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She had been counting on her career to help her family. With this money she wouldn’t have to worry whether she made stardom or not. Life should be far easier, and yet…
“That’s a huge amount of money,” she said, thinking it was an even bigger power play. Marek looked relaxed, as if accustomed to bargaining with such high stakes, but these were the highest possible as far as she was concerned. This cool rancher had thought this out and come up with an offer that she might be unable to refuse.
“I can afford it and I’d want to do it. If you say yes, you’ll be giving me far more because I know I will become a permanent part of Noah’s life.”
“You hardly know Noah. How can you feel this strongly about him?”
“It’s easy,” Marek replied. “I feel this strongly about my brother. This baby is a definite tie to Kern.”
She nodded, touched and aware how vulnerable he was where his heart was concerned. “I can understand that.” She rubbed her forehead. “Wow. You’ve turned my life topsyturvy. Actually, if I accept your offer—my whole family will be topsy-turvy. That fortune will change all our lives. You’ll want Noah a lot of the time. I’m sure you’ve thought about how much.”
“You and I would live in the same place some of the time. I don’t want to give up being a rancher or living on my ranch. But I don’t do that all the time now, and I can give up some of the time. When Noah gets to school age, you’ll have to give serious thought about how much he will travel with you.”
“I know, but I can’t foresee what my career will be. It’s filled with uncertainties at this point.”
“You’ll have enough money that you can give it up completely if you want.”
Momentarily, her tension lightened, and she smiled. “No, I’ve dreamed of this all my life, and things are beginning to open up for me. At this point, I definitely do not want to toss aside what I’ve gained. I want to sing. I want to be a star. I love opera. But I love Noah and I want what’s best for him.”
“Then I think you’ll have to seriously consider my offer.”
“I suppose I will,” she said, gazing beyond him, watching the splashing water in the fountain in the pool. “This is a beautiful place.”
“This is my Dallas home. The best place is the ranch.”
“I know very little about ranches.”
He reached over again to take her hand. “Camille, Kern was drawn to you, and I feel certain he would have proposed. I think you and I can have a workable arrangement that will benefit Noah. I’ve tried to do what will benefit you. This million a year I’ve offered—your monthly allowance will be enough that you shouldn’t need to touch that money. You should be able to invest it and I can help you and make it grow. I want what will make you happy—as happy as I will be if you accept.”
“Suppose you fall in love with someone later?”
“Divorce still exists, but I don’t expect to fall in love again in my life. I gave my heart to Jillian.” He looked away, and she instantly regretted bringing up a subject that would open his wounds.
This time she reached out to touch his arm, placing her hand on him. “Marek, I didn’t mean to cause you hurt.”
He inhaled deeply. “Sometimes it just comes out of the blue, and I feel weak in the knees. Don’t apologize. You had no way of knowing.”
“You talked about a physical relationship. I won’t have a lot of time, and I’m not about to jump into one when we’re strangers,” she said. “I did that once in my life, and I won’t do it again. Your brother charmed and captivated me that night. Now, a physical relationship will have to come later, maybe much later.”
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