by Reese Ryan
“I have no intention of moving in with my mother and grandfather.” A shiver ran down her spine just thinking of it. “I’d rather live in a tent in the woods.”
“Perfect. Then you’ll move into the cabin with me.”
A tiny ray of hope flared deep in her chest.
Benji was asking her to move into the cabin with him. Did that mean he felt something for her, too?
After their weekend together, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her head. She couldn’t stop wondering if a future for them was possible. But Benji was the first man she’d been with since her divorce. She cared about him too much to make him her rebound guy. Once she learned she was pregnant, she’d attributed her feelings for him to her wildly fluctuating hormones.
The same hormones that filled her body with heat as her gaze traced the sensual lines of Benji’s strong physique. The same hormones that made her long for his hands to glide along her skin, the way they had when he’d made love to her.
Sloane pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shake loose the fine image of how Benji’s muscles had bunched beneath his brown skin. She needed to focus on the larger implications of what he was saying.
“You’re asking me to move in with you?”
“We should get married first, naturally. For the sake of the twins.” He released her hand and pulled out his cell phone, tapping out a message. “But it would only be temporary.”
“The marriage?” Her heart had inflated and deflated in six seconds flat.
Not that she wanted to get married again. Ever. And she still had a modicum of pride. He wanted to marry her, but only because he felt obligated to, and now he was saying it would be some kind of temporary arrangement?
He looked puzzled, then frowned with realization. “No, not the marriage. Living at the cabin would be temporary,” he clarified. “I’m shooting my cousin Cole a message now. We’d live at the cabin until Cole’s company can build us a permanent home.”
“Hold up there, Andy Griffith.” She extended her palm toward him. “I’m not agreeing to a shotgun wedding. Do people really still have those?”
“You don’t want to get married?” The poor thing looked bewildered, as if he couldn’t possibly imagine why a knocked-up poor girl would reject the offer to get hitched to an incredibly handsome, impossibly sexy billionaire and commence having his babies.
“Because getting married strictly because of an unexpected pregnancy worked out so well for my parents and for your sister.” Baby boy bounced his generous-sized head on her bladder as if in objection.
Of course, you’d side with him. Traitor.
Sloane rubbed her belly, hoping to calm the little one.
Benji’s jaw tensed. “We’re not either of them.”
If he said that a few more times, she’d suggest he put it on a T-shirt. But as things stood, she didn’t want to aggravate him any more than she already had.
“No, we’re not. They were in long-term relationships, but still couldn’t make their shotgun weddings work. We had a one-night stand, Benj. A really incredible one, but still—”
“Then why not just keep doing it?” He winced and swiped a hand across his forehead. “I wasn’t talking about sex...necessarily. I just meant being together. The night we spent together, it wasn’t just about sex, not for me, at least.”
“Not for me, either.” She smiled sweetly. Or at least as sweetly as she could manage while baby boy played trampoline with her bladder and kicked underneath her ribs. “But one night of great sex and reminiscing over the past does not a marriage make. And I really do like you, Benji. Too much to watch our friendship turn into a strained, bitter relationship that’ll make us and the twins miserable.”
Sloane sighed, her heart twisting at the pained look on Benji’s face.
He slipped his phone back in his pocket without sending the message to Cole and scrubbed a hand down his face. “You’re sure about this?”
“I’m positive. Thanks for the offer, Benj, but if I ever get married again, it’ll be for one reason and one reason only—that we’re both head over heels in love.”
Three
Benji drove Sloane’s car, the silence stretching between them. She’d pretended to be upbeat, like everything would be okay, until they’d sent her to the cashier’s desk once she’d been released by the doctor.
The stress and embarrassment she felt were obvious when they’d asked how she’d pay her insurance co-pay. She’d almost whispered the words, “Bill me.”
When Sloane had made one last stop at the restroom, Benji had gone back to the desk and paid the entire bill. After she came back, he’d handed the receipt to Sloane and, though she’d thanked him, her face had fallen. She’d been silent ever since, staring out the passenger window the entire drive.
“Are you angry that I paid the hospital bill?” he asked finally, gripping the steering wheel tightly. The tension rolling off her shoulders was contagious.
“I appreciate what you did.” She turned in his general direction as they idled at the traffic light. “I’m just angry with myself for being in a position where you felt you needed to do it.”
“I wish you’d reconsider my offer.”
“Thanks, but no thanks on the shotgun wedding, Benj.” She adjusted her seat belt. “I know you billionaires aren’t used to people telling you no. But marrying me strictly for your progeny...that’s gonna be a hard pass for me.”
“I was wrong.” He turned into the parking lot of her condo, recalling their conversation on the dance floor. “You’re stubborn as hell.”
She laughed and the tension between them eased a little. He couldn’t help chuckling, too.
Sloane was wrong about him. He wasn’t some asshole billionaire who expected strict obedience from the people surrounding him. But when it came to business, he knew what he wanted and made it happen, whether that was developing a new app, acquiring a new company or getting the very best price when he sold his.
