Billion dollar baby bargain.txt

by Неизвестный

  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.”

  He nodded again. “I need to review the agenda for my meeting with the Laurel employees, call the

  charter service to arrange our flight and reserve a wedding chapel for the ceremony.”

  “But you normally have me make those arrangements for you.”

  “You’ll be too busy.”

  She frowned. “Doing what?”

  “You’ll need to pack, inform management that you’re giving up your apartment and decide whether to

  store your furniture or donate it to an agency for the homeless.” He walked back around the desk and

  reaching for his suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair, removed his wallet. “I almost forgot. I have

  to attend a charity thing at one of the museums tomorrow evening and I need a date. I want you to go

  shopping for something new to wear,” he said, handing her one of his credit cards. “And while you’re at

  it, you might as well get whatever you’re going to wear for the marriage ceremony on Saturday.”

  To his amazement, she looked as if he’d offered her a poisonous snake instead of the small harmless

  piece of plastic. “If I want something new to wear, I’ll get it myself.” She sounded more than a little

  offended as she scooped up the folder containing the prenup. “For your information, Mr. Garnier, I’m

  not destitute. You pay me more than enough to be able to afford whatever clothes I wish to purchase.”

  As he watched her leave his office in an obvious huff, he wondered what he’d said to upset her. Didn’t

  men buy things for their spouses anymore?

  Of course, he and Haley weren’t married yet. Maybe she took exception to him paying for things like

  that before they’d made their union official.

  But the way he saw it, it was already a done deal. They had a verbal agreement, would soon have a

  signed prenup and within a few days a marriage certificate. End of story.

  Staring at his computer screen, Luke still couldn’t quite believe that in two days, he’d be a married man.

  Hell, he’d spent the better part of his adult life avoiding anything more than a casual relationship with

  any woman. And he’d never so much as entertained the idea of getting married. So why was he jumping

  into the deep end of the marital pool with both feet now?

  Haley had every trait he wanted for his heir—intelligence, a good head for business and excellent health.

  And for another, he couldn’t get her to have his son without the benefit of marriage. Yet, when he’d first

  heard her requirements to agree to his plan, he’d rejected the idea outright and given serious

  consideration to looking for a different woman. But the more he’d thought about it over the course of

  their dinner together, then later on the drive to his place after dropping her off at her apartment, the more

  sense it made and the more appeal it held.

  She was extremely passionate about mothering a child and that would definitely work to his benefit. He

  had several satellite offices throughout the south, requiring a certain amount of travel, and juggling a

  small child with all the paraphernalia required for his care would be counterproductive. Besides, he

  would have had to hire a nanny to care for his son until the boy was out of infancy and old enough to go

  with him to the actual job sites anyway. But with Haley sharing custody of the child, Luke wouldn’t

  have to worry about finding someone suitable to give his son the quality of care he expected.

  And then there was the more pleasurable aspect of marriage. Until he’d stopped by to ask her to be his

  surrogate, Luke had never seen Haley outside of the office and certainly not wearing anything other than

  the conservative suits she seemed to prefer for her job.

  But when she’d opened her door and he caught sight of her long, slender legs in those extremely short

  little cutoffs and the size and shape of her pert breasts in that snug tank top, it had damn-near knocked

  his socks off. It had been like he was seeing her for the very first time and every one of his male instincts

  had come to full attention—reminding him in the most basic of ways that he hadn’t had the pleasure of a

  woman’s company in his bed for a very long time.

  His lower body tightened even more. In two short days, Haley would be his and he would be making

  love to her quite frequently. Just the thought of having those shapely legs wrapped around him and her

  soft body cradling his caused the heat deep in the pit of his belly to flicker into a flame.

  “Here’s your signed prenup,” Haley said, choosing that moment to walk into his office. When she tossed

  the folder onto his desk, then turned to leave, she added, “And unless you wish to issue another edict

  about what I need to do before we make the trip to Pigeon Forge, I’ll be leaving the office now.”

  So that was why she’d become so upset. She obviously viewed his suggestions about her apartment and

  buying something new to wear as high-handedness. He’d have to remember that calling all the shots at

  the office was one thing, but he’d have to exercise a little more diplomacy when they were discussing

  what he thought she should do in her personal life.

  “Before you leave there’s just one more thing. Are you using anything for birth control?” He knew she

  wasn’t presently seeing anyone, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared.

