Marriage by Mistake

horrid airplane ride from Vegas?
    But enough was enough.
    She had to retrieve her self-respect, stop playing the doormat. And Dean had to stop evading. They had to see if they really had something going here.
    She sashayed toward him. "I am happy to see you," she repeated. "Very happy." She got close enough to stop his hands on his tie. "But it so happens I have a headache tonight."
    "What?"
    "A headache," Kelly repeated. She tried to soften the blow by tapping him on the chin. "You look awfully nice, though."
    It took him a second to get it. His expression went flabbergasted. "You mean you don't want—?"
    Kelly's eyebrows rose.
    "You don't want—" He stopped again. A strange sequence of emotions crossed his face. "No," he then said, his eyes narrowing. "You're not tired of me. That isn't it."
    "Well, no, of course—"
    "Then I must have angered you." He took a step back. "Done something to displease you."
    "No—"
    "Yes." He bit the word out. "You're unhappy with me."
    "Dean—"
    He waved an imperious hand. "Tell me. What have I done? I'm not ready— That is, there's no reason I can't change it, make things better. Tell me."
    "No!" Kelly made an effort to calm herself. At least one of them should keep their head. "Listen. Just—sit down." She pointed to a well-stuffed armchair.
    He turned his gaze toward the chair. "Ah," he said. "So it's a long list."
    "Dean..." Kelly wavered. Perhaps they should make love, after all. He was taking this wrong, so ready for rejection.
    But Kelly steeled herself. Making love to him would only reinforce the notion that sex was all they had to offer each other. And it would be disastrous for her self-respect. "The only thing you need to do to please me," she enunciated carefully, "is sit."
    His brows jumped. But he turned. With long strides he made for the indicated chair. Brusquely, he sat.
    Kelly suppressed a sigh as she took the armchair next to Dean's. She leaned back and smiled.
    "Are you pleased now?" Dean asked.
    "Yes." Kelly bit her lip. "How about you?"
    "Excuse me?"
    "Are you pleased?"
    His brows lowered. "Oh, I'm just peachy."
    Kelly felt her heart skip around. This wasn't working. They had to do something together, something to demonstrate they could enjoy each other's company other than in bed. Assuming, of course, that was even true. "Uh, would you like to play checkers?"
    He stared at her. "No."
    "How about watch TV?"
    His amazement abounded. "No."
    Kelly got desperate. "Well how about—taking a walk?"
    Some of her desperation must have gotten through. Dean gave her a close look. "This would please you, a walk?"
    Kelly smiled. "Yes." Oh, anything.
    "Fine." In one smooth motion, Dean stood up. "Let's take a walk."
    ~~~
    She wanted to take a walk. Taut as a bowstring, Dean led Kelly out through the kitchen. She wanted a walk .
    He couldn't imagine what he'd done to turn her off, but it must have been something. Just before they went out the door, he flipped on the exterior lights. They walked into a landscape of glowing trees and flowers.
    Kelly made a low sound, though whether of pleasure or scorn Dean couldn't tell. Hell, maybe she'd have preferred the natural light of the moon. He hadn't thought of that.
    Clearly, he hadn't thought of anything that would please her tonight.
    Kelly's sneakers crunched on the gravel of the drive that led off toward the garage. "I remember there's a kind of meadow at the end of the trees in that direction." She waved a hand. "Do you know how to get there?"
    Dean gave a jerky nod. "This way." He walked past her and toward the path that wound through the woods. He didn't dare take her hand. If he did, she'd find out he wasn't nearly as calm as he was pretending.
    It was absurd, really. His whole goal here was to come to an end in the relationship. If Kelly were displeased with him, he should be happy. That meant she'd discovered their fundamental incompatibility. They could come to a mutual, amicable parting of the ways.
    But, damn it, Dean wasn't ready for that. He wasn't...through with her yet.
    They walked side by side through the trees. Accompanying them was the gentle peeping of new frogs and a hint of the symphony of crickets that would come later in the summer. The setting would have been bucolic if Dean hadn't felt so panicked.
    What did she want from him? What?
    The path wound upward until the trees thinned. They were beyond the scope of the electric lights by then, picking their way along the softly matted path.
    "Yes," Kelly