by Sara Orwig
“Marc, that’s very flattering, but I can’t do that,” she said, her pulse pounding. Marry Marc? For a moment she felt light-headed. She couldn’t agree to what he was proposing.
“Wait a minute. Just listen to the whole thing. What’s in this for me, and more importantly, what’s in this for you. Please, just listen.”
“I am,” she said. Breathless, still in such shock, she could only stare at him, trying to hear and process what he was saying.
“You haven’t heard my part of this bargain. I stand to get big financial gains if I do what my grandfather wants. And I’ll inherit his ranch—a fine, working ranch. But, Lara, I intend for this deal to benefit the woman I marry, also.”
She gazed into eyes so dark they were almost black and knew that, whatever the outcome, she would remember this moment and what he had just said to her for the rest of her life. She had a feeling that her life might be about to change in a manner she had never envisioned. If she married him. She couldn’t imagine that happening.
“You and I are compatible,” he said. “We’re able to be together and we know we can work together. I want to help you in your endeavors and help you take care of your baby. I want to give you and your baby a great start in your new life. I want to give your baby security and legitimacy—my name. If you’ll marry me in this marriage of convenience, I’ll draw up the papers and give you two hundred thousand dollars when we marry and two hundred thousand when we divorce. After my grandfather is gone, I want us both free.”
“That’s staggering, Marc,” she whispered, so stunned by his offer that she could only stare at him. “That’s almost half a million dollars,” she whispered. “I can go to school and I won’t have to work in the office.”
“That’s right. As much as I hate to lose you as a secretary, I need you more in this.”
“But you go out and have women friends. Why are you asking me? We haven’t even dated.”
“This isn’t a marriage made from a romance. It’s a marriage of convenience and my grandfather just required that I live on the ranch for one year. When my grandfather is gone, I want to return to my single status—and I will,” Marc said, giving her a direct look that spoke volumes about his determination to do just that. “The women I take to parties and concerts and shows—I don’t think any of them would go into a marriage with the agreement that it would be over, maybe in several months.”
“I can see that,” she said without thinking, and his lips curved in a faint smile.
“You, on the other hand, have an agenda. You plan on medical school and you’ll have a baby. I think you’ll be willing to walk away from this when we divorce.”
“Will we...will we live as man and wife?” she asked. “Including sex?”
“If that’s your preference, yes, we can. If it’s not—and since this marriage is definitely temporary—I think we can manage. We did well working together for the past year. This should be even easier because we won’t see each other on a daily basis the way we have at the office. I still love and miss my wife. I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“I just broke an engagement and I’m not interested in one, either,” she said, her cheeks turning pink.
“Then that settles that question. We’ll continue in a friendly manner the way we did at the office. This way, we won’t have emotional complications,” he said, smiling at her, and she smiled in return. “It’s not something that can’t be changed if we decide we want to change it,” he added, and she nodded.
“Marc, I have to admit I’m stunned. I can’t believe what you’re offering.”
“Think about it, Lara. You’re alone now, but you won’t be if you take this offer. I can help you so you can take care of yourself and your baby, get that education you want so you can save some lives or help others in some way. You’ll be helping my mother and me get this inheritance. It’s mutually beneficial and I hope changes your life for the better.”
“Of course it will,” she answered. She stared at him and he gazed back in silence. Could she live under the same roof with him without falling into bed with him? Could she live with him and not get emotionally involved? He was a sexy, desirable man. And she knew he could do far more damage to her heart than she’d experienced this past year, and that had been terrible.
“Lara, I’m sure people at the office have talked to you about my wife. You’ve seen her picture on my desk. She was pregnant with our baby when she was killed in a plane crash after we had been married three months. We had been married three months, four days, fourteen hours to be exact.” He looked away, and when he talked, his voice was flat.
“I’m sorry, Marc, for your loss.”
“I loved her,” he said quietly, and Lara wondered if he had forgotten her presence and was caught in memories. She sat quietly as he drew a deep breath.
“Enough of that, except to say, I will not make this marriage permanent, nor will it become personal. I still love Kathy and miss her with all my being. I know I need to get over my loss, but that hasn’t happened and I want to be up front and honest with you.”
“I understand. My broken engagement hurt me and left me not trusting my judgment in men. I get it. But I also know you well, since we’ve worked closely together for the past year.”
“I want to help you, especially since you don’t have any family,” he said. “In addition to what I’ve offered, there are some other things.”
“There’s more?” she asked in surprise.
“Oh, yes. In addition to giving your child my name, I’ll set up a two-hundred-thousand-dollar trust fund for your baby.”
“Whoever agrees to this marriage will become wealthy. You’re willing to give me a fortune and my child your name?” she repeated, knowing she had to accept his offer.
“Yes, I am, because of what I’ll inherit from my grandfather. It’ll make his last days happier ones, and it will change my mother’s life for the better. And I hope it will change yours, as well.”
“That’s incredibly generous.”
