need to touch her, to reassure her, even in the smallest of ways, was as strong as the urge to laugh had been a few minutes earlier. He reached for her hand, entwining her fingers with his own.
She looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I … I can’t seem to sit still.”
“We aren’t at the courthouse, you know. This is a meeting with James. He’s a decent guy, and a darn good attorney. He isn’t going to laugh or make snide remarks.”
“I know…. It’s just that …” She let the rest of the sentence fade.
“You’re nervous.”
“I’m nervous,” she said. “I don’t understand why, exactly, but my stomach’s in knots and I can’t seem to read, and I keep thinking of everything that could go wrong.”
“Like what?”
Jamie turned from him and stared down at the open magazine in her lap. “I … You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“Marriage shouldn’t be taken lightly. I know I’ve said that before, but I can’t seem to explain it in a way that you’ll understand. Something happens to a couple when they marry—even when it’s only a marriage of convenience. Something … spiritual. I know you don’t agree with me, but we’re both going to be affected by this. I can’t shake the feeling that deep down we’ll regret it.”
“We aren’t going to have a physical relationship.”
“I know all that,” she said, “but it doesn’t change what I feel.”
Her hand was trembling in his, and he could tell from the way her voice quavered that she was close to tears. “Do you want to call it off?” Rich would accede to Jamie’s wishes, but he hoped she wouldn’t back out now.
“That’s the crazy part,” she said, her expression even more anguished than before. “I want this marriage and our child more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
“So do I,” Rich admitted, realizing how true it was. “So do I.”
“Rich,” James greeted him as he came into the waiting room. Rich stood and they exchanged handshakes. “It was a pleasant surprise to find your name on my appointment calendar this morning.” The attorney looked from Rich to Jamie, and he smiled warmly.
“This is Jamie Warren,” Rich said.
“Hello.”
“We met briefly … a while back,” she said, suddenly biting off her words. She cast an embarrassed glance at Rich, as though she’d made a dreadful blunder. Fortunately James didn’t react at all. It wasn’t until they were inside James’s office that Rich remembered the two of them had been introduced at James and Christy’s engagement party.
“Come on in and sit down,” James said, motioning toward the two upholstered chairs positioned on the other side of his desk. James, who was of medium height with broad shoulders and a hairline just beginning to recede, had a rather formal manner and a natural reserve.
Rich knew from mutual acquaintances that he’d taken the broken engagement hard. He’d loved Christy and been deeply wounded when she’d married Cody instead. Rich had heard that James rarely dated. If so, that was a shame. James had a lot to offer a woman. He was a junior partner with the firm these days and his talents were in high demand. It would take one hell of a woman to replace Christy, and Rich could only hope that James would find someone just as special.
“So,” James said, reaching for his pen and a yellow pad, “what can I do for you?”
Rich leaned back in his chair. “Jamie and I would like you to draft a prenuptial agreement.”
The attorney’s gaze flew to Rich’s. “Congratulations! I’m delighted to hear it. I didn’t know you were engaged.”
“We aren’t … exactly,” Jamie said hurriedly. When James focused his attention on her, she shifted in her chair and gestured at Rich. “You’d better explain … everything.”
“This will be a marriage of convenience,” he announced.
“A marriage of convenience,” James echoed, as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.
“There are … extenuating circumstances.”
“We’re going to have a baby,” Jamie inserted, then as she realized what she’d implied, her eyes grew wide. “I’m not pregnant, at least not yet, but if everything goes according to schedule, I will be in the next couple of months.”
James lowered his pen. “This doesn’t sound like a marriage of convenience to me.”
“We aren’t going to destroy a perfectly wonderful friendship by having sex,” Jamie declared vehemently, slicing the air with her hands. “We agreed on that first thing.”
The pen was carefully placed on the polished mahogany desk. James frowned at Rich, then cleared his throat. “Let me see if I understand this. You plan for Jamie to become pregnant, but there isn’t going to be any sex?”
“Before we go any further, I want the details of the divorce clearly spelled out,” Jamie added, sliding to the edge of her cushioned seat. She slipped her hands under her thighs, but continued to fidget, crossing and uncrossing her ankles. “They should be as explicitly drawn up as the particulars of the marriage. And by the way, we won’t be living together. But that shouldn’t matter, should it?”
“You’re planning the divorce now?” This time, James made a few notations on the pad, frowning again.
“You don’t expect us to stay married after the baby’s born, do you?”
“Rich?” James gave him a stern look. “Would you kindly explain what’s going on here?”
“We’re getting married, having a baby and getting a divorce. A, B, C. Points one, two, three. It’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds.” Rich found he was enjoying this. James, however, obviously wasn’t.
“A prenuptial agreement—okay, fine. We have several forms already drawn up that you can read over. The two of you can decide which one suits you best and amend it as you see fit. But—”
“But what about the baby and the divorce?” Jamie asked nervously. Turning to Rich, she added, “I don’t think James understands what we’re planning.”
“You’re right about that. The marriage I understand—at least I think I do. Unfortunately it’s everything else that’s got me confused.”
“There’s a logical explanation for all this,” Rich assured him.
“No, there isn’t,” Jamie said sharply. “Rich insists we marry and I don’t feel it’s necessary, but nothing I say will convince him. If I didn’t want a baby so much, I’d never agree to this.”
“Rich?”
