Momentary Marriage by Carol Rose Page B

There was no way that Ray Sanchez could measure up to that kiss, Latin background or not.
    This was possibly Jared’s intention, she concluded, collapsing into a chair. He’d had a flash of possessiveness when she’d mentioned going out tonight with another guy. Had he kissed the socks off her to keep her lips from straying?
    She grinned, an unwilling admiration dawning for his inventiveness. Most men would have blustered and tried to lay down the law. It seemed crazy to her that a man could feel possessive about a woman he didn’t love.
    Jared puzzled her. If sex was his biggest motivation to marry her, she’d have thought he’d press her for a little prenuptial preview. What was his reason for holding off? He might still make a move, but she wasn’t sure. That, of course, was the reality with Jared. She could rarely predict just what he’d do. The man intrigued her.
    He was hotter than a boatload of firecrackers, but he had an iron control.
    She, on the other hand, went up in flames every time he touched her, which wasn’t her usual response to a near-acquaintance’s kiss. If Jared had relied on her to put a stop to that kiss, he’d have definitely been towed by now and her date might have gotten the shock of his life when he came by to pick her up.
    She wanted to believe she wouldn’t have made love to the man in the hallway, but she hadn’t actually come up for air anytime Jared had kissed her.
    Very puzzling, she thought, trailing off into the bedroom to get ready. For years now, she’d floated along on a fairly superficial level with most of the men she saw socially, even the ones she’d fallen in love with briefly. She was fun and friendly, pretty much always ready to go out with friends.
    She wasn’t a bed-hopper, however. Not one man had ever tempted her to have sex in the hallway.
    Jared Barrett certainly had a strange effect on her. One that didn’t bear too close an inspection, she decided. She was going to marry the man, regardless, because she owed it to Amy and Doug.
    * **
    Doug walked up the stairs to Amy’s apartment, the large bouquet of spring flowers in his hand. This particular selection of blossoms had cost him a bundle, but he’d handed over his credit card without a thought.
    He hated arguing with Amy and this was the second spat they’d had this week. Why he’d lost his temper with her again, he didn’t know. After he’d unintentionally offended her at the banquet, he’d gone to her place and apologized. They’d watched a movie together, ate popcorn, and tried to enjoy each other as much as usual. But Amy had been as jumpy as a cat for some reason. Things had gone downhill after the movie ended when Amy had volunteered that she thought Jared would be good for Kelsey.
    Doug’s hand clenched on the bouquet. Turning to walk up the last flight of stairs, his steps slowed. He’d been pissed when Amy had said that about her sister. Jared was a shark. Who would know that better than he? He worked with the man day in and day out.
    But he hadn’t intended for his apology to turn into an argument. A fruitless one, too. He and Amy had been still been arguing when Jared and Kelsey showed up at his apartment the next day. God, what was Kelsey thinking about? Getting engaged to Jared Barrett? He certainly wasn’t a knight in shining armor, wasn’t the man to make up for her terrible childhood.
    Doug stopped at the top of the stairs, shifting his bouquet to his left hand and pausing to straighten his tie.
    Normally, he didn’t worry about such things with Amy. He hadn’t had to, they were such good friends. But things had gone nuts this last week. Even when he’d thought he and Amy were getting back in their usual groove, when she’d come by his place to make up this latest tiff, it had all gone to hell again. They’d started arguing even before Kelsey and Jared had come by and dropped the engagement bombshell.
    It wouldn’t last, he reminded himself. At this point in her life,