my
biggest clients are based in Japan. If they questioned my ethics for one
moment, they’d take their business and drop it on the desk of my nearest
competitor. Marriage will put those rumors to rest. Not only will they breathe
a lot easier, but the tabloids will lose interest in me.”
“I
see.” Now she was feeling that maybe her sympathies were lost on him after all.
(He’s sharp) A main quality one needs to be successful. What other cunning
abilities lie beneath those good looks?
“Do
you need some time to think about it? You have four days until your deadline.”
Now
that someone else would benefit from this, she had to be careful about her
answer. It’s not just about her keeping the girls anymore. Michael’s career is
at stake. True, saying yes would mean her old struggles being supplanted by
newer ones—that of a rush to marry, for one. But if she said no, then his
chance to negate the reports about him will slip away. Either way, she gets to
keep her girls. This man is willing to take on the entire judicial system for
her. Now, it’s her turn to be the friend he needs.
She
inhaled a deep, determined breath, then, “I’ll marry you, Michael.”
His
eyes closed, and there was a hint of a smile. He made a move toward her, but
promptly quelled his action. “Thanks. I can take care of everything if it’s
okay with you. We can be married by Thursday, unless you have something else in
mind; Something more formal.”
“No.
The quicker, the better.”
“I
can have a realtor drop by this evening to put the house on the market. That
leaves you three days to pack all your belongings. Think you’ll be ready by
then?”
“Oh,
yeah.”
“I
have to leave for L.A. in a couple of hours to take care of things from my end.
I’ll be back Thursday morning.”
She
was amazed at how he seems to know exactly where to start and in what direction
to go, while she’s still standing in the middle of her maze—Which is fine. She
can’t even begin to think of how to take care of all that needs to be done by
the end of the week. Of course, there’s one thing she’s sure he hasn’t thought
of. And, it’s best to get it out in the open, now.
“Michael,
since you have everything so well laid out. What about us?”
He
tilted his head to one side, his brows drawn reflective. “Us?”
Taryn
swallowed her cowardice back down. “What I mean is, will you expect us to
be—you know—husband and wife all the way?”
His
soft laughter made her feel somewhat regretful at having asked that. She looked
away from the merriment now lighting his face. (Did she even consider that such
an idea would be laughable to him? That she fits nowhere near the high-class,
sexually appealing women in his social circle?)
“As
far as I’m concerned, this marriage is for good, Taryn. Surely, you can’t
expect me to live with you that long and not want to touch you.” His eyes
addressed every curve of her body before he spoke his next words. “You’re a
very desirable woman. And, I’m a man in every sense of the word. But, I’m also
a patient man. When you decide to share my bed, I’ll be waiting—eagerly. And,
you won’t have to worry about any extra-marital affairs on my part, either. For
as long as we’re married, I’ll remain faithful; You have my word.”
Her
heart pounded all the way to the center of her ears. (Did he say he finds her
desirable? And the way he formed that word ‘eagerly’)
“Should
we tell the girls, now?”
“Huh?
Oh, yeah.” The girls. This is for them, right? “I’ll go get them.”
“I’m
glad you’re marrying Momma,” Remi left her seat beside her mother on the couch,
slid onto Michael’s lap, and wrapped an arm around his neck. “I like you.”
“Me,
too,” Rachel sat plastered next to him.
Taryn
chuckled privately. Poor Michael. He’s already drowning in females. What was
that joke he made in Florida? He’s so single, he doesn’t even have a shadow.
Now, he’s surrounded
biggest clients are based in Japan. If they questioned my ethics for one
moment, they’d take their business and drop it on the desk of my nearest
competitor. Marriage will put those rumors to rest. Not only will they breathe
a lot easier, but the tabloids will lose interest in me.”
“I
see.” Now she was feeling that maybe her sympathies were lost on him after all.
(He’s sharp) A main quality one needs to be successful. What other cunning
abilities lie beneath those good looks?
“Do
you need some time to think about it? You have four days until your deadline.”
Now
that someone else would benefit from this, she had to be careful about her
answer. It’s not just about her keeping the girls anymore. Michael’s career is
at stake. True, saying yes would mean her old struggles being supplanted by
newer ones—that of a rush to marry, for one. But if she said no, then his
chance to negate the reports about him will slip away. Either way, she gets to
keep her girls. This man is willing to take on the entire judicial system for
her. Now, it’s her turn to be the friend he needs.
She
inhaled a deep, determined breath, then, “I’ll marry you, Michael.”
His
eyes closed, and there was a hint of a smile. He made a move toward her, but
promptly quelled his action. “Thanks. I can take care of everything if it’s
okay with you. We can be married by Thursday, unless you have something else in
mind; Something more formal.”
“No.
The quicker, the better.”
“I
can have a realtor drop by this evening to put the house on the market. That
leaves you three days to pack all your belongings. Think you’ll be ready by
then?”
“Oh,
yeah.”
“I
have to leave for L.A. in a couple of hours to take care of things from my end.
I’ll be back Thursday morning.”
She
was amazed at how he seems to know exactly where to start and in what direction
to go, while she’s still standing in the middle of her maze—Which is fine. She
can’t even begin to think of how to take care of all that needs to be done by
the end of the week. Of course, there’s one thing she’s sure he hasn’t thought
of. And, it’s best to get it out in the open, now.
“Michael,
since you have everything so well laid out. What about us?”
He
tilted his head to one side, his brows drawn reflective. “Us?”
Taryn
swallowed her cowardice back down. “What I mean is, will you expect us to
be—you know—husband and wife all the way?”
His
soft laughter made her feel somewhat regretful at having asked that. She looked
away from the merriment now lighting his face. (Did she even consider that such
an idea would be laughable to him? That she fits nowhere near the high-class,
sexually appealing women in his social circle?)
“As
far as I’m concerned, this marriage is for good, Taryn. Surely, you can’t
expect me to live with you that long and not want to touch you.” His eyes
addressed every curve of her body before he spoke his next words. “You’re a
very desirable woman. And, I’m a man in every sense of the word. But, I’m also
a patient man. When you decide to share my bed, I’ll be waiting—eagerly. And,
you won’t have to worry about any extra-marital affairs on my part, either. For
as long as we’re married, I’ll remain faithful; You have my word.”
Her
heart pounded all the way to the center of her ears. (Did he say he finds her
desirable? And the way he formed that word ‘eagerly’)
“Should
we tell the girls, now?”
“Huh?
Oh, yeah.” The girls. This is for them, right? “I’ll go get them.”
“I’m
glad you’re marrying Momma,” Remi left her seat beside her mother on the couch,
slid onto Michael’s lap, and wrapped an arm around his neck. “I like you.”
“Me,
too,” Rachel sat plastered next to him.
Taryn
chuckled privately. Poor Michael. He’s already drowning in females. What was
that joke he made in Florida? He’s so single, he doesn’t even have a shadow.
Now, he’s surrounded
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