He applied a thumb to people’s pressure points and used whatever leverage he ethically could in order to negotiate the best possible deal. It worked every time. Even with hard cases, like the Japanese company that eventually purchased his tech start-up and the block of promising companies he’d acquired.
Why couldn’t he do the same with Sloane?
It wasn’t a tactic he’d use on the soon-to-be mother of his children, if she’d left him any other choice. But no way would he let Sloane struggle to care for his son and daughter in a run-down condo thousands of miles away. He had no choice but to do what he did best. Apply gentle pressure to get the desired results.
When they’d stopped to get her mail, there were more envelopes stamped Final Notice. He got her and the groceries inside, settled her on the sofa and put the groceries away.
“You really don’t have to do that, Benji. You’re the guest, and the contractions have stopped, so I’m perfectly fine.”
He shot her a look that dared her to move from the couch. For once, she didn’t object. She sat back and almost seemed relieved he hadn’t taken her up on her offer.
Maybe it was the same with his marriage proposal. A proposal that made perfect sense given their situations. Sloane was proud and determined. She didn’t want him trying to ride in on his white horse and save the day.
He got that. Her determined attitude was one of the things he’d always admired about Sloane. So maybe what he needed to do was sweeten the pot. Make her look like the winner in the deal. Give her an offer she simply couldn’t pass on.
Benji got Sloane a glass of cold water to make sure she stayed hydrated. He handed it to her and sat in a chair across the coffee table from her. He drummed his fingers on his knees, running the words through his head.
“Whatever it is you want to ask me, Benj, just say it.” Sloane put the glass down on a coaster
and drew her legs onto the sofa, sitting cross-legged. She rubbed her belly again.
Every time her hand drifted there, he couldn’t help recalling how it’d felt when the babies moved beneath his hand. Or thinking about the fact that he was going to be a father in just a few short months.
He slid to the edge of the chair. “I’d like to make a proposal.”
“Please, don’t get on one knee, Benj. That’ll just make it awkward for both of us. My answer hasn’t changed. No shotgun wedding.”
Sloane had no qualms about battering his poor ego. If he’d been afraid that the money and women chasing him would go to his head, Sloane Sutton was a sure antidote for an overinflated ego.
“I’ll fix up your condo and get you top dollar for it.” He cleared his throat as he studied Sloane’s face. Her eyes widened with surprise, then narrowed as if she didn’t like where the conversation was going. “You can keep all of the proceeds of the sale, plus I’ll write you a seven-figure check, just as a way to compensate you for—”
“Having my own kids?” She was more than a little indignant as she clutched her belly protectively. “I’m not your surrogate, Benji. These are my...” She released a long, slow breath. “These are our twins.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, Sloane. It’s just that I realize what a burden this has been for you trying to handle it all on your own. I just want to help.”
“But let me guess, the ‘price’ of this help is agreeing to become Mrs. Benjamin Bennett.” She gave him a pointed look, like she couldn’t have possibly been more disappointed with him. Then she stood suddenly, steadying herself on the arm of the sofa before shuffling into the kitchen. “So being rich has changed you.”
Her cell phone rang, and he glanced at the screen. It was the same toll-free number that had called two or three times already. Each time she’d looked at the phone and gotten agitated before sending the call to voice mail.
He sat at the kitchen island, where she was scooping ice cream into a bowl.
“Having money hasn’t changed me, Sloane. I’m a businessman. It’s my job to make deals and get results—in a way that’s fair to both parties. That’s what I’m trying to do here. Do what’s best for everyone.”
“You don’t get to show up in my life after ten years and assume you know what’s best for me.” She snatched a bag of salt-and-vinegar potato chips from the pantry, opened them and crumbled chips over her ice cream.
He was pretty sure a little of his lunch tried to crawl back up his esophagus, but he made a point not to cringe. This woman needed 24/7 supervision and a nutritional intervention.
“Okay, Sloane, maybe you’re right,” he said calmly. “But I can see that you need help right now, and I want to be there for you. Not just because of our son and daughter, but because you’re a friend. I care about you.”
She looked at him, just as she stuffed an overflowing spoon of the ice-cream-and-potato-chip concoction into her mouth. Her eyes suddenly welled with tears and she dropped the spoon back into the bowl.
“A year ago, I completely had my shit together.” She poked an accusing finger at him. “Then I had to take out those loans and things were tight, but I was managing it and, dammit, I had a plan. And it was working. Hell, that promotion was as good as mine.” She wiped away tears angrily and huffed, shaking her head. “I will not marry you, Benji. Especially not for money.”
Pressure points.
He cared for Sloane, but what he was doing was for the good of her and the babies. They belonged with him back in the place they’d both known as home.
Benji leveled his gaze with hers. “You’re completely opposed to us getting married, that’s fine. Then just come back to Magnolia Lake with me and stay at the cabin until the twins are one year old. At the end of the year, we can have a home built in Magnolia Lake, here in Nashville or wherever you want. If you still want to walk away, no harm, no foul. But I’ll still help you sell the condo. And I’ll pay all of your expenses while we’re living together.”
