Page 32 of Wed to You-
His comment shocked her but, at the same time, she found the image of him pleasuring himself titillating.
“On the other hand.” He stepped closer to her. He didn’t touch her, but she felt the heat of him, the scent of him slid around her like a caress. His blue eyes held a sensuous gleam. “Maybe you’ll grow to like and trust me. This may be a business deal, but that doesn’t mean it can’t include pleasure too.”
She tamped down on hormones that were screaming for her to start right then and there by launching herself into his arms. She clasped her hands behind her back to make sure she didn’t do just that.
Her brain, on the other hand, was waving all sorts of red flags. What if she liked him enough to include pleasure in the deal? What if after Kaden’s custody issue was resolved, she was emotionally attached to Jagger? She might come out of this financially secure, but was it worth the emotional risk?
“Jagger, I see myself as a forever kind of gal. If I do this, I’ll have to deal with the fact that it will end. It will be hard enough ending a marriage and leaving Kaden, who I know I’ll grow even more attached to. I’m not sure I can separate sex from affection, which means sleeping with you might lead to more than you want.”
He stepped back. “I’m not looking for love, Chelsea. Not that I’m adverse to having a “forever” with someone someday, but—”
“I get it.” She swallowed the lump of humiliation. “I make a good wife on paper when custody is involved, but I’m not the type of woman you’d normally fall for.” Because it was too hard to stand there and see the pity in his eyes, she started walking up the path towardthe boys.
“Chelsea.” His fingers curled around her arm to stop her and then slid down to clasp her hand in both of his. “You’re right about the first thing—that I want the court to see a good family. As far as the second, I can’t think of that now. To be honest, I’m not even sure if I’m capable of that kind of love. I like you. I think you’re smart and beautiful. This marriage could be fun, and we’d both come out of it with what we want most. You’d have your home free and clear.”
She sighed. She’d already lost so much in her life. Her home was the only thing left. It contained all her memories of her mother and brother. Losing the home would be like losing them again. She’d feel like she let them down.
But Jagger’s idea was crazy. A marriage of convenience? Who did that except in romance novels?
“This is ridiculous.” Chelsea started walking toward the boys again. She was stopped when Jagger took her arm and pulled her close, too close. Her brain fogged, making it difficult to think when he stood near her.
“I know what I’m asking is beyond crazy. But I love that boy. I want to keep him safe. I need your help to do that.”
How could a woman’s resolve stand up to that kind of impassioned, desperate plea?
“Will you think about it at least? Kaden and I are going to the Dogwood Fair tomorrow. We’ll grab a spot near the river for a picnic. If you show up and join us, I’ll know your answer is yes.”
“I have to work tomorrow.”
He smiled. “Not if you marry me.”
Chapter 5
Marrying Jagger was a ridiculous idea, so why was she actually thinking about it? Because it was her only hope to get out from under her mountain of debt and insure the house stayed in her family. She looked over the numbers on her legal pad again. They never worked out to equal “financially secure” no matter how many times she tabulated them. She’d never be able to work enough hours or sell enough of her stuff to climb out of the hole. She’d always known it, but before, there was no alternative she felt comfortable with. All she could do was keep on keepin’ on. Now she had another option, and it was tempting in more ways than one. Not just because she would be able to breathe freely once her debt was paid. And not just because Jagger was a devastatingly handsome and sexy man. The resolve she’d seen in his blazing blue eyes—his fierce commitment to Kaden—was pushing her toward his crazy plan. A man who’d do anything, even marry a woman he barely knew and didn’t love, in aneffort to keep a child was endearing. She found herself wanting to help him.
Of course, there was the fact it felt unethical considering it involved a legal issue. Plus, when the marriage was done, she’d be divorced. Divorce was all too common; though divorced people usually re-married, second marriage success rates were lower than those of first marriages. Would her marriage to Jagger really count as a first marriage since it wasn’t a traditional one? She’d always hoped that if she married, it would be for love and for forever.
