The Illegitimate Heirs: Luke, Zach and Jake. Kathie DeNosky
be out of the question, she took off her raincoat and tossed it on the back of the couch. As she prowled the room like a caged tiger, she tried to arrange her tangled thoughts into some semblance of order.
The man of her dreams, the very man who clearly stated he had no time for love and marriage, was willing to become her husband. And his only purpose for making her his wife wasn’t because he loved her and wanted to raise a family with her. He was willing to marry her in order to have her bear him an heir.
She stopped in the middle of the room and barely suppressed a scream. Every one of her dreams was well on the way to becoming reality and for all the wrong reasons.
She wanted love and all the bonding that went with it. She wanted a lifetime emotional commitment, not a prenuptial agreement. But to Luke, their union would be just another business arrangement.
As she stood there, she couldn’t help but wonder where her plan had gone wrong. And what had possessed him to agree to her demands?
But most important of all, how in the name of all that was holy was she going to talk him out of following through with it?
The next morning, Luke slid a folder across his desk for Haley’s perusal. “I’ve taken the liberty of having an attorney who specializes in family law draw up a prenuptial contract for you to sign.”
“How did you manage to get this done so quickly?” she asked, looking a lot like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights of a car.
“You can get just about anything done in a short amount of time for the right price.” He nodded toward the document she hadn’t yet touched. “I think you’ll find the agreement spells out what is expected from both of us when it comes to joint custody and parenting the boy. It also covers what we’ll both keep and what compensation you’ll receive when the marriage is dissolved.”
She looked a little distressed. “And when will that be?”
“Whenever we both agree that we’d like to move on with our lives.” He shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll know when the time comes.” Leaning back in his chair, he motioned toward the folder. “Take your time to read over the contract, then sign it and have it back on my desk by the end of the day.”
“It’s so generous of you to give me an ample amount of time to think over what I’ll be signing,” she said, her tone sarcastic.
He stated what he saw as obvious. “I don’t intend to drag my feet on getting this finalized. You laid down the terms, I’ve made the decision to comply with them and we’ll get married on Saturday morning. But between now and then we have a lot to do.”
“What’s the rush?” she asked, hiding a yawn behind her delicate hand. She looked thoroughly exhausted and he’d bet his next multimillion-dollar deal that she hadn’t slept a wink the night before. The thought that she’d soon be in his bed caused his heart to stall and a slow smile to tug at the corners of his mouth.
“Why wait?” he responded, answering her question with one of his own. “I want to get started making you pregnant as soon as possible.” That instantly brought her fully awake and added quite a bit of color to her unusually pale cheeks.
“You can’t be serious. We’ll be sleeping together?” She shook her head and the curls brushing her flawless cheeks fascinated the hell out of him. “I don’t remember you mentioning anything about that last night.”
He smiled. The idea of waking up with her in his arms each morning was becoming more appealing with each passing second. “I didn’t think I’d have to. The last I heard, that’s what married people do.”
Her turquoise eyes grew wide. “But the only reason for the marriage is to have a child. I thought we’d be sleeping in separate rooms and visit a doctor for some kind of medical procedure. That’s what we would be doing if we weren’t getting married.”
“You assumed wrong.” He couldn’t stop himself from giving her a wicked grin. “I have all of the required equipment, sweetheart. And let me assure you, everything works just fine. I see no reason for us to resort to a turkey baster when I’m perfectly capable of taking care of the job myself.”
He almost laughed out loud at the shocked expression crossing her pretty face. “But we barely even know each other outside of this office. And you’ve made it quite clear that you have no expectations of the marriage lasting for any length of time after the birth.”
Had he heard a hint of panic in her voice?
Interesting.
“That’s not exactly true. I said we’d know when it was time to move on. That could be a month, a year or even ten years after the birth before that happens. But that’s not the point,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t think of a better way to get acquainted than making love. Besides, if I have to get married to get the heir I want, you can damned well bet I’m going to enjoy all of the benefits of the marital institution. And that includes sleeping with you.” Heat began to gather in his lower belly and anticipation filled his chest. There were definite advantages to meeting her demands.
He didn’t think it was possible, but the blush on her cheeks changed from pink to a deep rose. Was it possible that Haley found the idea of making love with him less than appealing? Or could it be that she was a bit more innocent than he’d anticipated?
Deciding to find out, he stood up and rounding the desk, took her by the hand to help her to her feet. “While you read and sign the prenup, I’ll make the arrangements for our trip to Pigeon Forge,” he said, taking her into his arms.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Giving the woman I’m going to marry a hug,” he responded, drawing her a bit closer. Holding her to him increased the heat in his lower body and sent a shaft of excitement straight through him.
At first, she stood stiffly in his arms. “We aren’t going…to be married…here in Nashville?” she asked, sounding delightfully breathless.
“No.”
When he drew her even closer, Luke felt a tiny tremor course through Haley and instantly knew his suspicions about her innocence were right on the mark. He normally liked his women to be a little more experienced. But for reasons he couldn’t put his finger on, he found Haley’s inexperience oddly touching.
“I have an important meeting with the management employees of Laurel Enterprises and I want to tour my new properties and meet the construction crews,” he explained, enjoying the feel of her silky hair against his cheek. “And since there are several wedding chapels in the Pigeon Forge area where we’ll be staying, it just makes sense for us to get married while we’re there.”
“This is a…” She paused. “…huge step. I’m not entirely certain we’re doing the right thing. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“I am.”
“Really?” She didn’t sound as if she believed him for a minute.
He nodded. “You told me that it would take us getting married before you’d have my son and I’m complying. In some courts, a verbal agreement is as binding as any contract. And unless you’ve changed your mind about us being married, I’d say we have a solid deal, sweetheart.”
“No, I haven’t changed my mind.”
He smiled. “I didn’t think so.” Releasing her, before she realized just how much he looked forward to making her pregnant the old-fashioned way, he picked up the folder containing the prenuptial agreement. “This is fairly basic and straightforward. After you sign it, I want you to take the rest of the day off, as well as tomorrow.”
“Why?” she asked, looking confused. “I thought you said we had a lot to accomplish.”