Momentary Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page A

their characteristic mad dash to the next stop light. Jared stepped out from under the awning, one arm raised.
    His ear-splitting whistle made Kelsey jump.
    The thunder of cabs whipped past as if they weren’t there.
    “Told you so,” Kelsey said, smirking. “But I am impressed with the whistle. I’ve lived in New York on and off most of my life and I’ve never learned to do that.”
    Jared smiled with what she knew was assumed modesty. “Natural talent. And I don’t suppose cab drivers normally ignore you.”
    She couldn’t help but chuckle. “I guess I’ll have to get drenched making a dash to the subway or be late meeting my friend for dinner. If that whistle didn’t get a cab, there’s none to be gotten.”
    “You underestimate me,” Jared said softly. “I don’t give up so easily.”
    “Jared,” she protested as he turned back to the curb, “you’re getting soaked.”
    “It’s only rain.”
    The light changed again. Kelsey covered her ears against the whistle she knew was coming.
    To her shock, this time a cab separated itself from the thundering herd and pulled up docilely at the curb where Jared waited.
    “My gosh!”
    Jared opened the back door of the cab. “Jump in before he decides to take off again.”
    Kelsey dove for the opening, scooting over to allow room for Jared.
    “I don’t know if we’re headed the same direction,” she said, catching her breath, “but this is such a miracle, I feel we should celebrate.”
    He shook some rain droplets from his short, dark hair. “Shall we just ride around the city laughing at people stranded under awnings?”
    “That would be cruel,” Kelsey chuckled. “But tempting.”
    “Well, maybe I could just drop you off where you’re meeting your date," Jared offered, stretching an arm across the back of the seat.
    The taxi driver waited silently, the meter ticking away.
    Kelsey leaned forward and gave him her destination.
    “It’s not really a date,” she said, sliding back in the seat. “I’m just meeting a girlfriend for dinner.”
    “Ah.” He smiled at her, an glimmer of satisfied amusement in his eyes.
    Awareness rose in Kelsey’s chest, the atmosphere in the back seat of the cab steamy from more than the afternoon's rain. Sitting here next to him, she felt a slam of attraction. He sat easily next to her, his body lithe and muscular body, his confidence sexy as hell.
    She drew in a shaken breath and tried to focus.
    Beyond his obvious attributes--sable brown hair and chocolate eyes a woman could drown in—she’d gathered a few other pertinent bits of data about Jared Barrett. From everything she’d heard, he swam with the best in the shark-infested waters of the hotel business. His resorts weren’t necessarily the most lavish or best known, but he pulled down a substantial profit.
    On the personal side of things, she’d heard scuttlebutt that he’d had an early, failed marriage. Of course, few people hadn’t these days. She could only account for her own avoidance of that statistic due to lack of temptation. Heaven knew she’d been exposed, but the idea of getting married simply hadn’t taken.
    Of course, it would have been better for Doug and Amy if she had made a legal union with one of her occasional swains.
    Thunder rattled overhead as the cab made its way through the wet, congested streets. The dimness inside the cab left Jared’s features in shadow, but his warm, clean scent surrounded her.
    As young and successful as he was, Kelsey had never heard any indication of his being a party boy. She knew he liked females because she’d heard about a few he’d dated…and because he watched her with appreciation in his eyes.
    For months now she’d been puzzled that he hadn’t asked her out. She wouldn’t have gone, of course. Probably. Certainly, shouldn’t see any more of him than necessary.
    Just now it seemed necessary for him to kiss her, however.
    He was so near, his arm on the seat behind her, his head turned toward