The Texan's Baby Proposal

She suspected he was smart enough to avoid getting sexually or emotionally involved with anyone at work.

She was attracted to him and had been from the first moment she met him, but she’d resisted with all her being because at first there was no future in it and later she became engaged. His heart was locked away, and even if it wasn’t, she had plans for her life. Plans that did not call for her to get romantically involved with her boss, no matter how good-looking he was. Still, what was the harm in admitting that the man was handsome and had sex appeal? Bushels of it. In fact, sometimes she found it difficult to keep remote, professional and cool around him. Nevertheless, she did.

Thinking about him, she sighed. Surely Marc wasn’t taking her out tonight to let her go. He wouldn’t do that. As for his motives, she’d know in a matter of minutes.

She took one last look in the mirror. Her hair was looped and pinned up on her head, just the way she wore it at work today. Her makeup was light but flawless, optimally highlighting her blue eyes and high cheekbones. As she gazed into the mirror, her mind must have started playing tricks on her, because she suddenly saw Marc’s image beside her. His thick, black, unruly hair, slightly tanned skin, the shadow of stubble on his jaw and his thickly lashed dark brown eyes. He stood next to her, over six feet tall, broad shouldered and strong, and he reached out to touch her and—

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car door closing. In seconds her doorbell rang. She took a deep breath and hurried to answer it. She swung it open to face her boss and her heart lurched.

Dressed in a navy suit and red tie that she had seen before, he looked handsome. She smiled, but felt odd flutters and she assumed it was because it seemed so much like a date. She banished that thought and looked up at him. “Do you want to come in?”

“Thanks, but we have reservations shortly, and I think we better go.”

“I’m more than happy to go have dinner with you, Marc, but I’m a little puzzled as to why we’re doing this. I don’t feel as if it’s a social event.”

He smiled at her. “Smart woman. I have something I want to talk to you about and I want to be away from the office and away from interruptions.”

“Ahhh,” she said, nodding. While that clarified their dinner engagement slightly, she still had questions. She suspected his “something” concerned work because his office manner hadn’t changed from what it had been all day. “I’ll get my purse,” she said, stepping back into her entryway briefly before joining him.

She closed her door and heard the lock click into place. As she walked beside him to the car, she was acutely conscious of how close he was and how tall he was. She had far more physical awareness of him now that they were out of the routine office setting, but his demeanor was the same. He didn’t take her arm as they walked to the car. He didn’t touch her in any way. So why couldn’t she stop the prickly awareness that plagued her?

She told herself to pretend she was in the office, that it was just lunch together on a weekday. That didn’t work.

He held the car door and she slid into the seat. She watched him walk around the car, the wind blowing unruly locks of his curly hair. What did he have to talk to her about here that he couldn’t discuss at the office?

Her curiosity mushroomed when they went to a town club where he was a member. Inside, they were taken to a private room.

“Now I am curious about tonight,” she said as she sat across from him.

He merely nodded. “Let’s get our drinks and order dinner before we talk. I don’t want any interruptions. But I will tell you this is personal and involves my grandfather.”

Startled, she couldn’t imagine what could concern her and involve his very ill grandfather. “There’s no guessing why I’m here having dinner with you if it involves Mr. Ruiz. That lets out anything regarding the office.”

“Not altogether,” Marc said. “I have a proposition I want you to consider.”

Her curiosity reached a fevered peak but she reined in her questions when the waiter came to ask their drink preferences. Marc ordered sparkling water for her and a martini for himself.

She sat quietly until finally they had ordered dinner and been served their drinks. He raised his glass in a toast.

“Here’s to the best secretary I’ve ever worked with and, hopefully, to a mutually bright future together.”

She touched her glass to his and sipped, watching him and waiting as he set his martini on the table. Her curiosity increased because, whatever he was about to discuss, it involved both of their futures.

He folded his hands on the table and cleared his throat. “I’ll cut to the chase now. My grandfather is very ill with pancreatic cancer and doctors have given him three months to live.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, hearing the pain in Marc’s voice even though he seemed in control of his emotions.

“I’m close to him. My dad died when I was twelve and my grandfather has always been there for me. I’ve spent a lot of time with my grandparents on their ranch. I love that life and I love that ranch. It’s beautiful.” He smiled at her. “At least, it is to me.”

“I’m sorry, Marc, that your grandfather’s health isn’t good,” she said, still unable to see how any of this involved her.

“Thanks. My grandparents love that ranch. They’ve worked it all their lives.”