Chelsea tore a page from her yellow legal pad and drew a line down the middle. On one side she wrote “Pros” and on the other “Cons.” Starting with the cons, she listed: Not marrying for love, will end in divorce, have to lie to friends, the town will talk, and having to leave Kaden in the end. That was hard because she knew she’d grow more attached to Kaden, and he might come to care for her more too. It would be hard on her, and possibly harder on him to leave that relationship behind.
She looked over at the pros section and wrote: pay off all debt, keep the house, and stop working at the diner. The pros list was shorter, but the pros themselves were powerful. She couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to be without debt and have the security of knowing she could keep the house. The house her ancestors had built and lived in. The house she’d grown up in with her mother and Brian.
She glanced at the scrapbook sitting on the hutch in the dining room. Reaching over, she picked it up and set it on her list. Opening it she looked at all the ideas she had for fixing up the house to its former glory. There were magazine cut-outs of home decorating ideas, paint chips, cloth samples, and landscaping sketches. Each room in the house had its own page of ideas. None of it would be done because she wouldn’t ever be out from under her oppressive debt.
In the end, she’d either lose the house or die a spinster and the house would be lost to the Beemer family anyway. She lookedaround the dining area, remembering family meals with her mother and brother. They used to talk about their days and their mother always asked them, “What one good thing did you do today?” Would marrying Jagger be considered a good thing?
Chelsea stood and toured her home. She entered the kitchen she’d painted a crisp sky blue, which didn’t mask how tired and worn it looked. The linoleum was about twenty years past needing replacement. The appliances were dated and dingy. She found much of the same in the family and living room, where the original pine floors were badly in need of refinishing and the furniture needed replacing or reupholstering.
Upstairs wasn’t much better. While she’d painted many of the rooms, a few of the walls could use a replastering and the floors, like downstairs, refinishing. The bathroom had beautiful checkered tile that needed a deeper scrub than she’d been able to achieve. The claw foot tub needed reglazing. Those were only the repairs she could see. She suspected there were hidden problems with the plumbing and electricity. The house was still on fuses, but she couldn’t imagine she’d ever be able to afford to switch it over to circuit breakers.
With Jagger’s help, she might be able to achieve it. She could live on her teacher’s salary alone and still have money to fix up the house little by little.
She returned to the living room, looking over the framed photographs of her, her mother, and Brian. They ranged from baby pictures to until Brian left for Iraq. Once he died, there were no more pictures. In some ways, Chelsea was glad. The loss of Brian had been the beginning of the end for her mother, who died of cancer a year later. Chelsea wouldn’t have wanted a photographic reminder of her mother during that time. The desolate look in her eyes, the gaunt features on her face.
“What should I do?” She held the last picture the three of them had taken together. It was the Thanksgiving when Brian was homeon leave before shipping off to Iraq. Her mother looked a little worn from all the cooking but was beaming having her children with her. Chelsea studied their faces as if they could talk to her. She felt certain they’d say saving the house wasn’t worth a marriage of convenience. They’d want her happiness to come above all else. Except her happiness was tied to the house. It was all she had left of them. Losing it would be like losing a piece of them, and a piece of herself. She let out a breath as she realized she’d already made her decision.
She bit her lower lip. Maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward. Jagger was kind and it was hard not to like a man who was so dedicated to a child who wasn’t his son. But even as she accepted her decision, new concerns crept up. She didn’t know Kaden’s mother. What if she was a nice woman whohadgotten her life together? Surely she deserved a second chance. Or what if Jagger lost his case? Would he require her to repay the money? And what if spending so much time with him caused her infatuation to grow into something more? Chelsea wasn’t interested in experiencing heartbreak on top of all the other loss she’d had in her life.
She picked up the picture of her mother and brother again. It was up to her to keep the family home in the family, even if it meant moving out for a short time to live in a fake marriage.
