Sara Orwig - The Ransomes - Matt, Nick and Katherine

She shook her head. “We’re on a different course since I made that declaration. We’re marrying, and you’re making it permanent. If that’s the case, and we’ll be intimate, then I want more than lust and a purely physical relationship for the rest of my life. I want love.”

“Once again, you want more,” he repeated, smiling at her. “Where have I heard that before? Only this time, you won’t have the leverage you did about marriage.” He turned his hand to take hers and rub his thumb across her knuckles, stirring tingles. “You’re flirting with me, Olivia.”

“So I am. Don’t deny that you like it.”

“Of course, I like for you to flirt and to kiss. As you said, we’re stuck with each other now, so we should make—” he paused and desire heated his gaze “—love, as well as the best of it,” he finished in a velvety drawl that held its own caress. “I’ll have to say that you’re damn cooperative now that you’ve got what you want.”

“I try,” she said, bestowing a smile.

He laughed and straightened up, releasing her hand. “I’ll get you a wedding ring. We need to make some decisions about the wedding first. How about a small wedding?”

She tingled at the prospect and wondered if she could go through with this loveless marriage of convenience—even with Prince Charming, which Matt had been on occasion. “That’s fine,” she said, but her words were breathless and her head spun. Marriage—and then she would be in Matt’s bed. Sex with Matt Ransome! Again she thought about sex with him—over and over she thought of it. Her palms felt sweaty, and she watched him writing in his notebook. If he was disturbed or gave the notion of sex with her any of his attention, he was hiding it well.

“I’ll pay the wedding bills, of course,” he continued. “If you don’t have a particular church, we can be married at the ranch. The only people I want to invite will be our cowboys and my family.”

Trying to get back to thinking about what she was doing instead of sex with Matt, she mulled over his suggestions and shook her head. “You’re so concerned about my baby—which will soon be our baby. Maybe you should think about inviting a lot of your friends, too. Otherwise, I’m not too likely to be accepted by some people because of my background and where I’ve worked,” she said, and he nodded.

“You’re right. Good decision.”

“Why do I get the feeling that from the first, you’ve expected the worst from me?” she asked.

“Maybe I misjudged you. You constantly surprise me. But it’s for the good, so that should be all right,” he admitted. “We’ll have the whole deal, a big wedding and reception.”

“Why not a small, private wedding and then the big reception?”

He shook his head. “I’d say the big wedding because I want people to accept you as much as any other member of my family and there will be a reluctance by some locals for the reasons you said and because you were close to my brother who had a reputation for being the wild man of the county.”

“I’m three months pregnant.”

“Won’t matter. You don’t look it anyway. I’ll hire someone to work with you to plan this wedding.”

“If we have a big wedding, it will take time to plan.”

“No. I’ll hire a wedding planner who can get everything ready. I’ll call family and close friends. Word will get around before the invitations. You get your wedding dress right away,” he said, starting a new list, writing while he talked. She wondered exactly how much wealth the Ransome family had because Matt didn’t seem daunted by anything except her proposal.

She had butterflies dancing a ballet in her stomach at the thought of a big wedding with all his family and friends present. “Matt, I don’t have any family and only a few friends.”

“Doesn’t matter. Most of the county will come to the wedding and lots of people from other counties and from Fort Worth. Matter of fact, guests will come from everywhere because my brother and sister get around. By the way, you have carte blanche on this.”

“You already trust my judgment?” she asked.

His gaze drifted down over her as far as he could see with the table blocking his view and then back up in a leisurely, thorough study that curled her toes and made her forget business. “You have good taste. You look like a professional woman this morning—like the lawyer you will be someday. Last night you looked fabulous. I think I can trust you with the wedding decisions. I’ll help with the wedding at the ranch because we’ve had so many catered parties there. I already have a battery of people who can handle all aspects of the reception. We should open an account for you today.”

She nodded, growing more dazed with each of his quick decisions. It all seemed like a dream, magical, impossible, yet the man beside her was real enough. And the most fabulous, awesome aspect of all—her baby would officially be a Ransome. Matt would help raise him or her.

What was impossible to put out of mind and ran in an undercurrent of thought all the time they talked was the far more immediate prospect of sex with Matt—getting naked with each other. The thought stirred a burning low in her middle. And would there ever be more than lust and a baby between them?

He pulled out a small black book, flipped it open and scribbled in it, turning to hold it out to her. “How’s this date for our wedding?”

Stunned, she stared at the black circle he had drawn and then she looked up at him.

“Icouldn’t possibly!” she exclaimed while she stared at the date circled—next Saturday. “This is Monday! This week—not even a full week to get ready for the biggest event in my life, a complete life change, an enormous wedding with your relatives and friends. Impossible!” she exclaimed, trying to ignore a feeling of panic that surged while she reminded herself this had been her idea and she was getting what she desired.

Part of her wanted to ask for a year to get ready. The other part would like the wedding as soon as possible, to lock her into the Ransome family before something happened that changed Matt’s mind or made the wedding impossible. Next weekend—it sounded the same as tomorrow.

His blue gaze settled on her. “You’re quiet. Getting cold feet?”

“Never,” she replied emphatically. “I want this with all my heart.”

While they looked solemnly at each other, she knew they each had different goals for their futures. And they each would fight for what he or she wanted. She knew that, too.

He glanced at his watch. “We should select invitations today. I’ll get a list of guests and get someone at the Ransome office to address the invitations and get them out at once.”

“Matt, we can’t do this in a few days. Give me another week at least.”

“All right. The date will be the following Saturday,” he said with assurance in his tone. “Let’s go. I have calls to make, and you can shop for your wedding dress. We can meet back at the hotel for a late lunch around one. When we fly home, we’ll go to Fort Worth and open a bank account for you. How’s that?” As he talked, he fished his billfold out of his pocket, withdrew a credit card and flipped it over on the table so it landed in front of her. “Buy whatever you want,” he said casually and she stared at him. “Or if you don’t find what you want, we can go to Fort Worth to shop. Or Dallas.”

“I’ll find something,” she said, quietly. “Thank you.”

“And you’re surprised again, aren’t you? You must think I’m a green-headed ogre.”

“No. I’m simply amazed you’re so generous when you’re angry with me. And I didn’t know your family had such wealth,” she said.