An Irresistible Bachelor(3)

She reached a hand out to him. "Come back to bed."

Jack slid between the sheets and felt Blair put her arms around him.

"You're tense," she said softly, stroking his chest.

He wove his fingers through hers. "Go back to sleep."

"Is there something wrong?" she murmured. "You've been tossing and turning every night for the past few days."

There’s nothing to worry about."

He stroked her forearm, trying to get her to relax, but she propped her head up on her hand.

"Jack, we know each other too well for secrets."

"True. But who says I'm hiding anything?" He smiled at how her short, blond hair was sticking out at right angles. He reached up and smoothed the sides down, thinking she wouldn't have stood for that kind of disorder if she'd known about it. Even in the middle of the night.

Blair stared down into his face for a longtime: "Are you rethinking our engagement?"

"What makes you say that?"

She hesitated. "I was very surprised when you asked me to marry you and we haven't really talked about it since."

"We've both been busy. That doesn't mean Pm having second thoughts."

What he really wanted to say was that she should know by now that he didn't do "second thoughts," Having made the decision that it was time to get married, and having found a woman lie wanted to be his wife, he had everything arranged.

"It's just that..." Blair shrugged. "I didn't think we'd ever take this step. I keep wondering when I'm going to wake up from the dream."

He touched her shoulder, feeling the tension in her. "Where's all this anxiety coming from?"

"I never thought you were the kind of man who'd settle down. There were a lot of women before me."

"Come on, you know the stories of my love life are vastly overblown."

"Maybe so, but there was plenty to go on. And it's not just the women. You're a traveler."

Jack laughed and thought of his twin brother. "That's Nate. He's been around the world how many times? Four, now?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it. You've always been restless."

He thought about the odd mix of blood in his veins, the DNA of WASP aristocracy and Portuguese fishermen combined. She was probably right, though he'd never thought about it before. He did have a seaman's need for freedom, just like his brother, but he'd tempered the drive with his strong will and a healthy dose of avarice.

"Well, restless or not, I'm staying with you," he told her.

He heard her sigh in the dark. "I just want you to be sure."

"You know how I feel about you."

"You don't love me, Jack."

The quiet words hit him hard. He opened his mouth, not sure what he was going to say, but she put a slender fingertip on his lips.

"It's okay," she whispered. I've always known."

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, wishing he could tell her otherwise. There were so many things about her that he liked and respected. She was a business success in her own right, running a thriving interior decorating company. She had fantastic style and grace. And she was both caring and understanding, two things he was going to have to rely on in the upcoming twelve months. In all likelihood, he was going to run for governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts and he knew she would handle the stress of his candidacy with the same calm confidence with which she managed everything.

He valued her. He enjoyed having her in his life. The fact that he didn't love her was the only thing missing, but he didn't consider it a problem. That particular kind of passion just wasn't something he had in him. For any woman.

"So maybe the question is more, why are you marrying me?" he asked.

"Because I love you and I think we make a good team."

"We are a great team."

"So talk to me. What's wrong?"

He shook his head resolutely, not about to tell her he was dreaming of some other woman. "Blair, trust me. There's nothing going on that you need to be worried about."

"Okay, okay." She ran a soothing hand over his shoulder; it was something she did a lot. She had a way of handling him that he liked. Calming, but not patronizing. "But I hope you'll tell me at some point. I prefer to know bad news sooner rather than later."