His smile slid away. “Our baby.”
Guilt flashed in her eyes before she dropped her gaze to her feet. “My point is, what happened between us was most likely just the romance of Paris, or maybe it was hormones. I don’t know, but staking a marriage on one night of passion isn’t reasonable.”
He relaxed subtly. No longer raging at him in a flat-out no, she was arguing the case. A master negotiator, he knew how to close the deal.
He lowered his voice to a seductive croon. “There’s a simple way of finding out if that night was a fluke.”
Color bloomed on her cheekbones when her gaze jerked up to tangle with his. “I’m serious. What if I agree to this marriage and we go ahead with it only to find out later we just don’t connect?”
Damn, she was stubborn. Under different circumstances, he might like that about her, but not today. He leaned close, until they were nose to nose, and hid a secret smile when she didn’t back down.
“We’ll have to cross that bridge when and if we come to it, because unless you’re willing to take me on in court, the baby you’re carrying will be born with a mother and a father.”
Chapter Nine
Jane rubbed a fingertip over the simple neckline of her wedding dress. Spotting the wispy creation in the window of her favorite second-hand boutique, her mind had filled with images of Audrey Hepburn and old black-and-white romance classics. She’d gone inside, thinking the vintage cocktail dress in cream lace would be perfect for the random holiday party.
Little did she know she’d be donning it for her Christmas Day wedding less than a month later.
Surrounded by the treasures of her childhood, she followed Shae’s restless movements. Her friend paced the room where they’d shared girlish joys and dreams and lamented occasional disappointments.
“Would you please settle somewhere? You’re making me nervous.”
“I can’t help it.” Shae flopped to the edge of the bed. “My best friend is marrying a man she doesn’t know, and it’s my fault.”
“Yeah, some best friend you are, forcing me to go up to Gabe’s hotel room and take off my clothes.”
Shae’s blue eyes narrowed to slits, but guilt broadcasted in her throaty groan. “I don’t know how you can be so calm.”
“I don’t have a choice, remember?”
“I remember. I just don’t believe it. Dad says Gabe is a tough businessman, but he’s an honorable man.”
Residual hurt colored Jane’s sharp sigh. “An honorable man who threatened to sue me for custody of the baby I’m carrying unless I agreed to marry him.”
“Maybe he was bluffing.”
Snatching up her favorite lipstick tube, she turned to face the mirror. A deep breath helped rid her face of the sadness wrinkling her brow. She leaned close and slashed color across her lips. “If you’d seen his face when he made the threat, you’d know he wasn’t.”
“Okay, but why the rush? You have months before the baby is born. Why not take some time to get to know one another first?”
Jane rubbed her lips together, capping the tube of deep red lipstick before shrugging. She’d agreed to Gabe’s demand they marry. Whatever happened after today happened. “Who knows? He doesn’t trust me. Considering how we met, can you blame him? Maybe he thinks if I have the time to think, I’ll come up with some other solution. Or maybe he wants me close so he can keep an eye on me. Mother made it sound like I was working myself into an early grave. He’s concerned for the health of the baby.”
She replaced the tube of lipstick on the vanity and spun around on the stool. “Whatever his reasons, marrying him gives me an ace in the hole. After today, I’ll have access to grandmother’s inheritance. I’ll have the funds to fight him.” Sadness washed through her and she pressed a hand to her belly above where their baby grew. Maybe it was just a case of the power of suggestion, but over the past week she’d begun to consider the possibilities he suggested. Could they recapture the passion and friendship they’d discovered that night in Paris? Could they build on the overwhelming pleasure they found in each other’s company that night and form a lasting relationship? The happiness of their child demanded she try.
If they couldn’t, Gabe would become her enemy in truth. The possibility sent a lash of pain through her heart.
“You make it sound so clinical, but I know you better than that. You’re a romantic who believes in possibilities. What happens to your happily-ever-after in a few minutes, when you marry a man you don’t love?”
She shook off the gloom of her thoughts and rested her other hand on her still-flat belly. “My happily-ever-after is growing inside me as we speak.” Shae’s guilty groan made her smile. “Seriously. It’s not that bad. As strange as it sounds, I went to Gabe’s room that night because I’d fallen halfway in love with him as we walked the streets of Paris. By the time I left his hotel the next morning, I’d slipped the rest of the way.”