by Leanne Banks
She wondered what was behind the mysterious glint in his green eyes. “Really?”
“I do, and there’ll be no stalling, no excuses due to homework or anything else,” he said firmly and paused a half-beat. “What is that amazing smell?”
Mallory smiled. “Apple pie. I made it myself. And we have ice cream.”
His gaze softened. “You didn’t have to do that. You could ask the cook—”
“I know. I wanted to.” She glanced over his shoulder. “Time to take it out,” she said, and pulled the pie from the oven and set it on a hot pad. “You’ve been working so hard lately in so many ways,” she said, her mind drifting to the problems with Chloe. “I thought you deserved a little treat.”
He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. “We may have to take the pie with us. I’ve arranged for a celebration.”
She turned in his arms and searched his face. “Why? Did Damien move to the other side of the world?”
Alex’s face hardened. “No, but he’s taking some time away from Megalos-De Luca to handle a crisis somewhere else.” He gave a deep sigh. “My good news is that Chloe submitted to a pregnancy test and she’s not pregnant.”
Relief washed over Mallory. She knew how much Alex had suffered over this. “She can’t threaten to sue you anymore.”
“Exactly. So I’ve decided to celebrate by getting your passport stamped.”
Mallory dropped her mouth in amazement. “How? When?”
“Tonight,” he said. “We’ll take my personal jet. We can sleep or do other things on the way,” he said in a suggestive voice. “We’ll take the pie with us, too.”
Mallory’s mind flew in a half-dozen different directions. “But I really do have a paper due and I’ve got to stay on top of those people in West Virginia or they won’t get things done the way they should—”
Alex placed his index finger over her mouth. “This is part one of our honeymoon. We’re gong to Paris.”
“Paris,” she echoed. “I’ve never been.”
His lips curved in sexy gotcha smile. “I know. I see it as my personal duty to fill up all the pages in your passport the same way I fill up…”
Her face flaming at his intimate suggestion, she covered his mouth with her hand.
He kissed her fingers. “Not blushing, are you?” he teased.
“Stop it. You’re making it hard for me to think straight.”
He lowered his mouth to a breath away from hers. “One of my other jobs,” he said.
She groaned. “Part one. Why did you say this is part one of our honeymoon?”
“Because numbers are infinite,” he said, his face turning solemn. “They go on forever. The same way our love will.”
“Pinch me,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m this lucky. Pinch me.”
Alex shook his head. “Wait until I get you on the plane. I’ll do a lot more pleasurable things than pinch you.”
Mallory sighed as he kissed her. She knew he would deliver on his promise. Loving Alex and being loved by him would be the greatest adventure of her life.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2040-3
BILLIONAIRE’S MARRIAGE BARGAIN
Copyright © 2008 by Leanne Banks
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