Owed: One Wedding Night

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“Let’s not assume the worse. We can always put something into the legal papers that would allow you to buy part of my share if the Board should ever be deadlocked.”

More was going on behind those bright-blue eyes. She was sure of it. If she could just think more clearly. She wiggled her hand slightly to free it from the mesmerizing effect of his touch. Slowly her head cleared enough to see the flaw in his plan, draining the glow from the possibilities in front of her.

“If we reinvest all the money you give us into Dartmoor, what will Mother live on?”

He released her hand and made a sweeping gesture. “You could invest some of it elsewhere to provide her with a decent income. But that probably wouldn’t leave enough to make the difference in Dartmoor’s bottom line. You need to attract outside financing.”

Dark suspicions swarmed into her mind. She could hear her grandfather say, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

“Ah, so there’s a catch. What more do you want from us, besides the shares? You wouldn't do this simply to make up for dinner the other night. Or out of friendship.”

“The ‘catch,’ as you put it, is that I want you to marry me.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

He reacted more quickly than she did. The bland mask lifted for only a moment to reveal the flash of anger and hurt in his eyes before it fell back into place.

“That’s not how you reacted the last time I asked you to marry me. If I remember, you were very pleased. You even cried. It was quite touching, actually. Fooled me completely.”

Her head already in a spin, she grasped the arms of her chair to help anchor herself in some sort of reality.

“Fooled you?”

“I thought you loved me.”

Her heart twisted. She closed her eyes against the bitterness of his words.

“I d–d-did love you.”

He brushed the confession away. “And how long did that last?”

Hurt almost beyond bearing, she hid the wound behind the anger that was her only protection against this man.

“Until you tried to take over my life. Choosing between my dream of running Dartmoor someday and being your trophy wife wasn’t much of a choice. Certainly not one a man would force on a woman he loved.”

If some weak part of her hoped he’d respond to her charge as she responded to his, she was doomed to disappointment.

“We've had this conversation,” he said instead. “You misinterpreted a chance remark and used that as an excuse to walk out on me.”

Anger roared in her ears. She struggled to calm the pounding in her heart and the churning in her stomach.

“So that’s what your little joke was all about. Well, you've had your laugh. Can we let it go now?”

She half-stood again, but he stopped her.

“Joke?”

She didn’t sit down again this time. She wasn’t staying.

“About us getting married.”

“It wasn’t a joke."

She still didn’t sit. She fell into the chair, legs too wobbly to hold her. Was this a dream? A nightmare?

“Why?” she asked in a raw voice.

He leaned toward her again. This time she had no urge to pull away, the sexual tug of his nearness no longer a threat. Or was it?

“I like you, you like me. We used to be friends. And we were great together in bed. Why not get married? You’re CEO of Dartmoor, so no one can accuse you of being a trophy wife.”

“I don’t see why this would be a better deal for you than simply buying Mother’s shares.”

He gave her the wicked grin she knew so well. “Did you hear the part about great sex?”

Her emotions did a U-turn so fast she felt dizzy. She pushed herself to her feet, hoping her quivering knees would hold her.

“I’m not for sale, Jake.” She headed for the door.

“Whoa!”

She kept walking.

“Not what I meant at all. It’s the whole package, Madi.”

The nickname was what made her stop. Made her hope.

“Friends, good sex, and I can help your mother out without having to explain it to anyone as a business decision.”

And maybe you could learn to love me again. Not a good way to think right now. She needed to focus on the facts here, not go chasing rainbows.

But Jake had the facts on his side, too. Once her inheritance ran out, she and her mother would be homeless, unless Madison left Dartmoor and took a job somewhere else. Even then, it would take her a few years to earn enough to support the kind of life her mother had always led.

And they’d have to close Dartmoor. After putting up with a philandering husband her whole marriage to keep the family business alive, her mother would lose everything.

And all the employees who’d made Dartmoor what it was would lose their jobs. Her grandfather’s voice again, reminding her this was about more families than hers.

All she had to do to prevent everyone from being hurt was marry the man she loved. Except, if she did that, she’d have to put her heart on the line, risk the pain of a loveless marriage her mother had lived with for years.

Madison wasn’t sure she could do it. She wasn’t sure she had any other choice.

She turned to face Jake. His careful mask told her nothing, but his blue eyes pierced through the center of hers, into her heart.

She held her head high as she walked back to the chair and sat down. “Give me the details of what would go into the pre-nup.”

An emotion she couldn’t name flickered across his face and disappeared.

“The usual. What’s mine stays mine and what’s yours stays yours. A clause about spousal support in case of divorce.”

She clenched her jaw against a stab of pain, if not surprise, at his lack of faith in her business savvy.

“I won’t need spousal support. Not after Dartmoor starts turning a profit again.”

“What if I’m the one who needs it?”

The grin he gave her felt like sunshine after months of San Francisco fog. Her heart opened to the light like a flower.

This was not only the man she loved, he was also a man she could trust. He was nothing like her father. Even if she had no other choice, marrying Jake felt right.

As if he felt the shift in the air between them, he took her hand in his. The warmth of his touch burned from her skin down to parts of her she’d half-forgotten existed.

“Just to make it official,” he said, “will you marry me?”

She blinked hard to stop the unexpected threat of tears – half joy, half fear. He must never know how much she still loved him.

“Just to make it official, Yes.”

The simmering sexual tension between him and Madison built while they sketched out a pre-nup and the contract for Jake’s purchase of her mother’s shares. By the time all the basics were set and he’d emailed them to his attorney, his body ached with wanting Madison.