Shirley Jump - The Mckennas - Finn, Riley and Brody

“Isn’t part of your business taking care of you? After all, if the CEO ain’t happy …” She let the words trail off and shot him a grin.

For a second, Finn wanted to fall into that engaging smile of Ellie Winston’s. Every one of her smiles seemed to hit him deep in the gut. They were the kind of smiles that Finn suspected—no, knew—would linger in his mind long after they were done. And her voice … her years of living in the South gave her just enough of a Southern tinge to coat her words with a sweet but sassy spin. It was … intoxicating.

Hell, everything about her was intoxicating. It wasn’t just the dress or the smile or the curves. It was everything put together, in one unique, intriguing package.

She had him thinking about what it would be like to take a hike through Blue Hills with her, to crest the mountain and watch the busy world go by far beneath them. He imagined them picnicking on a rock outcropping, while the sun warmed their backs and the breeze danced along their skin.

Damn. What was it about her that kept getting him distracted? He needed to focus on business, and more importantly, on why she had proposed marriage a few minutes ago. No wild, heady anything with her.

Finn cleared his throat. “About your … proposal earlier. No pun intended. Were you serious?”

Her features went from teasing to flat, and he almost regretted steering the conversation back. “Yes. Very.” She let out a long breath, and for a while, watched the people sitting on the grass across from them. It was a family of four, with a small dog nipping at the heels of the children as they ran a circle around their parents. “I need something from you and you need something from me. Marriage is the best solution all around.”

“We could always do a legal agreement for the businesses. This is just one project, you know.”

“For me, it’s much more.” Her gaze returned to his. “I have to have a husband. Now.”

“Why?”

“First, let me lay out the advantages to you.” She slowed her pace. “For one, our lack of familiarity with each other is what makes it a perfect idea and a perfect partnership, if you will.”

“Partnership, perhaps. Not a marriage.”

“I may not know you very well, Mr. McKenna,” she went on, “but I know your life. You work sunup to sundown, travel half the year and have all the social life of a barnacle.”

She could have opened up his skull and peeked inside his brain. Damn. Was he that transparent? And put that way, well, hell, his life sounded downright pitiful. Riley would have put up two enthusiastic thumbs in agreement.

Perhaps she was joking. He glanced at her face. Saw only serious intent in her features.

“But don’t you think it’s wiser to work out a business arrangement instead? More money, more prestige, a reciprocal arrangement with my next project?” Something he could quantify, put into those neat little debits and credits columns. Not something like marriage , for Pete’s sake.

“Perhaps to you it would be. But a business arrangement isn’t the number one thing I need right now.” She gestured toward a small grassy hill that led to the river, away from the crowds out walking, and the energetic in-line skaters rushing past them. He followed her down to the water’s edge. In the distance, a rowing team called out a cadence as they skimmed across the glassy blue surface.

Her green eyes met his, and a thrill ran through him. Damn, she had beautiful eyes.

“Not to mention, you’re probably as tired of the dating game as am I,” she said. “And maybe you’ve looked ahead to the future, and wondered how on earth you’re going to fit the American Dream into your schedule.”

He gave her a droll smile. “Actually I had that down for next year, on Tuesday, March 30, at two in the afternoon.”

She burst out laughing, which also surprised him and stirred that warmth again in his gut. Those who knew Finn would never have described him as a man with a sense of humor. But apparently Ellie Winston found him funny. That pleased him, and had him wondering what else Ellie thought of him.

Damn. He kept getting off track. It had to be her proposal which had knocked the normally unflappable Finn off balance.

“I was hoping to fit it into my planner a little sooner than that,” she said. “Actually a lot sooner.”

“Why? Why now? And … why me? I mean, you are a beautiful woman. Smart, charming, sexy. You could have your pick of any man on the planet.”

“I … well, thank you.” Now it was her turn to sputter. A soft pink blush spread over her cheeks. Then she paused, seeming to weigh her answer for several moments before responding. He got the distinct impression she was holding something back, but what, he didn’t know. He thought again about what he knew about her. Nothing pointed to “desperate to get married,” no matter how he looked at the details he knew about her. Yet, there was an ulterior motive to her proposal—he’d bet a year’s salary on it.

“There’s a child in China who needs a mother. I promised her that I would adopt her, and everything was in place for me to do so. Until this morning.” She bit her lip and turned to him. “The agency told me I need a husband to complete the adoption.”

“Whoa, whoa.” He put up his hands. “I’m not interested in becoming an instant father.”

“I’m not asking that of you. At all.”

“Then what are you asking?”

“A marriage based on commonality, not passion or lust or infatuation. We’ll stay married for a short time, long enough for me to get the adoption finalized, then get a quiet divorce. Painless and fast.”

In other words, no real strings attached and he’d be out of this nearly as fast as he was in it. He should be glad. For some reason, he wasn’t. “Sounds so … clinical.”

“Mr. McKenna … Finn. We’re both detail oriented—clinical in a way—people. I’m not interested in losing my head in a relationship, or wasting a lot of time dating Mr. Wrong, not when I’m concentrating on running my father’s company. I need a spouse, in name only, and you need a business partner.”

He looked in Ellie Winston’s eyes, and saw only sincerity, and a quiet desperation to help a child halfway around the world. He knew she wouldn’t have come to him, with this insane offer, if she didn’t have to.

Find out what she wants most in the world, Riley had said, and give it to her.

But this?

“I don’t know if I agree with this,” Finn said. “The child will undoubtedly be hurt when her father disappears after a few weeks.”

“You don’t have to be a part of Jiao’s life at all. Just be there for the home visit and the adoption proceedings. And in return, we can work together on the Piedmont project. That will keep my father’s business growing and help yours. It’s a win all around.”

Pigeons picked at the grass before them, looking for leftover crumbs. In the distance, there was the sound of children’s laughter. The swish-swish of rolling cycle tires on the paved walkway. The continual hum of traffic, punctuated by the occasional horn. The world went on as it always did, swimming along beneath a sunny sky.

“It would be a platonic marriage,” she said. “Nothing more.”

“A purely impersonal alliance?” he asked, still not believing she had suggested this. When he’d made his list of possible ways to convince Ellie a strategic partnership was a good idea, marriage hadn’t even come close to being in the mix. “A marriage based solely on like minds and like goals?”

Though when he put the marriage idea like that, it sounded cold. Almost … sad.

He shook off the thoughts. He was a practical man. One whose focus was solely on building his business back to where it had been. He wasn’t going to get wrapped up in the foolishness of some romantic ideal—and that wasn’t what Ellie was asking for. It was, in fact, the exact kind of relationship he had vowed to pursue. Then why did he feel as empty as a deflated balloon?