Beyond Temptation - Brenda Jackson [67]
“They didn’t get to me.”
“Sounds to me like they did. So let’s get back on track. What do you mean that your marriage to Morgan would not have been real?”
Lena didn’t say anything for a long time. Then she said, “Morgan and I entered into a business agreement.”
Kylie lifted an arched brow. “What kind of business agreement?”
“I was to marry him and have his baby.”
“What!”
“You heard me. He asked me to marry him just to have his baby.”
Kylie stared at her for a long moment. And then she did the one thing Lena hadn’t expected. She burst out laughing.
And she continued laughing to the point where Lena began getting slightly irritated. Personally, she didn’t see anything funny, she thought, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest and glaring across the table at Kylie. “Excuse me, I hate to interrupt, especially when I’ve evidently brought so much amusement into your life this morning, but can you please explain to me what the hell is so funny?”
Kylie stopped laughing, slightly. She then got up and went to the kitchen counter and grabbed a paper towel to dab at her eyes and said, “I’m so sorry, Lena, but Morgan pulled one over on you.”
Lena’s glare deepened. “Meaning?”
Kylie dabbed at her eyes some more and chuckled a few times before saying, “Meaning, he would have told you anything to get you married to him.”
Lena inhaled deeply, still not knowing just what Kylie meant. “Kylie, I’m going to count to ten, and if you don’t get that rump of yours back in this chair and tell me what you’re talking about, then you will be going into labor early.”
Kylie saw the threatening look in her eyes and knew her best friend meant business. “All right, all right,” she said, coming back to sit down at the table.
“Now talk.”
Kylie raised her eyes to the ceiling. “You’re so smart I’m surprised you hadn’t figured things out, Lena. Think,” she said, reaching across the table and tapping a finger against what at the moment she considered her best friend’s thick skull. “For months Morgan has been after you. He asked you out several times.”
She glared at Kylie. “So? I’m sure he’s asked several women out. Big deal.”
“No, Lena. For Morgan it wasn’t just a big deal. I think it almost became an obsession.”
Lena frowned. “An obsession?”
“Yes. Not to the point that he would have resorted to stalking you or anything like that,” Kylie said, grinning. “But he was determined to get you.”
Lena considered Kylie’s words for a moment, then asked softly, “In bed?”
Kylie immediately knew where Lena’s thoughts were going and reached out and captured her hand. “No, Lena. I think it was more serious than that.”
Lena’s frown deepened. “What’s more serious than a man going after a woman for the sole intent of getting her in his bed? And you knew about this and didn’t tell me?”
Kylie shrugged. “I knew what Chance was telling me, which wasn’t much, but enough to figure out what was going on. The reason I didn’t tell you is that my husband asked me not to. He felt sooner or later sexual chemistry would do the both of you in. The brothers knew how bad Morgan wanted you, so they figured out why he’d hired you to sell his house and buy another.”
Lena’s eyes widened in startled shock. “Are you saying the reason Morgan hired me as a Realtor was that he wanted to sleep with me?”
Kylie rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not what I’m saying, and will you please be quiet for a moment so I can give you my take on things?”
When Lena reluctantly nodded, she said, “My take on things is this. For Morgan it was more than having you in his bed. I honestly think he was quite taken with you, Lena, and he concocted this plan to get you right where he wanted you, as a permanent part of his life. Remember that day at lunch I told you about his belief about his perfect woman? In his mind you’re it and he would have done anything for you to become a part of his life like he wanted to become a part of yours. But first he had to prove himself to you, let you see that he’s not like those guys you dated before.”
Lena bit her bottom lip. A part of her couldn