“I’ll be on the ranch, but when the year is up, I’ll have someone else run the ranch and have a companion and help for my grandmother, and I’ll return to Dallas and the corporate world. I’ll retire later to the ranch.”
Still in shock, she sat quietly, her head spinning. “Marc, I can’t even absorb this. My life will change totally.”
“Yes, it will.” His hand tightened around hers. “Lara, I want the ranch and my grandfather’s inheritance, and I need this marriage. And I don’t want him to be unhappy in his last days. I love him,” Marc said gruffly, and impulsively, she squeezed his hand.
“I’m sorry. It hurts to lose someone you love. I know,” she said quietly.
She started to pull her hand away, but he held it. “You have soft hands,” he said quietly.
She realized they had been circumspect at the office, never even touching. But now his hand on hers was electrifying. For a moment she forgot his proposition, her dinner, everything else except his hand holding hers.
His gaze met hers. “We’ve worked together well. We can do this. Your engagement is broken. You have your plans for your future. We can help each other.”
Her insides trembled again. She was intensely aware of him, yet still trying to grasp the amount of money that could be hers if she accepted his offer. The temptation was great to accept instantly, yet years of caution and self-control caused her to remain silent.
“I’m surprised I didn’t faint. I have to think about this.”
“How many times in your life have you fainted?”
“None,” she answered, startled by his question until she saw his smile.
“I didn’t think so. Look, Lara, I know it’s a shock. I’ve been in shock to find out I have to marry this month. I want you to think this over.”
“I’ve worke
d with you for almost a year now and I’ve seen you in a lot of different situations. You’re one of the good guys, Marc. I feel I can trust you.” She diverted her gaze a moment, then looked back into his eyes, deeply and sincerely. “Since I feel that way, with the offer you’ve made, I can’t possibly turn it down. Yes, Marc, I’ll marry you in a marriage of convenience that we know will end.”
“I’ll still give you a little time to think about this and back out if you want. I hope you don’t back out, but I don’t want a quick decision when this is a life changer. You don’t know what I’m like away from the office. We should go out together a few times before we’re locked into this.”
He released her hand and she wondered if he had given the contact any thought. “All good ideas, Marc.” Her mind reeled with questions. “Your grandmother has a house there, right? Or will she live in the same house with us? Oh, my heavens! With us—that sounds so impossible,” she said breathlessly while she gazed into his eyes. I’m going to marry Marc. I’m going to be his wife. The thoughts swirled and she could feel her face flush. “I can’t imagine any of this.”
“See why I wanted you to eat some of your dinner?” he asked. “You haven’t eaten a bite since I told you why I asked you out.”
“You were right. My appetite is gone. The dinner is delicious, but my head is spinning and my stomach is churning.” She grasped his hand again. His hand was warm and solid, and her reaction to the physical contact was just as electrifying as before. She was conscious that his fingers closed gently around hers.
“Damn, your hand is cold as ice,” he said and clutched it between both of his.
“I’m in shock and nervous and excited. This is something I never dreamed would happen. I’m excited, scared, flattered—countless reactions that keep shifting and changing with each breath I take. Right now, the money is dazzling, but I know I have to look beyond the money. The prospect of us being married—that’s shocking and something I’ve never considered.”
He leaned closer across the table. “I understand some of your feelings. That’s exactly why I said you should take some time to think about your answer,” he said, brushing loose strands of her hair away from her face. His touch was feathery, except it was Marc and she was acutely aware of him. He gazed at her intently and his steady look took her breath away. What were these intense reactions she was having to him? She didn’t have those at the office. But at the office, she had never had to consider marriage to him, even if it wasn’t forever, wasn’t out of love and wasn’t even real.
“I’ll do that if you want, but the offer you just made to me—I don’t have to think about what I want to do. You’ll solve so many of my problems for me,” she said, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice. “I’ll say goodbye to you when we divorce, so I can go on with my dream to become a doctor and to go into medical research.”
They both leaned over the table, till mere inches separated them. She searched his gaze, yet his eyes revealed nothing of what was truly going on in his head.
He looked intently at her and then his gaze lowered to her mouth.
She tingled all over and drew a deep breath. She could practically feel his lips on hers as he looked at her mouth. Without thinking she ran her tongue over her lower lip, realized what she was doing and closed her mouth, looking up to meet his knowing gaze. When she felt the heat in her cheeks, she knew she had blushed.
“Our boss-and-secretary relationship just went up in smoke,” she whispered, and he nodded.
“Absolutely.”
For a moment he was silent, staring at her lips, then just like a rogue wind, the moment was swept away. Slowly he sat back and she followed suit, feeling bereft after his near kiss.
“You were the best secretary I could’ve wished for,” he said finally. “But that’s gone for good. I need you more for this marriage of convenience because that’s a role almost impossible to fill.”
“You just changed my life forever, for the better. You’ve given me and my baby opportunities in life.”
