The Tycoon's Secret Affair (The Anetakis Tycoons #3)(25)

“What the devil is going on, Jewel?” he demanded.

“I think that should be what I’m asking,” Piers said coolly.

Jewel turned to see Piers staring at them, his eyes steely.

“Piers, this is a good friend of mine, Kirk. Kirk, this is Piers…my husband.”

Kirk swore. “Damn it, Jewel, I told you to wait until I got here.”

She swung back around to Kirk. “What are you talking about?”

“I e-mailed you after you e-mailed me telling me your situation and that you were marrying this guy.” He made an angry sweeping motion toward Piers.

“But I didn’t get any e-mail. I swear. I had no idea if you’d even get mine.”

Piers stepped to Jewel’s side and wrapped an arm around her. He held her so tightly that she couldn’t move.

“And did you rush all this way to offer us your congratulations?” Piers asked smoothly. “I’m sorry to say you missed the ceremony.”

Kirk frowned even harder. “I’d like to talk to Jewel alone. I’m not leaving here until she convinces me that this is what she wants.”

“Anything you have to say in front of my wife, can be said in front of me.”

“Piers, stop,” she said sharply. “Kirk is a very dear friend, and I owe him an explanation.” She pried herself away from Piers and laid her hand on Kirk’s arm. “Have you eaten anything?”

Kirk shook his head. “I hopped a flight and came straight here.”

“Come in then. We can go out on the patio to eat, and we can talk.”

She could have broken a stone on Piers’s face. Without a word, he turned and stalked away, disappearing into the house.

“Nice guy,” Kirk muttered.

Jewel sighed. “Come on in. I’ll get us something to eat.”

Eleven

P iers stood in the living room, sipping his drink and staring broodingly to the terrace where Jewel sat entertaining her guest.

Just who was this Kirk to her? Was he the father of her child? Had he left her high and dry and now had a change of heart? For all he knew, the two of them could be taking him on the ride of his life.

His eyes narrowed when he saw Jewel smile and then laugh at something Kirk had said. Then they both stood and Kirk drew her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

Piers’s fingers curled into tight fists at his side. Then, before they returned inside, he walked away, determined not to give her the satisfaction of rising to her bait.

He was halfway across the room when he realized what he was doing. Running. That made him more furious than the thought of her making a fool of him. No woman was going to force him into retreat.

He turned to face them when the French doors opened. His gaze swept coldly over Kirk and then Jewel. She answered him with a frown, her eyes reproachful.

“Everything cleared up?” he asked mildly.

“Not really,” Kirk said in a tight voice. “I’ve offered my assistance to Jewel so that her only alternative isn’t marriage to you.”

“How kind, only it’s too late. She’s my wife.”

“Divorces are easy enough to get.”

“I suppose they are, providing I was willing. I’m not.”

“Stop it, both of you,” Jewel demanded. “Kirk, please. I appreciate your help more than you know, but Piers is right. It’s too late. We’re married, and I want to make the best of it.”

Kirk’s expression softened as he looked at Jewel. “If you need anything at all, get in touch with me. It might take me a few days to get to you, but I’ll be there, okay?”

Jewel smiled and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Kirk. I appreciate everything you’ve done and for letting me stay in the apartment.”

So it was Kirk’s apartment and not Jewel’s. She obviously hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she had no money and no place to stay.

Guilt crowded into his mind again at the idea of her alone and in desperate need of help.

Kirk kissed her forehead and then pulled away. “If you’re sure there isn’t anything I can do, I’m going to head back to the airport and see if I can hop a flight today. If I’m lucky, I can be back on location in a day and a half.”

“I’m just sorry you made the trip for nothing. If I’d gotten your e-mail, I would have told you not to bother coming.”

Piers fought to maintain a neutral expression. Deleting the e-mail had backfired on him. If she was telling the truth.

She walked Kirk to the door, and they both disappeared outside. A few minutes later, Piers heard the car drive away and then Jewel came back inside, her expression stormy.

“What the hell was all that about?” she demanded.

He raised an eyebrow at the force of her anger. She was bristling from head to toe and her eyes shot ocean-colored daggers at him.

“Funny, I should be asking you that question.”

“What are you talking about? Kirk is a good friend of mine. The only friend I have. If you have a problem with that, you can take a hike.”

“So fiercely loyal,” he murmured. “I wonder, though, if that loyalty extends to me?”

“Cut the crap, Piers. If you want a fight, let’s fight, but I don’t have time for little psychological games.”