The Texan's Baby Proposal. Sara Orwig

laughed. “That’s what I thought from my very practical secretary. You don’t really see me as such a saint.”

      “With what you’re going to do for me, oh, yes, I do see a halo. Now, I think you should let me say good-night and go inside.”

      “Of course,” he said, stepping away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, and tomorrow night I’ll take you to dinner and we’ll plan our wedding.”

      “I can’t believe it.”

      “Start believing. I’m really happy, Lara, and I hope you are, too.”

      She smiled as she watched him walk toward his car. Only when he pulled away did she go inside.

      When she shut the door behind her, she finally let go. Shouting for joy, she spun around her entryway and stopped in front of a mirror that had belonged to her mother. She looked at herself. “Mrs. Marc Medina. Hello, Mrs. Marc Medina,” she said, feeling tingles each time she said her future name. She was going to marry him. She would have enough money for her future, for her education, for her baby. More than enough money. She’d even be able to pay some of her mother’s medical bills. Marc was being incredibly generous. He was a multi-millionaire, but he must be inheriting a lot to be so generous. She waved her arms in the air and spun around again.

      “Mrs. Marc Medina,” she repeated, looking at herself again. This time, though, her exuberance was tempered. She told herself she needed to guard her heart well, because Marc would stick with his plan and end their marriage. She knew he was strong-willed and she would be deluding herself if she thought he would fall in love and want to stay married. That wasn’t what she wanted, anyway. She wanted to be a doctor and to pursue a career in medical research.

      Meanwhile, Lara intended to enjoy Marc, have a good time with him and keep her heart absolutely locked away. She turned to face the mirror again. “Can you do that when he is handsome, fun, and oh, so sexy?”

      Yes, she could keep from going to bed with him. She’d known him a year and hadn’t slept with him, hadn’t fallen in love with him. She didn’t want emotional hang-ups tangling up her life now that she could do so many things she’d planned on doing. She had to resist his appeal.

      “After this marriage I have plans for my future and Marc Medina is no part of them. And Marc has plans for his future and I’m not part of his plans,” she told her reflection in the mirror. “Remember that. I have plans for my future and I can’t wait to start.”

      She rushed to her closet to plan what she would wear to work.

      It was past 2:00 a.m. when she fell asleep, and her dreams all included Marc Medina.

      * * *

      To her relief, the next day at work she was too busy to think about her new life or her dinner plans, and she barely saw Marc until after four when he postponed their talk and told her he would pick her up shortly before seven.

      After work she rushed home to shower, change clothes and take down her hair, aware it was the first time that she’d have her hair down with him and be dressed in a flirty, flattering outfit. Was he even a fraction as excited as she? She suspected he merely viewed their dinner the same way he would one of his business dinners where he was about to close a deal.

      She, on the other hand, could barely contain her excitement or stop thinking about the fantastic fortune he would give her. But along with her excitement came a constant nagging worry that she should guard her heart or risk getting badly hurt. She had to stay out of his bed, because sex would mean nothing to him except physical satisfaction. She had to be on constant guard against seduction that would be briefly satisfying and then could bring down all sorts of problems for her.

      She needed to keep a wall between them, she reminded herself. Eventually, they would part and he would never look back. By then if she had her baby, she’d better have her life in order.

      As she laid out clothes to wear, she looked at herself in the mirror, studying her stomach, which was still flat. She wasn’t far along in her pregnancy and she was tall and slender. Most people would think this baby was Marc’s and he was agreeable to that. Why was he being so generous with her? Was it because of the loss of his own baby and his wife? She knew he was relieved to find someone who would be happy to part when he ended their marriage—she could understand that one and how she was probably the only woman he knew who would walk away with a smile. And she’d better maintain that distance from him so she would be able to leave without any kind of hurt. She had worked for him for a year and she could say goodbye and be okay right now. She wanted to feel the same way when they ended their marriage.

      When her doorbell rang, she took a deep breath, picked up her purse and went to answer. Her new husband-to-be and her new life stood waiting on the other side of her closed door.

       Three

      While he waited for Lara to come to the door, Marc looked at the neat flowerbeds bordering the porch of the small house where Lara lived. He wondered how much they would see each other once they wed. She could settle on the ranch because he knew that’s what his grandfather wanted. Other than that, he didn’t care what she did to get ready for her baby and to go back to school when their marriage ended.

      The door swung open and he turned, momentarily startled. “Lara?” His gaze swept over her and his pulse jumped unexpectedly. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “You worked until your regular closing time, so you had just an hour to get ready.”

      “That’s right,” she said, looking at him with wide, curious blue eyes.

      “You look gorgeous.”

      She smiled. “Thank you. Come in and see where I live.”

      He walked into her place, not because he was interested in seeing where she lived. He merely wanted to look at her longer.