leaning forward to place her arms on her desk. She looked tired, Mason
realized. “Under duress,” she said softly. “But yes. Look. I will cancel this
weekend. This time. But I will not do it again. In the future, unless there is
some huge public relations nightmare that requires an emergency cocktail party,
I am going to keep the plans I make, and you’ll be on your own.”
“You’re
my wife. If I need you…”
“Then
you had better make sure that you remember to
tell
me that you need me.
And for the record, stop reminding me that I’m your damn wife.” Her steely gaze
met his.
That
took him aback. “Why?”
“Because
this is some crazy business deal. Wife makes it sound much more personal. And
this relationship is anything but that.”
Mason’s
eyes narrowed. “Oh it’s very personal, Emma. And whether or not you like to be
reminded of it, you
are
my wife.”
“In
name only. It’s business, Mason. So make sure that any function that you want
me to be at goes into an appointment book. Send me an Outlook meeting request.
Anything. Just don’t expect me to sit home, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for
you to ask me to get dressed up and play wife. We agreed that I’d keep my life
and my job. So that means that I get a say in social arrangements.”
Mason
waited a beat, and then continued. “The caterers are coming at 3:00 to start
setting up. You don’t need to be here for that if you have things to do. Guests
will start arriving at 6:00, and dinner will be served at 7:00.”
“Did
you hear a word I said?” Emma asked, irritated.
“Every
word, Emma. But since you already agreed to make yourself available on
Saturday, it seems that the argument is moot.”
“For
this weekend, perhaps. But not for the future. I mean it, Mason.”
He
sighed. “This would be so much easier if you’d just accepted the money I
offered to you. An employer/employee relationship is less complicated.”
“Than
a wife? No kidding. And this is exactly why it was so important to me that
there would be no funds changing hands. I never wanted anyone to be able to say
that I accepted money for this. Or that you needed to buy a wife.”
“I
didn’t need...”
“I
know that, Mason. Probably half the female population of the city knows that.
But if it got out, it would hurt you.”
“It
won’t get out.”
Emma
was clearly exasperated. “Look. You and I will never tell. But you never know
whether someone in your lawyer’s office will see the paperwork, or my sister
will decide to come back to town and stir things up, or your mother will put
two and two together and figure it out.”
“So
how did you go from being infuriated with me two minutes ago to being so
protective now?”
Emma
groaned in frustration. “It’s called a relationship, Mason. I can get mad as
hell at you, but I can still look out for you. Haven’t you ever had a real
partnership with someone before?”
Mason
paused. “Apparently not,” he said slowly, looking down at Emma. “Try to get
over being mad by Saturday night. And dress is formal, but not black-tie.”
Emma
sighed. “So cocktail dress but not long gown, right?”
“Right.”
Groaning,
Emma pulled her calendar toward her. “I’ll need to shop, damnit. And I hate
shopping. You’d better be ordering good food,” she grumbled.
Mason
couldn’t help the grin that came to his face. “I always serve the best, Emma.
And I’ll order extra for you.”
She
narrowed her eyes at him. “Olives and nuts. You put those on the menu, and I’ll
stop grousing.”
“Done.
Have you eaten?”
“Ages
ago. There are leftovers in the fridge if you want them,” she offered.
“Did
you cook?”
“Of
course.”
Against
his better judgment, Mason said, “Come talk to me while I heat up dinner. I’ll
open a good bottle of wine,” he offered as a bribe.
Emma
sighed and looked up at him. “Red?” she asked hopefully.
“Of
course,” he grinned.
“Then
I’m in. Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you in the kitchen. Do you remember
where it is?” she smiled innocently.
“Ha.
See you in ten.”
Emma’s
spirits lifted slightly as Mason left the room. She knew he’d been avoiding her
lately, but she wasn’t entirely sure why. Part of her wondered if he was sick
of having her around, or if Chaos had worn out his welcome. But another part of
her was grateful. She needed distance from this man.
Ten
minutes later, she hit send on the e-mail she was composing, and turned off her
computer. When she’d gotten home, she’d changed into a worn pair of jeans and a
cotton t-shirt, and she had a pair of old scruffy shoes on her feet. But she
was comfortable, and she didn’t feel like changing. So whistling to Chaos, she
left the room and headed downstairs. Chaos, unwilling to abandon his chew toy,
picked it up and carried it down behind her.
Mason
was nowhere to be seen when she got to the kitchen, but she noted that he’d
pulled out two wine glasses and set them on the counter, so she assumed he was
down in the wine cellar. Chaos plopped himself strategically next to the
counter, looking hopefully up at the sky and waiting for food to fall at his
feet. After washing her hands, Emma pulled out the vegetable strudel she’d made
earlier that evening. She turned on the oven, cut off a healthy portion, and
placed it on a baking tray to warm it up, and to re-crisp the shell. There was
leftover salad too, so Emma placed that on a plate and pulled out the salad
dressing she’d mixed together and put it on the table as well.
When
Mason emerged from the basement, he was again struck by the warmth he felt when
Emma was busy in the kitchen. Not only did she cook amazing food, but she
enjoyed it, and it showed in the way that she fussed with the dishes. And the
extra touches were phenomenal – Mason had never known anyone who made their own
salad dressing, for heaven’s sake.
“Dinner
in about twenty minutes,” Emma informed him. “I could microwave it if you’re
starving, but if you can wait, it will be a lot better if I heat it up in the
oven.”
“I
can wait. Pull out some of those nuts and olives I know you have hidden, and
I’ll munch until dinner is ready,” he said with crooked grin. “I found a nice
Pinot Noir that I think you’ll like. And it will go very well with chocolate,
if you want dessert while I eat.”
“Oh!
Yes! I think I have some dark chocolate hidden away in the back of the pantry.
I’ll dig it out.”
Mason
opened the wine, pouring it carefully into their glasses. “Let it breathe for a
few minutes, Emma,” he instructed, pushing one glass toward her. “It’s good
now, but it will be better if you give it a moment.”
Emma
reached into the pantry and pulled out a container of mixed nuts, then dove
into the fridge for the olives. Placing each in front of Mason on the kitchen
island, she took her glass of wine, then pulled up a stool at the other end and
watched him as he took a handful of nuts and poured them into his mouth.