Marriage by Mistake

came home ten minutes before the dinner hour.
    Indeed, Dean was so early he decided to enter the house via the front door. He sauntered down the hall and leisurely climbed the stairs. But he saw no one. Perhaps they were already sitting at the table? In his bedroom, he quickly changed his clothes, putting on a polo shirt and slacks. He wouldn't be caught as the awkward, stilted one at dinner this time.
    Moving leisurely again, he ambled down the stairs. He opened the door to the dining room.
    It was empty.
    Dean frowned, then remembered to check the patio outside. But the wrought iron table and chairs were uninhabited. Frowning harder, he went into the kitchen.
    Roberto was eating at the counter. He gulped and stood when Dean walked into the room. "Sir."
    Dean didn't bother with a greeting. "Where is everybody?"
    Roberto wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Went out to eat, sir. I believe Chuck E. Cheese was mentioned."
    "Chuck E. Cheese?"
    "Yes, sir."
    Dean waved a hand. "That video game and clown place?"
    "Uh, I believe that's the one, yes."
    Dean gazed at Roberto, bewildered. It wasn't the place so much as that they'd left without him. Wouldn't this have been on Kelly's list for his reformation, to dine at such an establishment?
    "Have you had dinner, sir?" Roberto asked. "Would you like me to fix you an omelet?"
    Dean shook his head.
    "A crepe, then, sir?"
    "No, no, I mean an omelet will be fine." Dean withdrew to let Roberto cook. Kelly hadn't even waited for him to come home—on time. She hadn't even given him a chance to see her.
    Bemused, he ate his omelet alone in the dining room.
    At nine that night, Maggie informed Dean that Kelly had called. She, Robby, and Troy were going to a movie. By eleven, the group had not returned home. Dean went up to bed.
    For the next three days he saw neither hide nor hair of Kelly. He made no effort to avoid her, even returning to his normal morning schedule. Yet their paths did not cross.
    It was...unsettling. Dean kept preparing for the surprise attack. None came.
    What, he wondered, was she up to?
    On the fourth day, he woke up later than usual. Purely accidental. But the upshot was he exercised later than usual, showered and went down for breakfast all later than his norm. For this reason, his unusual tardiness, Dean happened to be walking up the stairs after his breakfast when Kelly came down. Exuding good health and cheer, she was dressed in shorts and a grass-green cut-off top.
    Dean's heart banged against the wall of his chest. A stupid reaction, but Dean thought he disguised it well. He nodded as if he'd only seen Kelly an hour before and not four days.
    "Good morning," he said.
    "Good morning," she replied, and smiled brightly.
    Staying true to his conceit that he'd only seen her an hour before and this meeting was no big deal, Dean kept going up the stairs. Her step lively, Kelly continued down.
    And that was that. From the top of the stairs, Dean could hear her sandals slapping down the hall in the direction of the morning room. She hadn't tried to stop him, she hadn't even tried to talk to him. Nothing. His skin tight, Dean stalked toward his room.
    He wasn't going to turn around. He wasn't going to change his routine to seek her out. Why, then she would know he gave a damn whether or not he saw her.
    And that's when he got it. Dean halted so abruptly he nearly stumbled on the second floor runner.
    She was waiting for him to approach her .
    He almost laughed out loud. Him, seek her out? Him, deliberately put himself in the path of temptation? It would be a cold day in hell. He was not weak. He had self-control. And he had no need whatsoever for Kelly or her silly, romantic games.
    Letting out a breath, Dean smiled and proceeded to his room. He felt much better, having figured it out. Now he was back in control.
    Dean drove to the city and his office as per usual. He made phone calls, he dictated memos. But at odd times during the day he found himself staring into space. Mrs. Barnes had to call him three times to answer his own phone. He began to pace.
    Shortly after lunch he admitted he was weak. But he paced some more, determined not to give in to the urge that had seized him. He was not going to go home early to find her. He wasn't.
    ~~~
    "Fishing?" Dean said.
    Out by the limousine in the early afternoon sunshine of the front drive, Maggie smiled at him. "Where the stream runs along the north fence. Miss Williams thought they'd have the best luck