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“I’m suggesting a marriage of convenience,” he added calmly. “Something temporary for, say, two years. Long enough for you to get on your feet and get used to being a mother. Then we would divorce. You’d get what Jimmy would have inherited, if he’d lived. I would like to continue to have contact with the child and see him or her raised as a Hunter, but otherwise you would be free to live your life.”
“You’re suggesting marriage and divorce,” she said, amazed she could speak at all. Her brain whirled and twirled until she was so dizzy she couldn’t imagine standing ever again. This was not happening. Mr. Hunter proposing? “You barely know me, Mr. Hunter. I don’t know you at all. We can’t get married.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not trying to seduce you, Noelle. While we will live in the same house, our lives will be entirely separate. I want to help you. I am Jimmy’s only relative so his child is my responsibility.”
That made sense, but marriage? Why hadn’t he just offered child support? “I don’t want to get married only to get divorced,” she said. “I don’t believe in that. I think marriage is a serious and permanent commitment.”
“Which you can have later,” he said. “With someone else. Someone you meet and fall in love with. I’m going to be blunt, Noelle. You’re going to be twenty when the baby is born. You work part-time and you’re attending college. From what you’ve said, your parents aren’t very well-off. Can they afford to take on another child? Do you want them to? What about your dreams of being a nurse? How are you going to care for a baby, support yourself and the child and attend college? What about paying rent, bills, health insurance, college tuition? Do you really want to take this all on yourself?”
He leaned toward her. “I’m offering a temporary solution that allows you to get on with your life. All your expenses will be taken care of. We can hire a nanny to help out, if you’d like. At the end of the prearranged time, you’ll have enough money to take care of everything. If you live carefully, you won’t need to work if you don’t want to.”
As her brain hadn’t settled down, she didn’t know what to think. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you do this?”
For the first time since he’d invited her into his office, Mr. Hunter wouldn’t look at her. “Jimmy going into the military was my idea,” he said at last. “What happened to him is my fault.”
He spoke calmly, but she heard the pain in his voice and in his words. He blamed himself for his brother’s death.
Her instinct was to go to him and offer comfort. Instead she said, “You didn’t fire the gun, Mr. Hunter. You didn’t kill your brother.”
He returned his attention to her and raised his dark eyebrows. “Under the circumstances don’t you think you should call me Dev?”
“What? Oh. Sure. Dev.” Right now weren’t names the least of their problems? “My point is you’re not responsible for your brother’s death and you’re not responsibles for me being pregnant.” As if Mr. Hunter—Dev—would ever be interested in her that way. She’d seen a couple of the women he’d dated. They were all tall, slinky, exotic beauties. She looked more like a Wisconsin farmgirl—all blond hair and freckles.
“I’m very serious about my proposal,” he said.
Because he felt responsible, she thought. He would. She knew a little about him because of what Jimmy had told her. Dev had been in high school when his mother died. Jimmy had been only six or seven. Their father had disappeared and their paternal grandfather had stepped in to take care of the two boys. Only he had died a few years later and Dev had raised Jimmy.
Her boyfriend had frequently complained about how strict he could be, but Noelle had always admired Dev for taking on the challenging task of raising a teenager. From the little she’d known about him, Jimmy hadn’t made things easy.
But Jimmy was still the only family Dev had and with Jimmy gone, there was only the baby.
“You don’t have to marry me to have a relationship with your brother’s child,” she said. “I would never keep you from him or her. I realize you won’t want to take my word on that, so I’ll sign something if you’d like.”
“Is that what you think this is about?” he asked.
She straightened in the chair and met his gaze. “I’m young, but I’m not an idiot. I’m aware of all the difficulties in raising a child in my situation. This isn’t what I would have chosen for my life path, but it happened and I’ll deal with the consequences.”
A good speech, she thought, hoping he couldn’t tell how much she shook as she gave it. What she hadn’t mentioned was the mind-numbing terror at the thought of actually having to take care of a baby by herself. He’d been right before. How would she pay for things? When would she have time to work and go to school? She was fairly confident her parents wouldn’t toss her out onto the street, but their small house was already jammed full. Where would they put a baby?
He studied her. “You’re not what I imagined,” he admitted. “Most of Jimmy’s girlfriends have been…”
“Airheads?” she asked lightly.
He grinned. “Exactly.”
“I know. He told me. He said dating me was a sign of his willingness to grow up. I think it was more the whole ‘bad boy, good girl’ thing. Opposites attract and all that.”
“As a good girl, you had a thing for bad boys?”
Noelle hesitated. Something about this topic felt strange. Maybe it was discussing her dating habits with a man who’d just proposed, however businesslike he’d meant it.
“I was always curious,” she admitted. “But I’d never dated one until Jimmy.” She wrinkled her nose. “Everyone in high school knew who my father was, so guys were wary about messing with a pastor’s daughter. The guys who did ask me out were always well-behaved.” And she hadn’t minded. It had made life easy.
“Until Jimmy,” Dev said.
“Right.”