  Her cheeks colored the pretty shade of rose they always did when he mentioned anything to do with sex.

  “No. That’s not an issue.”

  “Good.”

  “Is there anything else?” she asked, her gaze not quite meeting his.

  “I’m pretty sure what I told you earlier covers everything,” he said, unable to stand up without her

  seeing the evidence of his arousal. “I’ll give you a call this evening to
let you know what time I’ll pick

  you up for the charity event tomorrow evening.”

  She shrugged one slender shoulder as she continued toward the door. “Whatever.”

  “Haley?” When she stopped and turned to face him, he grinned. “There is one more thing I really think

  you should consider doing.”

  “What?”

  Her withering glare might have stopped a lesser man, but it didn’t phase Luke one damned bit. Nor did it

  stop him from a little teasing.

  “Be sure to get plenty of rest between now and Saturday.” He gave her a suggestive wink. “I plan on

  getting our little project started this weekend.”

  When her cheeks turned bright pink and she fled his office like something chased her, he laughed out

  loud. Getting married just might prove to be more fun than he’d first thought. At least temporarily.

  As Luke held her hand to help her out of his limousine, Haley glanced at the other couples arriving for

  the museum’s annual charity event. She recognized several prominent businessmen, a couple of them

  Luke’s rivals, and she knew they were attending for the same reason Luke was—meeting potential

  clients. Making a contact at a social function could mean the difference between signing a lucrative

  contract to build the next high-rise to grace the Nashville skyline or watching the competition walk away

  with the job.

  “It’s good to see you again, Luke,” a distinguished-looking elderly gentleman greeted them as they

  walked through the museum’s entrance. He pumped Luke’s hand, then turned to give her a friendly

  smile. “And who is this lovely young lady?”

  “My executive assistant, Haley Rollins,” Luke answered, already scanning the crowd in the atrium.

  “Haley, I’d like for you to meet Max Parmelli, the curator of the museum and the head of this year’s

  charity drive for the city’s homeless shelters.”

  Holding her hand, the older man leaned forward to kiss the back of it. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you,

  Ms. Rollins.”

  She smiled at the pleasant older man, but Luke prevented any other greeting when he placed his hand to

  her back and guided her through the crowd toward a group of men standing by the fountain in the middle

  of the room. One of them she recognized as a former client of Garnier Construction who she knew in the

  very near future was going to be expanding his current building, if not contracting for a new one.

  “Why don’t you look at some of the exhibits or get something for yourself at the buffet tables?” Luke

  advised, his attention clearly focused on the men by the fountain. “I’ll find you in a few minutes.”

  Effectively dismissed, she watched him join the group before heading toward a display of artifacts

  believed to belong to the ill-fated Romanov family of Russia. She really wasn’t all that interested in any

  of the exhibits, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—just stand there like a little lost puppy, waiting for Luke to

  once again grace her with his attention.

  Sighing, she wandered around the museum, wondering what on earth she’d gotten herself into. It hadn’t

  been lost on her that Luke had introduced her to the curator as his executive assistant, instead of his

  fiancée or future wife. Nor did he have any compunction about dumping her in favor of soliciting a

  possible repeat client.

  But she really didn’t have any reason to complain. He’d made it quite clear that he was only marrying

  her because he couldn’t get her to have his heir any other way. And she was going through with their

  arrangement because she wanted a baby more than she’d ever wanted anything in her entire life.

  Haley smiled as she absently gazed at a delicate, elaborately decorated egg. She was finally going to

  have her own baby—a child she would love and nurture and who would love her unconditionally in

  return. And the fact that Luke was going to be the baby’s daddy made her decision to go through with

  their agreement much easier. The only fly in the ointment was the fact that Luke didn’t love her, nor did

  he make any pretense that he expected their marriage to last.

  “It looks pretty fragile, doesn’t it?”

  At the sound of the male voice at her shoulder, Haley turned to find a nice-looking man with dark blond

  hair and sparkling green eyes standing next to her. “Yes, it does,” she said, really taking a look at the

  Faberge egg in the glass case in front of her for the first time.

  “Back where I come from, we fry up the eggs for breakfast and throw the shells away,” he remarked,

  laughing.

  “And home is Oklahoma or Texas?” she asked, recognizing his southwestern drawl.

