Page 38 of Falling for the Wife

“What the hell!” A deafening shriek escaped me when he audaciously rubbed his cold damp hair on the back of my neck. I tried to get away from his tightened grasp, but he was way too strong for me. His roaring laughter so close to my ear sent goosebumps all over me. “What is wrong with you? I was so looking forward to sleep, but I’m wide awake now. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep even if I tried.”

“Apologies…” he murmured before he imparted a soft kiss on my shoulder. “Want to talk about it?” His breath teased the skin where he just planted his lips.

“Not really.”

The sudden intimacy between us made me beyond dizzy. Sure, he’d slept with his arms around me, but we never shared this…whateverthiswas.

What is he doing?I nervously thought when his lips brushed against the back of my neck.Again.Fuck!!! Alarm bells rang in my ears. If he thought of toying with me, tonight wasn’t the best time. Our emotions were so highly strung. My defenses were down, and baiting him surely was out of the question. Biting the bottom of my lip, I shut my eyes and commanded myself to breathe evenly. It lasted for a few seconds until I felt his hand, which normally didn’t touch my stomach, had actually pressed against it as if drawing me closer to him.

“You can comfort yourself that he’s ecstatic to be with your mother,” he said mesmerizingly. The notorious hand on my stomach began to mindlessly circle about my abdomen. “Your father was devastated when Edna died. He’s where he wants to be, Gisele. We can’t begrudge him his happiness, even though I blew up when he confessed he’d abandoned all notions of treatment. For the past years, he quietly began to set a plan in motion. I was with him almost on a daily basis. How’d you think I felt when he told me of his fatal illness? My failure to unravel his secret is a burden I no longer carry. Peter made sure I forgave myself before he died. He’s with your mom where he belongs. And instead of wallowing, we should be grateful for the time we had with him.”

His words pierced through my fog. He blew up on Peter Weber? My, that must’ve been quite a sight. I could readily see him blowing a gasket while my father remained calm and composed, as if he hadn’t declared he was leaving us soon. Jared’s enlightening revelation made me feel like less of a heel. My conversation with my father wasn’t so impassioned compared to his, but that didn’t mean the same emotions didn’t course through me.

For a while, I found myself livid when I let my emotions get the best of me. But each time I had seen his deteriorating state, all of those ill feelings had evaporated, only to be replenished with sorrow and profound agony.

“If your wife died, would you wish the same fate?” I found myself asking, wondering what his thoughts were on the subject.

“If she was my world like how Edna was to Peter, then, yes, without hesitation.”

My stomach churned at the idea of him falling madly in love with a woman, so much so that he wouldn’t think twice before following in my father’s footsteps. Someday, I hoped to find someone to love me just as fiercely. Jared wasn’t the man for me, even though my heart and body protested at the very thought of another man. “Your future wife’s one lucky lady,” I stated without malice but with sincerity.

He chuckled with delight. “You say it as if you aren’t my wife.”

I rolled my eyes, quite glad I wasn’t facing him so he couldn’t catch my contorted face. “Stop patronizing me, Jared. You know what I mean. The woman you’ll love until you die, not the woman you presently married for business purposes.”

My statement rendered him silent. Good, he realized his joke was lost on me.

My phone beeped, and I reached out for it to find Wyatt’s message.

When can I take you out for breakfast? I could give you a tour of your campus. I’ll be a perfect guide, I promise. How about it, beautiful?

Nosy Jared surely read it as well. I didn’t care if he did or didn’t. Replying to his message, I quickly responded that I’d call him tomorrow.

“He’s quite persistent, isn’t he?”

Wyatt…damn. If I kept going this way, Blair wouldn’t be amused. I had to make a decision soon because if Blair heard it from another person, she’d be none too pleased. “He makes me laugh. It’s so easy to be with him. He knows me so well I don’t have to hide anything from him, but I don’t know…I haven’t made up my mind yet.” My honesty shocked me. Jared had no designs where I was concerned; maybe it made it easier to state such truthful things to him.

“I saw the possessive way he looked at you. He won’t stop until you’re his.”

“That’s nothing new. He’s always had a thing for me.” Much more so now seeing I was actually considering him after years of ignoring his advances towards me.

“What’s stopping you?”

You. It was always you. Sadly, this pathetic excuse didn’t satisfy any longer. I had vowed to move on, and I intend to, whether my heart agreed to let go of Jared or not.

“Nothing’s stopping me, Jared. I don’t see anything wrong with taking my time after Jack. Wyatt knows that.” Well, I hoped Wyatt knew it. I had revealed as much.

“And Dexter Berg?”There was a strange quality to his voice.

Was it disapproval? Worry? Disgust? I couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was because Dexter was David Berg’s spawn. It had to be. Even though David Berg remained in the company after a major falling out with my father, David had continuously tried to undermine my father’s decisions. And I supposed, David’s negativity would now be channeled to the new CEO of the company. Jared could handle him. Jared seemed considerate where I was concerned, but everyone knew the man made a terrifying adversary. Jared wasn’t my father, and I doubted he had Peter Weber’s patience, either. David had better watch out.

“Dexter? I don’t think he sees me that way. He’s always been über friendly, but he never really asked me out.”

“I saw you give your number.”

He caught everything; it was unnerving. “He asked for it. I saw no reason not to give it.”

“You were flirting with him…at your father’s funeral at that,” he uttered disapprovingly.