26

Goosebumps prickled the skin on Marilyn’s arm when she heard the knock at the door. Jonathan had arrived. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous, when she was certain Mrs. Chapman had misunderstood Jonathan’s motives. Once she asked him about it, she was certain it would be all cleared up.

“Hi, beautiful.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Hi, handsome.”

He chuckled and the sound was rich and sexy. She stepped aside when he entered. As soon as she closed the door behind him, she was pulled into his big, strong arms. He studied her features. “You sure you’re okay? You want to convince me you weren’t sore at all today?”

Marilyn tried to keep from blushing. It wasn’t easy for her to have such an intimate conversation with him. “I was sore but I’m better now.”

“Umm, let me see for myself.”

And then he leaned down and captured her mouth in one explosive kiss. She felt blood gush through her veins the minute his tongue touched hers. Then he began to make a thorough exploration of her mouth, as if he was coming up with a diagnosis. Moments later, he pulled back, placing butterfly kisses on her face.

“I thought about you all day today. Did you think about me?”

“Yes,” she said, still in a daze from his kisses.

“Good. Now what did you want to talk to me about?”

Marilyn smiled. “It’s no big deal. In fact, a part of me feels kind of silly for even mentioning it, since I know things didn’t happen that way,” she said, leading him over to the sofa.

He sat down and when she dropped beside him, he took her hand. “Things didn’t happen what way?”

She shifted her position on the sofa to face him. “The reason I’m at Cullers.”

“The reason you’re at Cullers?” he asked, a bemused expression on his face.

“Yes. Mrs. Chapman talked to your mother last night. Your mom told her about Robert and Diana’s engagement and how happy she was about it. She also mentioned that I had spent the weekend at Whispering Pines.”

He nodded slowly. “And?”

“And Mrs. Chapman said she wasn’t surprised that you and I were seeing each other. She thought we made a nice couple.”

“We do,” he interjected.

“Yes, we do,” Marilyn agreed, chuckling. “However, it’s the other thing she said that threw me.”

“Oh? And what was that?”

Marilyn figured Jonathan would laugh out loud when she told him. “Mrs. Chapman assumes the reason you sent me to Cullers was because of the Houston school system’s non-fraternization policy. She thinks you wanted to date me, so you sent me away. Isn’t that crazy?”

* * * *

Jonathan didn’t say anything. Mainly because what Marilyn had just described was not only not crazy, it was exactly what had happened. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be upset with Helen Chapman for suspecting his motives, especially when his mother had done the same thing. He figured the only reason Marilyn hadn’t put two and two together herself was because, during those two months he’d been her boss, he’d worked hard to conceal his interest. She hadn’t had a clue.

Now it was time to tell her the truth. He had wanted to wait until he was certain she loved him, although a part of him believed that she did, even if she hadn’t told him. But he’d gotten to know her well enough to see she was a traditional woman with high values. She would not have given him the gift of her virginity, if she didn’t think she loved him, or believe he loved her as well, though he’d never said it. Still, she had to know how he felt. He’d hoped his actions spoke louder than his words.

“Jonathan?”

He glanced over at her. He knew she was waiting for a response. “No, Marilyn, I don’t think it’s crazy at all.”

She pulled her hand from his as she stared at him. “And why not?”

“Because everything Helen Chapman said is true. I wanted you but because of the non-fraternization policy, there was no way I could approach you, so--”

“You sent me to Cullers!” she said, quickly getting to her feet and facing him with an incensed expression on her face. “Because you wanted me?”

He exhaled a deep breath, knowing he needed to fully explain just what he meant. “It was more than just me wanting you, Marilyn. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you.”

Marilyn didn’t say anything for a long moment. She just stood there staring at him. He hoped she was seeing the man who’d just confessed to loving her. The man who did love her.

She shook her head and said, “You really expect me to believe that? Honestly, Jonathan, you can do better than that. Why not admit you were playing a game with me?”

“A game?”

“Yes. During the two months I worked for you, you never displayed anything but total professionalism around me. Yet now, you want me to believe you fell in love with me? No, I think it’s just like you said. You wanted me, although you hid that well. And you played your hand by sending me away. When you thought the time was right, you reappeared. Have I got it right?”

“Yes, but I--”

“No. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I thought you were different, that you were the type of man who didn’t play games with a woman’s affections. But you did. You only thought of yourself and your wants. You sent me away from your school, so you could use me however you saw fit. Well, I hope last night was worth all the trouble. You’re no different than my brothers.”

Jonathan was off the sofa in a flash and stood before her. “How dare you compare me to them, Marilyn. Regardless of whether you believe me or not, I did fall in love with you and had to fight hard to hide my feelings. I knew that if I let you remain at Parkwood, I would have eventually said or done something inappropriate.”

He shook his head. “Then at the same time, I realized what a great teacher you were and what you could bring to the students. That’s when I came up with the idea of the math coach program. Even you have to admit, the concept is working.”

She glared at him and he saw the hurt and the betrayal in her eyes. The last thing he wanted was for her to let those erroneous beliefs cloud the truth of what he was saying. How could she not know he loved her? Even when he had spoken it out loud just now, she hadn’t believed him.

“Don’t make excuses for what you did, Jonathan,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “You didn’t care how I felt. It was only about what you wanted.”

“I did care how you felt. That’s why I was giving you time to get to know me, Marilyn,” he said, needing her to understand. “I was giving you time to fall in love with me, the way I had fallen in love with you. I was going to tell you the truth when I was certain you loved me, too. At that point, I figured you would understand, and it wouldn’t matter how we got together.”

She lifted her chin, and her furious, pain-filled eyes bored into him. “It mattered, Jonathan. Underhandedness always matters. You removed me from a school that was convenient for me to work at and placed me out of my area, making my life harder. But you didn’t care.”

