Free Test of Time by Jayne Ann Krentz Page A

night returned. Garrett had a one-track mind where anything involving his future plans were concerned, but he had also proved last night that he was more than capable of focusing his attention on at least one form of short-term gratification. He had been a sensual and powerful lover during that time when he was thinking of nothing else except his new bride.
    During that brief, perfect time she had spent in his arms, Katy knew herself to be enthralled. Garrett's attention had been focused entirely on her in a way it had never been before, and she had gloried in it until the magic had ended and she had faced reality. But it was obvious that Garrett saw no jolting problem with the situation that had been created. It did not faze him in the least that his actions in bed were chillingly at odds with his convictions that he had no interest in falling in love. Katy, on the other hand, was both angry and re-sentful that he could be such a wonderful lover to her but have no real love in his heart for her.
    Now, with typical male arrogance, Garrett was assuming that she would accept her job responsibilities in the bedroom as well as in the offices of Coltrane and Company. As far as he was concerned, he had a wife and a new equine breeding-program consultant for the next three months. She hadn't found a way to set him straight yet. Her emotions were too unsettled.
    Katy stole a glance at her wedding band and wondered when she would get the nerve to actually remove it. She had a hunch Garrett would hit the roof when she did. A surreptitious glance told her he was still wearing his ring.
    "You think I'm behaving like an emotional idiot, don't you?" Katy asked.
    He shot her an assessing look, as if judging whether or not she could handle the truth. "I don't think you're an idiot. I know you too well to believe that. You're smart, organized and efficient."
    "Gosh, thanks."
    He paid no attention to her sarcasm. Maybe he was getting more accustomed to it. Either that or he thought he could squelch it by ignoring it. "But you are going off the deep end over all this. You're letting a case of bridal jitters turn into a full-scale emotional circus. We both went into this marriage with our eyes open. I let you know exactly what I wanted and expected from a wife. You've admitted I never lied to you or tried to mislead you."
    "What about my expectations and needs?" she asked with soft passion. "What about what I wanted from marriage?"
    "I thought," he said forcefully, "that I knew what you wanted from a husband. You never gave me an inkling that I wasn't satisfactory."
    "We should have talked more, I guess," Katy said, her gaze wistful.
    "We did a hell of a lot of talking during the past couple of months."
    "We talked about horses and breeding programs and Red Dazzle and your plans for the future. We talked about my new job in your consulting firm. We talked about your new home. But we never really talked about us—you and me. I see that now."
    "When we talked about plans for the future we were talking about you and me."
    "If that's so, then we have a serious communication problem, don't we?" she tossed back.
    "Nothing that can't be straightened out, given time." The words came softly between his teeth.
    "I don't think three months is enough time to solve the problem we have, Garrett."
    "We'll get a start on it during the next couple of weeks."
    "There's no need for you to pretend we're on a honeymoon for the next two weeks. As far as I'm concerned, what we have now is a business arrangement, not a marriage." Katy was rather surprised by her own assertiveness. It was as if she were actually trying to provoke him, and that was completely out of character for her. She never deliberately caused scenes, and the only time she was really assertive was when she was talking about horses. It was odd to think that her marriage might actually have changed her personality. She had always believed such things were immutable once one became an adult.
    "Does it