Love and Chaos by Elizabeth Powers Read Free Book Online

slight smile.
    He
looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Starting his car, he focused on the
road.
     
     
    The
ceremony was quick and formal, and before Emma could grasp that she was really
going through with this, it was over. Mason bent down to kiss her lightly on
the cheek, and they were husband and wife. He had thought to bring rings, which
surprised Emma, since it hadn’t even occurred to her to think about that. But
he had bought one for himself, and had gotten a smaller and simple ring for
Emma. When he placed it on her finger, she felt a small pang of conscience. Marriage
was supposed to be for real, she thought. She felt some sense of guilt that
they were doing this for a reason other than love.
    People
got married for business reasons all the time, she reminded herself, trying to
work through her guilt. Royal families used to unite for political reasons.
There were all sorts of reasons to marry. But this just felt odd. Probably
because she never expected to marry for anything other than love. And she
certainly never intended to marry a man who didn’t love her. And her dog.
    Shaking
off the sense of discomfort she felt over what she was doing, she accepted the
business-like congratulations of Mason's attorney, posed for a series of
photographs with her new husband, and then finally turned to Mason.
    “I’ve
got to get back to work,” she said quietly. And it was true - not because she
needed to be there for any meetings, but because she needed to get out of here
for a while. To be alone, yes, but also to be back in the company of people she
knew well.
    Before
she could go, Mason gently grasped her arm and pulled her to one side of the
room. “I should have asked you this sooner, but would you have dinner with me
this evening?”
    “Dinner?”
she asked, unsure if she'd heard him right.
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “I’d
like to get to know you a bit, Emma. We just shared marriage vows. I’d like to
know more about the woman I married.”
    “Because
you’re interested, or because there will be questions that you’ll need to be
able to answer?”
    “Both,
of course.”
    She
thought for a moment, then nodded her acceptance. “I should be done with work
by 6:00 tonight. I need to get home to let Chaos out, but that won’t take long.
So anytime after 7:00 would work. Tell me where to meet you and I’ll be there.”
    “How
about Alamaya at 7:30?”
    “Perfect.”
    “Shall
I send a car for you?”
    Emma
shook her head. “I appreciate it, but no.”
    “It’s
not a problem.”
    “I’m
sure it’s not. I’ll see you at 7:30.”
    She
gave him a quick smile, then turned to go. But Mason stopped her.
    “Emma.”
    Turning,
she asked, “Yes?”
    “We
can pick out a ring for you when you get back next weekend,” he said softly.
    Emma
looked at him in surprise, then looked down at her finger. “There’s nothing
wrong with this one, Mason. It’s lovely. Simple, which is just what I like. So
no, no need to pick out anything else.”
    He
looked startled. “I just bought a plain and inexpensive band for the wedding –
I assumed that you’d want something with diamonds, and we could pick it out at
our leisure.”
    She
shrugged. “I don’t much like diamonds. Besides, this is a temporary
arrangement, Mason. This ring is fine.”
    It
wasn’t that Emma didn’t appreciate diamonds. To her, they were brilliant and
beautiful and elegant, but they just didn’t fit her personality. She wore very
little jewelry, and what she picked out tended to be understated. So the simple
band that Mason had used in their wedding ceremony actually fit her well.
    His
eyes narrowed as he looked down at her. “Jen...” he started to say.
    “I'm
not Jen.” Her words came out a bit harsher than she intended, but if Mason was
going to begin comparing her to her sister, she knew that his reflections would
hurt. After all, Jen was the one he had been planning to marry. She was the
beautiful one, the fun-loving one, the one