  “Beaver, Oklahoma, to be exact,” he announced proudly.

  “And you?”

  “I was born and raised in Atlanta.” She walked to the next display case containing pictures of the

  Romanov family shortly before their deaths. “But I’ve lived in Nashville since I was in college.”

  “Never went to college myself,” the man disclosed, shaking his head as he followed her. “I left home

  right after graduating high school with a fifty dollar bill in my pocket and an old guitar slung over my

  shoulder.” He grinned. “That was fifteen years ago and I’ve been here ever since.”

  “So you’re in the music business?” she asked politely.

  The man looked shocked for a moment before giving her a wide grin. “You’re about the sweetest thing

  I’ve come across in a long time. What’s your name, darlin’?”

  She caught sight of Luke coming toward them like a charging bull. “Haley, I need you to come with

  me.” The censure she detected in his voice startled her.

  “Haley is it?” the man beside her repeated, smiling. “Pretty name for a pretty lady.”

  She ignored the man’s compliment as Luke came to stand on the other side of her. “Is something

  wrong?”

  “No. I just want to get your opinion on one of the paintings offered here that I thought would make a

  nice addition to the office.” Before she could respond, he glared at the friendly man standing beside her.

  “You’ll have to excuse us.”

  When Luke took her by the elbow and strongly urged her in the opposite direction, she gave the man an

  apologetic smile. “It was nice talking with you.”

  He nodded. “You, too, Haley. That’s just my luck, though. All the pretty ones are already spoke for.”

  She frowned as Luke hurried her toward a gallery on the opposite side of the atrium. “Are you sure

  there’s nothing wrong?”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” he said, leading her to an abstract painting. “Right now, I want your opinion

  on this. Do you think this would be appropriate for the reception area?”

  She stared at him before she finally shook her head and turned her attention to the painting. “I’m not the

  person you should be asking about this.”

  He looked surprised. “Why not?”

  “Because I prefer a more realistic rendering,” she elaborated, pointing to a beautiful landscape down the

  long wall. “I especially love scenes like this.”

  “Really?” Shaking his head, he glanced from one painting to the other. “I wouldn’t have guessed that

  about you.”

  “I’m sure there’s a lot about me you’d never guess,” she murmured, moving on to view another canvas.

  If he was surprised by her taste in artwork, he’d be shocked right down to his Italian loafers to learn how

&nb
sp; she truly felt about him.

  While Luke arranged the purchase and delivery of the landscape she had chosen for the Garnier office

  on Monday, Haley continued looking at the array of artwork.

  “You know, that picture looks like something my nephew did when he was in kindergarten,” a familiar

  voice remarked from behind her.

  Turning, Haley smiled at the man she’d talked to earlier in the room displaying the Romanov treasures.

  “You wouldn’t happen to be following me, would you?”

  He grinned. “Would it bother you if I said yes?”

  “It wouldn’t set well with me.”

  Haley glanced up to see Luke walking toward them, his expression anything but pleased. “Come on,

  Haley. It’s time I took you home.”

  “There you go again, trying to steal her away from me,” the man said good-naturedly.

  Luke placed his hand to her back. “Pal, she’s not yours for me to steal away. She’s already mine and you

  might as well give up the chase. It’s not going to happen tonight or any other night.”

  Surprised by his possessive words, Haley didn’t even think to protest as Luke guided her to the exit. But

  when they stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the museum and she finally found her voice, she asked

  “What was that all about?”

  He gave the valet instructions to call for his limo before turning to face her. “Do you even know who

  you were talking to?”

  “No. Why?”

  Luke’s frown eased a bit. “That was country music’s bad boy, Chet Parker. Surely you’ve heard about

  his womanizing. He has quite a reputation.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the museum’s entrance. “You can’t be serious,” she said, amazed that

  she hadn’t recognized the country music superstar.

  “He’s divorced again,” Luke advised disgustedly. “And I’d say he was sizing you up as his next

  candidate.”

  Haley shook her head. “I doubt that. We were just chatting about the displays.”

  “Guys like Parker don’t strike up a casual conversation with a woman. Not without an ulterior motive.”

  When his limousine pulled up to the curb, Luke helped her into the back, then slid in beside her. “Just

  keep in mind that you and I have a deal. And it doesn’t include the likes of Chet Parker.”