“We’ll get to know each other,” he said in a husky voice. Then, as if he’d suddenly thought of a pressing question, he asked, “When is your baby due?”
“Next April.”
“If we plan to stay together for a year, I’ll be there for those early months when I can help while you get settled into motherhood.”
She smiled at him.
“If we marry, even if it is just a bargain marriage, we’ll be thrown into close, constant contact—although it’s a big house. Just remember, Lara, I won’t change my mind. This marriage will never turn into something permanent, which I know you don’t want, anyway.”
“No, I don’t. I know from the start that it’s a business deal and it’s temporary. I can deal with that.”
“I’m sure you can,” he remarked dryly. “I just wanted you to clearly understand my feelings. I don’t want you hurt by this or having a broken heart. I feel as if my heart turned to stone when I lost my wife. You don’t even have to stay on the ranch all the time. I’d like you around some of the time while my grandfather is alive. I just want him happy.”
“I know. Losing someone you love hurts badly,” she answered. “Remember, I lost my mother and I had an engagement shattered and it hurt. I don’t want to go through that again, so I’ll be careful.”
“If you accept, and you sound as if you plan to accept, I don’t care what kind of wedding we have. I’ll leave that up to you. Whatever you want is fine. I can pay for it. It just has to be soon. I mean, like next week or the week after at the latest. I don’t want any last-minute thing. With Grandpa’s health the way it is, the sooner our wedding, the better.”
“The sooner the better. Oh, my. My head is spinning. I can’t believe all this. One thing. I’m enrolled in a night class this semester. The doctor said it’s fine. The class ends in December.”
“Lara, you said you don’t have any relatives. Who’s closest to you? Who will you tell about this?”
“There’s my friend Melanie, and Patsy from work, and some friends in my neighborhood, including an older couple next door who think they’re substitute grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. Vickers.”
“We really don’t have long to pull a wedding together. I want you to think everything over tonight and give me an answer tomorrow. You’re saying yes now, but I want you to be sure,” he said.
“I am so sure, Marc,” she said. “I promise you, I’m ready to accept your offer. And I will get out of the marriage, just as surely as you want to.”
“You don’t want to sleep on it?”
Aware she was changing her future, her life, her baby’s life, she shook her head. “My answer to your proposal is yes.”
“Then I’ll have my lawyer draw up an agreement and a prenup. If you back out, you forfeit everything except one hundred dollars that will be a token.”
“Fine,” she said. They sat gazing at each other, and her heartbeat quickened as she looked into his eyes. His hand covered hers again.
“We’re getting married,” he whispered. “We’re not in love, but we can get to know each other a little better and let the friendship grow. We’ve always gotten along and worked well together as boss and secretary. And now we have decisions to make as a couple—wedding decisions, decisions about when you quit your job, when we announce our engagement, a lot of things. Can you go to dinner tomorrow night?” He smiled suddenly. “Maybe then I won’t send you into shock and you’ll get to eat your meal.”
“Yes, I can.”
He nodded at her plate. “Want your dinner now?”
She shook her head. “I can’t eat a bite. I’m too excited. Actually, I’d like to take a walk. By now the weather outside should have cooled some and I feel like I need to move around.”
“Let’s go. They’ll put dinner on my tab. We don’t need to wait.”
>
He stood and held her chair as she rose. When she turned, she faced him and they were only inches apart. Her pulse jumped and she felt riveted, unable to move at all.
Our boss-and-secretary relationship just went up in smoke.
She remembered her words from a moment ago and realized how true they really were. Going forward, their relationship would be different. Very different, she thought, barely able to catch her breath. She had always tried to keep her distance and squelch any physical reaction she had to him. She had always avoided physical contact. Now they would be husband and wife. Even though it was in name only, nothing would ever be the same.
Shocking her almost as much as his proposal was a sudden, intense awareness of him, far beyond anything she had ever felt before. His eyes narrowed the barest fraction, but she noticed, and she felt as if sparks flew between them. A sizzling attraction made her want to lean toward him, to touch him. Her lips tingled and her gaze lowered to his mouth as she wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
How could their coming change invoke this hot attraction so swiftly?
She needed to get back her detached business personality and keep a wall between them. That’s what both of them wanted. This would not be a marriage made in love and she needed to guard her heart all the time because he clearly would not fall in love and she didn’t want to fall in love—or fall into his bed, either.
With an effort she stepped away from him.
He took her arm and they left the club, turning on the sidewalk in downtown Dallas. How long would it be before she would get accustomed to him touching her? She had a prickly awareness of how close he was when he took her arm to cross the street. People were still out, but she was conscious of no one and nothing except him. His height as he walked beside her, his hand grazing hers as they strolled. Was she stepping into a situation where she would have a bigger heartbreak than ever? When she’d ended her engagement, she had been the one who wanted out of the relationship. This time, Marc would end the relationship, so she needed to be careful to protect her heart and stay out of his bed.