“I didn’t know you didn’t have a car, Marilyn. I didn’t know until the night I offered to buy you one.”

“Oh, and having me as your kept woman was another part of your plan, Jonathan?” she asked as if insulted. “What you did while I worked for you was unethical. And you did it because you wanted me. That was not fair.”

Jonathan wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her anger away, but he knew he couldn’t do that. He had to make her believe that he did what he’d done for them, and it had been about love.

“I love you, Marilyn, and I’m sorry. Regardless of whether you believe it or not, I love you. At the time, I didn’t understand my feelings for you. All I knew was that I wanted a future with you and wanted to give us time to get to know each other, which is something we couldn’t do if you’d remained at Parkwood.”

“No, don’t try and justify what you did. You had no right to play games with my life or my career. There is no way that what you did was okay. I once told you I would never tolerate being played with, and I meant it. Please leave, Jonathan.”

“Marilyn, we need to talk things through. If you think I wronged you, then I apologize. But again, I did what I thought I had to do to ensure our future.”

“No, you did what you had to do to sleep with me. Well, you got what you wanted, so you can take my name off your list.”

Her words angered him. “List? What the hell are you talking about? There is no list, and it wasn’t about us sleeping together. How can you think that? You know me.”

“No, Jonathan, I only thought I did. But you’ve shown me you’re just like all the others, that you will manipulate anything to your advantage. I’ve watched my brothers do--”

“Stop comparing me to your brothers. I am not like them!”

“Please leave, Jonathan. There is nothing you can say to fix this.”

Jonathan refused to believe that. What she needed was time to think about everything he had told her. Then she would realize that his actions had been done out of love and not motivated by any kind of sexual greed.

“Okay, I’ll leave for now, Marilyn. But I’ll call you later.”

“We have nothing to say to each other.”

“You’re wrong. We have a lot to say to each other. Think about everything I’ve told you. When you do, you’ll see there was no other way for us to be together, Marilyn.”

“Please leave, Jonathan.”

“Don’t do this to us,” he pleaded.

“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Now go, Jonathan.”

Knowing she’d already firmly closed her mind, Jonathan crossed the room and walked out the door.

* * * *

Marilyn stood there, staring at the door. With trembling fingers, she wiped the tears she’d held back. How could she have thought he was different? In the end, he had played her, and played her well. She should have known better. What had her father always told her? When something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. Her heart was breaking because Jonathan had not been true. He was no different than other guys. He’d known what he wanted and he’d gone after it, not caring how he did it or who he hurt in the process.

She walked over to the sofa and sat down, feeling hurt, and deceived. In the past, she’d only thought she knew how the women in her brothers’ lives had felt. Women who’d fallen for their words of love and ended up with broken hearts. Now she knew. The pain and humiliation were real. She’d never have believed she’d ever feel this way. In fact, she’d convinced herself she would never allow herself to be put in this position. Yet, in the end, she had. What was even worse was the fact that she’d actually told Jonathan how she felt about players, yet all this time, he’d been one of them.

How could she not have seen it? How could she have fallen in love with him so blindly? More tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t stop them from falling. It had all been a lie. He had made up a job for her, just to get her away from Parkwood. He had convinced her it was a great opportunity, and she would be fulfilling a need. Yeah, right. She would fulfill his need. That had been his intent all along. Even his appearance at Barbara’s fundraising event had been staged. Somehow, he’d known she would be there. He’d made it seem as if his interest in her had begun that night, when all along, he’d been making plans to get her exactly where he wanted her.

At that moment, she was filled with so much anger. If Jonathan thought she was going to let him get away with what he’d done, he was mistaken. How many other women had been used by him, purposely sent away from his school so he could break down their resolve and have his way with them?

At that moment, she decided that she would be the last one. His game playing days were over. She always thought of the women her brothers played with, then discarded, as being pathetic. Some had cried, in the same way she was doing now. But none had gotten even…except for the woman who’d tried to end her oldest brother’s life.

Marilyn had no intention of causing Jonathan bodily harm, but she could show him that she could give as good as she got. She would teach him a lesson Stuart Jr. had learned the hard way--that it’s dangerous to play games with a woman’s heart.

* * * *

Jonathan threw his car keys on the table. How could Marilyn believe he was a player? She was upset. He understood that. But once she calmed down, thought things through and put everything in perspective, there was no way she wouldn’t understand his reasons for doing what he’d done. She had to know he loved her.

He turned at the knock on his door. He knew better than to think his visitor was Marilyn, mainly because as far as he knew, she had no idea where he lived. Inviting her to his home for dinner would have been his next move.

When the knock sounded again, he walked to the door. Although he knew it wasn’t Marilyn, a guy could hope, right? When he opened the door, he couldn’t stop the disappointment from showing on his face. “Oh, it’s you.”

Robert chuckled. “Yes, it’s me. Please don’t look so happy about it,” his brother said, entering the apartment.

“I just saw you this weekend. What are you doing in town?” Jonathan asked, heading for the kitchen.

“I took Diana back to school,” Robert said, following him.

Jonathan opened the refrigerator and grabbed two beers. He handed one to Robert before they sat down at the kitchen table. “You need to stay the night?” Jonathan asked his brother.

“Nah, I’m heading home. I told Lucas I would help him break a horse first thing in the morning.” Robert took a swallow of his beer, then asked, “So what’s going on with you?”

Jonathan took a swig of his. “What makes you think something is going on?”

“I know you, Jon. You seem agitated about something.”

Jonathan looked at his brother for a moment, then admitted, “I am. It’s Marilyn.”

“Uh-oh. Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise.”

“It’s worse than that.”

Robert lifted a brow. “What’s wrong?”

“She found out the real reason she was transferred to Cullers. And you were right. The whole thing has blown up in my face.”