He paused when the waitstaff came in with their dinners—a thick steak for Marc and Alaskan salmon for her. When they were alone again, she had a bite of salmon and closed her eyes. “Mmm, this is delicious.”

“Yes, it is,” he said, his voice deeper than usual. She opened her eyes to see him watching her. Heat flashed through her and she was aware of the intense way he looked at her. His dark brown eyes hid his feelings.

“Go ahead with your story,” she said, suddenly tingling with awareness. She knew whatever he was going to ask her, it had nothing to do with the office. Not with the look she had just received from him.

He took a deep breath and nodded. “Now that my grandfather is ill, he’s worried about my grandmother. She wants to stay on the ranch and live out her life there, but—this is where I come in—she can’t run it or deal with it herself. And this is where you come in.” He paused and nodded at her plate. “Maybe you should enjoy a few more bites of dinner before I continue.”

She shook her head. “My curiosity will overcome me.” She wondered if he was thinking about trying to hire her as a companion for his grandmother. “What on earth is it, that I won’t be able to eat after you tell me?”

“I think I’m going to shock you. Frankly, I’m still reeling in shock myself,” he said, forcing a smile at her. “My grandfather wants me to move to the ranch and I have to agree to stay at least one year. That way I’ll be there to see that my grandmother is all right.”

“You’re leaving the company for a year?” Lara asked. “Or will it be longer?” Was she losing her boss permanently? She felt a pang at the thought and immediately thought of his vice presidents, wondering whom she would work for.

“It’ll only be a year. I know my grandpa and how he thinks. He thinks if I live out there a year, I’ll never want to leave.”

“I can understand what he wants, but is that what you want to do?”

“He’s given me an offer—actually, it’s more an ultimatum. I live there a year and I inherit the ranch, also one third of the mineral rights and one third of the producing wells on the ranch. My mother will also inherit a third, the same as I will, and the remainder of the estate will go to my grandmother.”

“I see.” She put down her fork and wiped her lips on her napkin. “You wanted to tell me that I’ll have a new boss.”

“Oh, no. I’m not through. I love my grandfather too much to refuse to do what he wants. Even if I didn’t feel that way, this offer is too big to turn down. And I love that ranch. As I said, I love Grandpa and I want his last days to be happy. I want to do what he wants and make him happy.”

“That’s wonderful, Marc. I can understand. I loved my mother, and at the last, I did everything I could to make her happy. I’ll miss working for you,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too depressed, but she would miss him terribly. She liked working for him. He was a fair, considerate boss and a handsome, appealing man, so it was nice to be around him.

“There’s more, Lara, but I’m trying to wait until you’ve had enough of your dinner that you won’t go home hungry.”

She picked up her fork again, to placate him, and smiled up at him. “I’m eating, okay? But you’ve told me your news—that you’re leaving.”

“I haven’t reached the part that includes you,” he reminded her.

Startled, she stared at him as curiosity gripped her. Maybe he wanted a secretary on the ranch. Was that it?

“Lara, I’ve only told you part of my grandfather’s demands. There’s another part. Besides living on the ranch for a year, I’m to marry this month.”

He reached across the table to take her hand, which was something so unlike him that she nearly gasped. For a few seconds, she couldn’t speak. She could only stare at him.

“Don’t say anything until I’m through. You’re surprised, just as I was.”

While she heard his words, she was still focused on his hand wrapped around hers. His hand was warm, his grip light, yet the instant they touched she tingled from head to toe. Somehow, she felt the touch of his hand had changed their relationship in a subtle way. She was certainly more aware of him as a man. And that awareness made it impossible to respond.

“I need a wife for a marriage of convenience, possibly for one year, possibly much shorter,” he continued. “In order to inherit, I have to marry this month and live on the ranch for one year. That is what my grandfather has in his will. I want a wife as long as my grandfather is alive, which doctors have only given him a few months. I want his last days happy. After he is gone, I will stay on the ranch that full year, but there is nothing in his will about how long I have to stay married. When he is gone, I will end the marriage—that’s a promise,” he said. “I want to see if I can make a deal with you. Make you my wife.”

Two

Stunned, she stared at him, looking into unfathomable brown eyes that hid his feelings so well. Marry Marc and then dissolve it? She couldn’t imagine doing such a thing. Those dark eyes so intently focused on her took her breath away. Marry Marc. Without love. A marriage for convenience. Her heart raced at the thought.

“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 worked 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.”