Marriage by Mistake

going up. He raised a hand and opened his mouth. Kelly just knew he wanted to ask her if she'd managed to find Dean. So interested.
    Really, Kelly thought, with a mental shake of the head. Dean's cousin didn't have nearly enough of his own to do. She smiled and sailed right past him.
    But avoiding Robby was another matter. She had to pass his playroom on the way, and though Robby's back was to her, the kid somehow knew she was walking past him. He swiveled his chair from the dinosaurs he'd been exploding with his joystick. "Hey!" he called. "Kelly!"
    She had to stop. "Well, hey." She bit her lip and tried to smile.
    "So?" Robby bounced against the back of his wheeled chair. "D'you see Dean?"
    Kelly felt like scuffing a toe. Oh, why had she boasted to Robby that morning that she was going to track Dean down? "Uh, yeah," she admitted.
    Robby smiled. Kelly knew what he assumed. He assumed that she'd known what she was doing, he assumed that her words of determination and insight about helping Dean had been wise.
    "Well, that's good then," Robby said.
    There was no way Kelly could meet the kid's eyes. Maybe Dean had been right, she was realizing—too late. Maybe she shouldn't have befriended Robby. At least she shouldn't have led him to believe there was a chance she might become a permanent part of his life.
    "I mean, isn't it?" Robby asked, turning worried.
    "Isn't what what?" Kelly had lost track of the conversation.
    Robby got up from his seat. "Isn't it good that you found Dean? Didn't you help him, like you said you were going to?"
    Kelly stared at the child. It was all she could do not to burst into hysterical laughter. Had she helped Dean? But Robby was looking at her with trust and worry in his eyes.
    "Ahem. Well, you know Dean." Kelly took a step back. "A difficult case. Things...may not go as smoothly as we'd like."
    She'd meant her words as a gentle let-down, something to start Robby on the path to harsh reality. But the worry eased from his face. A smile appeared. "Aw, Kelly. You. You're so...fantastically stubborn ."
    "Uh..."
    Robby waved dismissively. "You'll have Dean eating out of the palm of your hand in no time."
    Kelly felt like her face was going to shatter.
    But Robby had already plopped back into his chair. He'd already swiveled around. The sounds of exploding dinosaurs were already filling the air again. The kid trusted her. He thought she could live up to her own advertising.
    Feeling terrible, Kelly backed away and left Robby. God, she'd made nothing but faux pas from the moment she'd entered these doors. She'd bullied Dean and misled Robby. No, she was definitely not living up to her own advertising.
    Head down, Kelly opened the door to her bedroom suite. For the first time she could remember, she actually wished she were someone else.
    Wanting out of her ill-fated, too-abbreviated clothes, Kelly stripped. She threw on a sweat suit and then paced the bedroom, brimming with guilt and shame. She'd led Robby on, and she'd overwhelmed Dean. She gritted her teeth and shook her head.
    Dean. She hadn't thought about what he wanted. No, she'd only been thinking about herself, about what she wanted so badly. A life together with a man she loved.
    But Dean certainly didn't love her.
    Kelly grimaced and clawed her fingers into her arms. What had she been thinking? Obviously, she hadn't been thinking. She'd been fantasizing, dreaming that he could love her, he only needed to learn how. God.
    Kelly came to an abrupt stop by the swag-draped window. Maybe she should leave. Go home.
    Kelly squinted out at the dark night. Yes, maybe that was what she should do. Pack up and go. Get out of Dean's life and leave him alone.
    She bit her lip. But she'd told Dean she was giving the marriage a two month chance. It had only been two-and-a-half weeks. Leaving now would be going against her word.
    Kelly frowned. Did her word really matter in this situation? She didn't want to stay. Dean didn't want her to stay. What was practical—what was humane—was to leave.
    In the morning she would go.
    The decision made, Kelly suddenly felt exhausted. She dragged off her sweat suit, slipped on her nightgown, and got into bed. But the minute her head hit the pillow she couldn't sleep. Perversely, all she could think about was the last bed she'd lain in, with Dean, and all they'd done together there.
    She wriggled onto her side and scrunched the pillow under her head. She shouldn't think about that. It was wrong to dwell on a