The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,4

it had been when she was sixteen. Her pulse picked up, her knees went a little soft, and heat crept into her cheeks. Crap.

But this wasn’t the skinny teen who’d been her first love. Tall and broad-shouldered now, he’d filled out. Nicely. And even though he was thirty-two, there was a boyishness about him, with his tousled nut-brown hair and a nervous grin that revealed a few crinkles around his eyes.

God, he’d gotten more handsome.

He was still that cute nerd, but better. Deep inside, her heart gave her a nudge, reminding her of how much he used to mean to her, how much they’d shared. Conversely, Meg’s brain reminded her that he’d devastated her with his betrayal all those years ago.

And now he was going to help his family take Molly away from her.

This wasn’t going to be an easy visit on so many levels.

“What are you doing here?” she finally asked him.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and his eyes darted around the foyer, and Meg felt comforted when she realized he was as nervous as she was. God knew why. He held all the cards.

“I want to talk about Molly.”

The knot that formed in her stomach burned, and her nerves frayed even further. This wasn’t a good thing. He was a Campbell, and even though she knew the family wasn’t close, she didn’t trust any of them. Time to get him out of here. “If there’s to be any discussion, you’ll have to call my lawyer.”

When she started to close the door, Jason caught it and pushed it open. “You don’t have a lawyer, and you’re in trouble.”

“I . . . I’m hiring one. I don’t want to talk about this with you.” She looked away because the same rush of emotions that had her crying before were threatening again and she couldn’t let him see her cry. The last time Jason saw her cry, she had been sixteen and he’d just broken her heart.

“Okay, but what if I could help?”

“How could you possibly help? It’s your family that’s causing the problem.”

“I have a plan. It’s a little crazy, but try to keep an open mind.”

“Jason, I really wish you’d go.” No tears, no tears.

“Not until you hear me out.”

“Please go.” Oh, shit. She was going to cry. “I don’t want your help. Your family has done enough.”

“Meg . . .”

The tears tracked over her cheeks and her voice became low and soft. If he wouldn’t listen, she’d beg. She wasn’t beneath begging. “Please, please leave. I can’t get into this with you.”

“You don’t really have a choice. Either you listen to me or my parents will take Molly, and I don’t want that any more than you do.”

***

Meg snapped her head back and looked up into Jason’s eyes. That had gotten her attention. Maybe he could reason with her now. She was staring at him, every emotion was right there, just like always, cutting through him. Ever since they were kids and he defended her from a playground bully, Jason had always been proprietary and protective where she was concerned, and he guessed if he dug deep enough Meg was a big part of the reason he felt the need to get involved in the situation with Molly.

He’d gone through all the angles, and what he was about to propose was the only solution. But looking at Meg, seeing her feeling so scared and helpless, the only thing he wanted to do was hold her. The algorithms he was running in his head kept his libido in check, because even in baggy sweats and with a runny nose, Meg exuded more sex appeal than a supermodel, but nothing could squelch the primitive urge he had to comfort her.

She’d always been a pretty girl—blond, petite—but since the last time he saw her, at his sister’s wedding, Meg had gone from girl-next-door pretty to knockout gorgeous. Still small—she was maybe five-two—every inch of her was now soft and curvy. Her long blond hair was pulled into an off-kilter ponytail, and her eyes . . . they were as green as he remembered, but the sadness, the tears, made Jason even angrier about what was happening.

He knew what he had to do, but looking at her, he didn’t know if he’d be able to pull this off without a lot of collateral damage.

“Did you talk to your parents?” she whispered. “Maybe you can convince them.”

He saw how broken she was by this already, and he knew he couldn’t let