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She didn’t seeo, either

All right, so maybe his attitude toward Ja to sit there wearing a frown and pretending this pregnancy was sohter approach If Jaed

He had a sense of huhted in re him Leave it to a woh school days to dig up soht about

Rich walked across the living rooretted their er to offer him the option of a divorce

He lowered himself into his favorite chair, raised his feet onto the otto his eyes He needed to clear his thoughts, erase any trace of pride and negative e hinant Apparently she was as thrilled at the prospect as he was himself, but for different reasons He was a means to the end, and now that he’d accomplished what she wanted, he was of no use to her

He felt a painful tightening in his chest Over the years he’d met a lot of women Women who used him, wanted him, manipulated him He would never have believed Jamie was one of the to push him out of her life There wasn’t much Rich could do

He couldn’t force her to love him

Richhe knew the phone was ringing His eyes shot open, and he stood abruptly, aardly, and walked across the roo in hi wife

"Rich?"

This questioning, bewildered tone was one he’d rarely heard in his mother’s voice "Hello, Mo phone call froroaned inwardly "Oh?"

"She’s Jamie Warren’s mother"

"I knoho she is"

"She toldmarried?" She made the statement into a question, as if she expected Rich to i

"She told you that?" Circu what they were, Rich chose to answer his mother’s question with one of his own

"She also said Janant?"

"Really?"

"Is it true?" Like Ja with his stall tactics When he didn’t iain "Is it?"

Rich wearily rubbed his face, hoping that would help clear his mind "Part of it"

"Which part?" Histoward hysteria Rich knew his father wasn’t there, otherwise Eric Manning would’ve et excited over the smallest details For that matter, so did his father

When his parents learned Taylor had married Russ Palmer in Reno, all hell had broken loose They hadn’t been thrilled to learn Christy had uess what their reaction would be when they learned he was married to Jamie Like his two sisters, he’d

"Rather than explain everything over the phone, I suggest Ja," Rich said "We can discuss everything then"

"Toet away from the office around six I’ll check with Jamie to make sure that time is convenient for her, as well"

"Just answer one question Are you and Jamie Warren married or not?"

Rich hesitated "Yes and no," he finally said

"That doesn’t tell ue with his mother about that But he couldn’t tell her what he didn’t know himself

When he’d finished the conversation, Rich stared down at the phone for a moment He didn’t have any choice; he had to call her Sing his pride left a bitter taste in hisit He reached for the receiver and punched out her nu Rich didn’t bother with any greetings "I just got a call from my mother She apparently talked to yours"

Jah "I was afraid that would happen What did you tell her?"

"As little as I could Naturally she didn’t understand, so I told her we’d come by after work tomorrow, around six, and explain" Rich tried to keep the inflection in his voice to a minimum, tried not to let any of his emotions rise to the surface

"Tomorrow," Jamie repeated

"If it’s inconvenient, then I’ll let you call and tell her that"

"No… I’ll be there"

"I’ll see you then" He knew he sounded stiff and formal, but Rich couldn’t help it Aup, Rich sauntered into his kitchen He hadn’t eaten since early afternoon, but he wasn’t hungry Scanning the contents of his refrigerator, he reached for a cold pop

On his way out of the kitchen, he paused in front of the phone Before he could question his actions, he dialed Jason’s nus before his older brother answered

"Toht at six," Rich announced without preae pleasantries

"What’s happening to Moht "What brought this on?"

"Jaht she canceled the appointment with--"