He moved from the desk to the chair next to hers. After pulling it around so it faced her, he sat down and reached for her hand.
“Noelle, I want you to seriously consider my offer. I could simply give you money, but you’re going to need more than that. I have a large house with plenty of room for you and the baby. If you’re married, you won’t have to deal with awkward questions.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what Jimmy told you about me, but I’m not such a bad guy. My vices are all pretty boring and I will take care of you and the baby. In a couple of years, or whenever you’re ready, we’ll divorce. You’ll be financially stable and no longer dealing with a newborn.”
She was as caught up in the fact that he was holding her hand as in what he was saying. His touch was gentle, yet firm. His skin warm. There was nothing sexual or romantic in the contact, but she was still very aware of him sitting so close to her.
She liked his determination. Her father had always said to look for a man who wouldn’t give up. He was—
Wait a minute, she thought. Was she seriously considering his proposal? Was she thinking she would marry a man she barely knew simply to take his name and his money?
“I’m not like that,” she said, pulling her hand free and standing. “I’m not mercenary.”
Dev rose as well. “No one is saying you are. Noelle, if Jimmy were still alive, wouldn’t you expect him to marry you?”
She didn’t want to answer that. In this century, in this society, who really got married because of a baby? But in her heart, she knew she would have expected it. And she would have accepted, despite any misgivings about the future of their relationship.
“But you’re not Jimmy.”
“Think of me as standing in for him. Doing what he would have done.”
Would Jimmy have married her? She honestly wasn’t sure.
“It’s two years,” Dev said. “Trust me, time moves quickly. Did your parents know you were dating Jimmy?”
“What?” The change in subject startled her. “Um, they knew I was seeing someone from work, but that’s all.”
“Then for all they know, it could be me.”
She blinked at him. Of course there had been times when she’d kept the truth from her parents, or squeaked around the actual facts, but to lie like this felt wrong on too many levels. Yet she was tempted.
The baby existed and she would have to deal with that. Dev was offering her a way to minimize the damage with her family, while allowing her to be a single mother and still pursue her dreams. It was almost too good to be true.
“What do you get out of all this?” she asked.
“Jimmy’s child gets the family name. I get to be a part of his or her life.”
“You can have both of those without marrying me.”
“I want to make this right,” he told her. “I can’t take back what was done, but I can do my best to help. You don’t know me, Noelle, but you’re going to have to trust me on that.”
She wasn’t sure much trust would be required. Devlin Hunter was the kind of man to get everything in writing. Which meant there would be paperwork.
“I don’t want what Jimmy would have inherited,” she said. “That’s too much.” Dev’s company, Hunter Manufacturing was a massive, multimillion dollar business. “Maybe some child support and a house.” She winced. Even that sounded too greedy. “Just the child support,” she amended. “Jimmy would have paid that anyway.”
Dev shoved his hands into his slacks pockets and smiled at her. “You’re saying yes.”
“Oh.” She turned the idea over in her mind. “I guess I am.” When had she decided this was what she wanted to do? Did it matter? Dev was right. Accepting his proposal made her life much easier.
She still wasn’t sure what he got out of the deal. Unless it was to be part of a family again, even for a little while. But was that even important to him?
“I don’t know you at all,” she said.
“We’ll change that,” he promised. “Let’s have dinner tonight. We can work out the logistics, set up a timetable and move forward.”
That made it sound as if they were closing a business deal rather than discussing a marriage. And when she thought about it, she realized it was true.
“All right,” she agreed. “Where do you want to meet?”
“My house.” He moved around the desk and grabbed a piece of paper. After writing the address, he handed it to her. “Six-thirty?”
She took the paper and nodded. “Okay. I guess I should, uh, get back to work.”
“You’re not due in for another couple of hours.”
“I know, but I’m already here.” She walked to the door, then glanced back at him. “Thanks for everything.”
“Thank you, Noelle,” he said. “Don’t worry more than you have to. We’ll get this worked out. Everything will be fine.”
She smiled and left. Fine? She was pregnant with her late boyfriend’s child, she had just agreed to temporary marriage with a man she didn’t know, for a bunch of reasons she couldn’t remember, and she had big plans to lie about the whole thing to her family.
Fine didn’t really cover it.
CHAPTER TWO (#u26d7b3c3-15b5-583f-9246-ddafcc848a01)
Noelle left work shortly before noon. She’d already put in more than her usual amount of hours and cleared out her in-basket, which felt good. She’d been efficient, determined and focused. It had been the only way to get through the hours. If she allowed herself to stop moving, she would think about what had happened that morning. She would think about being pregnant and Dev’s impossible proposal and she would lose it. Not something she wanted to do in front of all the women in the office.
So she kept a smile on her face and her mind on her work until she could escape to her car and drive home, where she knew she would find her mother. Funny how at nineteen, all she wanted was to run to her mom and be comforted. Maybe that need never went away. Yet in about eight months, she would have her own child to think about.
“Impossible,” Noelle murmured as she drove out of the Hunter Manufacturing parking lot. “The entire situation is impossible.”
