Momentary Marriage Read Online Free Page B

flashed across Kelsey’s face. A mixture of sadness and guilt?
    “I’ve always thought he had good taste,” Jared observed.
    Kelsey smiled wryly. “Thank you.”
    “You’re certainly my pick to ride elevators with.”
    She laughed, her blue eyes turning thoughtful as she looked across the desk at him. Did he see speculation suddenly dawning? Would the woman put aside the cautiously professional tone of their interaction and actually ask him out?
    “The initial campaign we did for The Meriton is up for an award tomorrow, isn't it?” she asked.
    “In three different categories, I believe,” he acknowledged, his instincts telling him where she was heading. She knew he was single.
    Her blue pencil, clasped in slender fingers, started tapping on the desk again. “I suppose…you have a date for the banquet.”
    Bingo again. Score another point for instinct.
    “Is that the question of a desperate woman?” he asked with a grin, gambler enough to push the odds.
    Kelsey’s smile broadened. “Yes, actually.”
    “Honesty in a beautiful woman. Amazing,” he murmured. “I’ll return the favor by acknowledging that I’d planned on going to the banquet stag.”
    “Oh,” she said, hesitating only a moment. “Well, unless you’re going there to pick up women, maybe we could go together, for Doug's sake.”
    “I’d love to escort you,” Jared said with amused satisfaction. “For Doug's sake.”
    * **
    As soon as she left the elevator later that day, heading for the front door, Kelsey saw the downpour and groaned.
    Summer thunder bursts in New York City invariably meant you couldn’t find a cab. Kelsey had long suspected the cabbies gleefully hid out somewhere just to remind people how dependent they were in a city where few people actually drove their own cars to work.
    The nearest subway entrance was a block away and she had a supper date with a friend. No doubt, she’d arrive looking like a drowned rat.
    Naturally, a crowd had taken shelter under the awning just outside the door.
    Kelsey pushed the door open, the damp, hot smell of rain engulfing her.
    “Excuse me,” she murmured, trying to wend her way through the group under the awning.
    On the street before her, cabs hurtled past in a steady rush, all of them occupied.
    “Lovely afternoon.”
    Kelsey whipped around, instantly recognizing the voice so close to her ear. “Jared!”
    “None other.” Standing immediately next to her beneath the crowded awning, he squinted out at the rain. “I know it’s a pain, but I happen to enjoy rain in the city.”
    She didn’t try to disguise her disgust. “Anyone who can afford a limo can enjoy rain in the city.”
    Jared laughed, the soft sound barely audible above the downpour. “I can afford a limo, but I don’t happen to use one often.”
    “So you’re stuck here like the rest of us. How the mighty are fallen.”
    “Why Ms. Layton, I can’t believe you have trouble finding a cab.” Humor glinted in his dark eyes, enhancing his smile.
    “Normally, no, but wet weather shifts the supply and demand,” she said, suppressing the urge to back up. An inch or two more space was all she needed to maintain her equilibrium. He was so close, so…masculine. His smile alone could endanger a woman’s well-being.
    Had she been nuts to ask him out? Surely one date would be okay. Half the time, he teased her unmercifully. They’d probably end up in an argument before dessert.
    He glanced down and Kelsey felt his hot gaze on the skin exposed beneath her short skirt. “Cabbies don’t really respond to a lovely pair of legs?”
    “I wouldn’t know,” Kelsey replied demurely.
    “I doubt that,” Jared said, his hand at her elbow. “Come on, let’s see if we can flag one down.”
    “We won’t get one,” she said, feeling breathless as he gently propelled her toward the curb.
    “Think positively,” he recommended.
    The traffic light at the end of the block changed and a sea of yellow cabs surged forward in