so I have to for all three of us.”
They faced each other as the silence intensified. She knew he was waiting. Marriage to Ryan… Yet it would save her family… She hadn’t allowed herself to consider his offer, which was truly fabulous. Her brother could go to college.
Would her family accept Ryan’s charity? She knew they would if he was married into the family. And she knew Ryan could easily afford what he offered.
Rubbing her forehead, she saw there really was no choice. As Ryan stood quietly waiting, she glared at him. “I don’t know what kind of marriage you think this will be, when your bride is furious with you!”
He arched one dark eyebrow and continued looking at her, steely eyed.
“All right, Ryan, I’ll marry you. But it’s not what I want.”
“Good,” he replied quietly. He crossed the room to her and grasped her upper arms firmly. Her heart pounded and she stared at him. Locks of black hair fell over his forehead and his gaze pierced her. “Ashley, when you get rid of your anger, you’ll change. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”
“Like you have tonight?” she cried bitterly, thinking he was making a meaningless gesture. “You’re a bully, Ryan.”
“I’ll remind you as many times as I have to. I think that I’m doing what’s best for all of us,” he stated in a tone that was so self-assured she wanted to gnash her teeth. “This is going to help your family tremendously.”
Her pulse jumped at the thought. “I’ll have to admit that your offer, as far as my family is concerned, is overwhelmingly generous and thrills me. That part will be absolutely wonderful.”
“Good,” Ryan replied with obvious satisfaction. His hands slid to her shoulders. “Look on the bright side of things.”
She shook her head. “Ryan, we’ll have an impossible marriage.”
He pursed his lips. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t persist. I think our marriage is going to be fabulous as soon as you calm down and adjust. And you will.”
“You’re incredibly arrogant,” she told him, looking into those contented green eyes.
“You’ll hold your own. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night about six and we’ll start early for dinner. All right?”
“Why do you even bother to ask?” She rolled her eyes while he gazed at her intently.
“I know you’re annoyed with me right now,” he said.
“Annoyed!” she exclaimed, deciding he was the most hardheaded man she had ever known. “I’m furious with you, and my rage won’t be gone tomorrow night.”
“Hopefully, you’re wrong,” he said. “I’ll call one of my lawyers in the morning and get him to start looking into health insurance for your dad. We need to see your family soon to tell them we’re engaged, but first we should plan the wedding. “
“You move fast, Ryan.”
“Why wait? The sooner I help your father, the better off your family will be.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m keeping you up.”
She walked with him to the door while her thoughts seethed. He turned to look down at her and his gaze lowered to her mouth, making her pulse drum faster.
“This is good, Ashley,” he said quietly, with all the conviction possible. His hands went around her waist and he pulled her to him, lowered his head and kissed her, long and thoroughly. Her resistance was fleeting, gone in seconds. She wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed him back.
Ryan pulled her closer, leaning over her, kissing her until she was moaning with pleasure and thrusting her hips against him. Desire was a hot flame, burning their problems away. She wanted him with a need that shocked her. She ran her hands across his shoulders, tugging free his shirt and sliding one palm over his warm, muscled chest.
When he released her, they were both panting for breath. “We’ll stop tonight,” he said roughly, and she couldn’t interpret the expression in his eyes. She wanted to pull him back into her arms, but she stepped away instead, and in silence watched him go out the door and stride to his car.
When she closed the door behind him, her mind was churning.
Marriage. The idea was staggering. Yet she had to acknowledge, as much as she hated to, that in some ways Ryan was correct. Marriage would solve a lot of her problems.
With her thoughts in a turmoil, she moved sluggishly toward her bedroom. Without realizing what she was doing, she stopped, standing in the middle of the room and staring into space while she mulled over everything that had happened.
Tomorrow night she was having dinner with him, and he intended for them to make wedding plans. She was still in shock over the prospect. The minute Ryan had reappeared in her life, he’d turned it as topsy-turvy as her first encounter with him had been.
She thought again how little they knew each other, and ground her teeth together. She might as well decide what she would wear, she figured—anything to try to keep her mind off what was happening. She knew sleep would be a long time coming.
Trying to collect shards of self-assurance that had been shattered by Ryan’s demands, she left work an hour early the next day. She wanted to take her time getting ready, so she would feel and look her best. Even though he hadn’t said where they were going for dinner, somewhere casual or dressy, she selected a clinging black dress with a dramatic slashed V-neck trimmed in white that dipped to her waist. The skirt ended above her knees. Her black spiked heels gave her added height.
She swept her hair up on one side and let it fall loosely across her back and down the other side.
Finally she was ready, and while she waited, she thought that Ryan would probably be a great father. And her family would love her baby as much as a child could be loved. For the first time the prospect of telling them excited her. Married to Ryan, she would be able to inform them about the baby with joy and without all the worries she’d had before.
Ryan had been correct about that prediction, and eventually she might admit as much to him. But at the moment, she was so angry with him she didn’t care to tell him he’d gotten anything right.
When she heard a car, she glanced at herself in the mirror one last time, seeing a woman who looked poised and dressed for a night out. Uncertainty sent a ripple of worry through her. Had she overdressed? If he’d decided on barbecue and cooking at his place… She put the thought out of mind. With a toss of her head, she picked up her purse and went to the door as the bell rang.
The moment she opened the door, she was reassured about her dress. Ryan wore a dark brown suit and was stunningly handsome. As usual. And she saw the warm approval in his eyes when he looked at her, stepped inside and closed her door behind him.
“You look fantastic!” he said, touching her cheek lightly and then drawing his finger down the edge of the vee of her dress. She inhaled, because his feathery touch stirred hot tingles.
He bent his knees to look into her eyes. “Still angry?” he asked. “Hopefully, I can change that tonight.”
“Don’t count on it, Ryan,” she replied grimly.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I hope someday soon you’ll forgive me completely.”
“We’ll see,” she said tightly.
He gave her a long, probing look and she wondered what he was thinking. Then he reached for the door.
“I don’t need to ask if you’re ready to go, so shall we leave?”
She nodded and set her alarm, going out ahead of Ryan. In his sleek, black sports car, she sat far on her side, riding in silence, letting anger smolder and wondering how long he was going to put up with her fury. Or would it wear him down enough that he’d withdraw his offer? She’d