Sloane looked as if she were turning the idea over in her head. She chewed on the corner of her lower lip before slowly shaking her head.
Benji came around to her side of the island and faced her. “I’ll pay off the farm, too. Free and clear.”
Now she paused. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I want to be with you and our children. And it’ll give me a year to show you that this relationship can work for all of us.”
Sloane licked her lower lip and glanced at the envelope printed with the angry red letters on the counter.
“And what if at the end of that year, I still want to walk away?”
It pained him that she’d asked, but he forced a half smile, shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Then you walk away with the seven-figure check and zero debt. Your family’s farm will be paid off and you can buy a house with a yard for you and the twins. And, of course, I’m going to take care of them, regardless of what choice you make today.”
Sloane nibbled on one nail as she thought. She sighed. “And you won’t try to take them away from me?”
“I would never do that to you.” He hadn’t meant it as a dig at her and the fact that she’d chosen not to tell him about the twins. But from the way she’d lowered her gaze, she’d taken it that way.
Fine. If he had to play to the guilt she felt over what she’d done, so be it. Whatever it took to get her to yes.
“You’d pay everything off at the end of the year?”
The tension in his chest eased a bit. She was almost there. “No.”
She frowned. “How much longer would I need to wait?”
“You wouldn’t have to wait at all. You just say the word, and I’ll make a call right now.”
“Why wouldn’t you wait until the end to pay them off in full?”
“Because I trust you, Sloane.” He lifted her chin and gave her a faint smile. “And I don’t want you to spend the rest of your pregnancy stressed about the condo or the farm.”
She stepped backward, as if she needed air and space. Sloane stared at him for a moment, then pressed a hand to her stomach. “If I do this, I’m doing it for my mother and grandfather. And the twins, of course. I don’t want anything for myself.”
Benji swallowed hard and agreed, but deep down he hoped that it wasn’t true. By the end of the year, he was determined to make her realize that they should be a family.
“One more thing...” She raked her fingers through her curls. “If we do this, I need you to understand that this doesn’t make us a couple. We’re simply co-parenting the twins. I think it’s best if we don’t complicate things.”
He nodded and forced a smile, hoping he’d managed to hide his disappointment. “Agreed. But I have a stipulation, too.”
She tilted her head. “Yes?”
“Don’t tell anyone about our deal.”
Sloane frowned and rubbed her back. “My mother and grandfather are going to realize the truth as soon as the calls and threatening letters stop coming. It won’t be hard for them to figure it out.”
“Okay,” Benji conceded. “But even they don’t need to know that it was part of our deal. And ask them to keep everything low-key and not tell anyone where the money came from.”
“And what about Delia?” Sloane frowned, her expression pained. “I don’t like keeping secrets from her. These past six months...not being able to tell her the truth... It was hard.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me, and the last thing I want to do is make it worse by keeping this from her.”
“You didn’t seem to have a problem keeping it from me.”
Okay, so maybe that one was on purpose.
“All right.” A deep frown still pinched her features. She nodded. “I’ll move into the cabin with you until the twins’ first birthday.”
“Fini
sh your ice cream.” He winked. “We’ve got a lot to do.”
* * *
“You sure she’s pregnant? You know, I saw this episode of—”
“I’m positive.” Benji cut his always-skeptical cousin Parker off before he could launch into another “women can’t be trusted” story.
Benji adjusted the volume on the airport rental car’s Bluetooth as he turned into the entrance to his parents’ community in Vero Beach, Florida. He hated to leave Sloane by herself, but she’d been right. This was a conversation he needed to have in person.
“Are you sure they’re yours?” Parker, known for his bluntness, sounded apologetic, which meant he was making a real effort.
“Yes.” Benji’s tone lacked conviction. He didn’t doubt that he was the twins’ father, but he had no solid evidence to prove it.
“Okay, let’s say you are the father. Do you think Sloane did this on purpose?”
“No, you know that’s not Sloane’s MO. I had to beg her to let me take care of her and the twins. I asked her to marry me, and she turned me down.”
“You asked her to marry you?” Parker sputtered as if he was choking on whatever he’d been drinking. Knowing Park, it was probably coffee. “Are you insane?”
Benji wasn’t sure how to answer that, either.
“Look, I have to go.” His parents’ house came into view. “See you in a week.”
“Benj, it doesn’t sound like you’ve thought this through. There are too many variables you’re not accounting for. What if—”
“Goodbye, Parker.” Benji ended the call and parked in the drive. He got out and put his coat on.
Delia and little Evie were spending the winter in Vero Beach, so it was the perfect time to tell his entire family. Sloane had insisted she should be there, but just talking about it had stressed her out. He’d overruled her and set out to tell his family on his own. But now that he was here, his feet felt as heavy as cement blocks as he trudged toward their front door.
“Benji? What on earth are you doing here, son? I had no idea you were in town.” Rick Bennett hugged him. “Come on in. Your mother and sister will be thrilled you’re here.”