How could she be pregnant? How could she consider marrying Devlin Hunter? While she couldn’t change the former, she could work the latter. She’d been crazy to accept his proposal. Taking the easy way out was never smart, she reminded herself. She’d jumped at what he’d offered because it smoothed things over, but she knew better. And that was why she was so determined to get home. Her mother always left the church office for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. They would sit down and Noelle would confess everything. Then her mother would tell her how to get out of her fake engagement with her boss.
Noelle knew that Dev would probably push back. He was that sort of man. But in time he would come to see that he could still be a part of his brother’s child’s life without going to the extreme of marrying her. While she would welcome child support, she wasn’t going to insist on it. Somehow she would get by.
“Hey, Mom,” she called as she walked in the back door of the two-story house she’d lived in since she was a kid. The place was old and a little run-down but homey and comfortable. She moved from the laundry room into the kitchen, where she found her mother sitting at the table.
“Hi, honey,” the older woman said with a smile that didn’t seem quite right. “I didn’t expect you home for lunch.”
“I got to work really early, so I finished early,” Noelle said as she took a seat and smiled at her mother. It was only then that she noticed the other woman seemed to be brushing away tears. “Mom? Are you all right.”
Her mother sighed. “I’m fine.” She sniffed. “Okay, I’m a little weepy, but it’s no big deal. Your father and I…” She swallowed. “We had a fight. We don’t do it very often, so we’re not good at it. Maybe we should take a class on the twenty-seven best ways to argue.”
Her attempt at humor fell flat. Noelle touched her arm. “We never hear you and Dad fight. You get crabby from time to time, but not real arguments. Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine. I told your father I’m tired of working in the church office. I want to do more. Meet other people. We’re so insulated.”
Noelle didn’t know what to say. Her mother loved working in the church office. At least that’s what she’d always said. For as long as Noelle could remember, her mother had talked about how lucky she was to work with great people and be part of a caring community.
“I thought it was what you wanted,” she said at last.
“Well, it’s not.” Fresh tears filled her mother’s eyes, then spilled down her cheeks. “Oh, I hate getting emotional. I need to do this. It’s important.”
“Why?” Noelle asked.
“Because…Because…” She drew in a breath, then shoved her hand into a pile of envelopes. “Because of these. Your father is so stubborn. He says the Lord will provide, and He does. Sort of. But there is also reality and helping one’s self. I’ve always had to be the practical one in the relationship and I don’t mind that. It’s just when he makes things more difficult…”
Noelle bit her lower lip, but didn’t say anything. Her mother had never talked to her like this before—as if she were an adult.
“There’s not enough money,” her mother said flatly. “There are too many bills. Your college hasn’t been very much and when you transfer to UC Riverside, we’ll be able to spring that, but Lily’s going to that private Christian university. Of course we’re delighted she was accepted and they will provide some financial aid, but still…Then there was her graduation car.”
A family tradition, Noelle thought, suddenly feeling guilty about the car she’d received the previous June when she’d graduated from high school.
“It adds up,” her mother said quietly.
Noelle looked at the stack of bills. The corner of one caught her eye. “Is this from the hospital?” she asked as she pulled that envelope from the pile. “From my accident?”
Her mother took the bill and tucked it under the others. “Don’t worry about it.”
Noelle stared at her. “But we have insurance.”
“It doesn’t cover everything. I’m making payments. Believe me, that’s the least of our financial problems.”
Noelle wasn’t so sure. “What about the physical therapy place? Are you still paying them?”
Her mother stood and crossed to the refrigerator. “What do you want for lunch? There’s some lunch meat. We could make sandwiches.”
Noelle felt her stomach tighten. She’d had no idea her parents were still paying for an accident that had happened nearly two years ago. How much had those bills been?
“Are you leaving your job in the church office to get a better-paying one?” she asked.
Her mother leaned against the counter. Jane had married at nineteen, given birth to her first daughter at twenty and had just turned forty the previous March. She looked much younger and strangers frequently expressed surprise that she could really have a daughter in college.
“The regular business not only pays more, the benefits will supplement the insurance we already have. I’ve been asking around and I have a couple of really good offers. I’m deciding which one to take. Unfortunately, your father sees this as some kind of defection.”
Noelle wasn’t so sure. “Maybe he’s just sad he can’t provide for his family the way he’d like.”
“That, too,” her mother admitted. “The male ego is a fragile organ.” She frowned. “But it’s not really an organ, is it? An instrument? An entity?” She gave a wry smile. “I don’t even know what the male ego is and yet it is currently dominating my life.”
“Daddy loves you. He wants you to be happy.”
“I am happy,” her mother said. “He’s the most wonderful man. I wouldn’t want to hurt him for anything. But we need to get a handle on the bills. Sometimes I think if there’s one more unexpected expense, I’m going to run screaming into the night.” She paused. “Is this too much, Noelle? I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t be sharing this with you. It’s just lately you seem so grown-up and responsible. I feel as much like your friend as your mother.”
