Maureen Child - Bargaining for King's Baby / The Wealthy Frenchman's Proposition

He paid no attention to that at all, just stalked past her into the house. Gina sighed at the dust his boots left on the floor, then she turned and said, “What’re you doing here?”

“Mom told me what Pop did.”

“Fabulous.” Had her mom called Peter and Nicky, too, to bring them up to speed on the pitiful wasteland that was Gina’s love life? Was she going to take out an ad in the Birkfield paper, too?

“I just want to say, Pop was out of line. You don’t need him to find you a man.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said and waved at the still open front door, trying to get her brother out of there before Adam showed up.

“Because, if you want a guy, I can find one for you.”

“ No .”

Tony shrugged. “I’m just saying…Mike over at the bank? Great guy. Good job…”

“Did you learn nothing from Papa?”

“Pop’s mistake was going for Adam. Adam’s a bad bet,” Tony said. “He’s a good guy, but he’s shut down emotionally.”

“Huh?” Gina shook her head. “You’ve been reading Vickie’s magazines again, haven’t you?”

He grinned and the Torino golden eyes twinkled at her. “Gotta keep up. Don’t want the wife thinking I’m just a dumb ranch hand.”

“Uh-huh. How about you go home and tell her that?”

“What’s the rush?” Then he seemed to notice her for the first time. He gave a long, slow whistle. “Wow. You look…did you say you have a date? ”

Insulted, she demanded, “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“You never go out.”

“Not true.” Okay, semitrue. She wasn’t a shy little wallflower virgin, but she wasn’t exactly party central, either. And why couldn’t she have had sisters instead of three well-meaning, but interfering older brothers?

“Who’s this date with?”

“None of your business. Gee, look at the time.”

“Why don’t you want to tell me who this guy—”

“Hi, Tony.”

They both turned at the sound of the deep voice. Adam stood on her porch, the wash of lamplight spilling out of the house to welcome him. He wore a well-tailored black suit with a dark red tie and he looked as at home in the elegantly cut suit as he did in his jeans and boots. As he looked from her to Tony and back again, his dark eyes shone with interest and what Gina suspected was humor.

So how long had he been standing there?

“Adam,” Tony said with a nod, stepping out in front of his sister to hold out one hand.

Adam shook his hand, then shifted his gaze to Gina. The power of his stare was enough to make her head go light and her heart jitter in her chest.

“You look lovely,” he said.

“Thanks. Um, Tony was just leaving.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Well, we are ,” Adam countered and held out one hand to Gina.

The look on Tony’s face was priceless. Gina smiled as she slipped past her brother to join Adam on the porch. Then she threw Tony a look over her shoulder. “Lock up when you leave, okay?”

The restaurant was amazing. Sitting atop a cliff overlooking the ocean, one entire wall of Serenity was glass, providing a breathtaking view of moonlight, waves crashing against the rocks below. Overhead lighting in the sprawling building was deliberately faint, as if each wall and ceiling sconce had been chosen to define the darkness rather than defeat it.

The musical clink of crystal and the whisper of muted conversations were flavored with soft jazz piping from the three piece band. Completing the atmosphere, each round table boasted a single votive candle and the effect of dozens of flickering flames was nearly magical.

All in all, it had been a perfect evening. Adam was considerate, charming and never even hinted at the deal her father had broached to him. And while Gina was enjoying herself, she’d been dealing with a twist of nerves in her stomach since the hostess had first seated them. Now that dinner was over and they were sipping a last cup of coffee before leaving, time was up.

She either faced Adam with her own deal—or came to her senses and forgot the whole thing. Gina stared out the glass wall beside their table and watched as waves rolled ceaselessly into shore, slamming into the rocks, sending white spray into the air.

“What’re you thinking?”

“What?” She turned her head to find Adam watching her with a bemused smile on his face. “I’m sorry. Mind wandering.”

“To where, exactly?”

Here it was, she told herself, fingers curling around the fragile handle of her coffee cup. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Funny that was the phrase that sprang to mind.

“Adam,” she said before she could talk herself out of it, “I know what my father said to you.”

His features tightened. “Excuse me?”

Now it was her turn to give him a small smile. Shaking her head, she said, “Forget it. Papa confessed all.”

He shifted on his chair, scowled a little and picked up his coffee cup. “Did he also mention that I turned him down?”

“Yeah, he did.” Gina swiveled in her seat, turning her back on the wide vista of ocean and cliffs to face him. “And by the way, thanks.”

“No problem.” Sitting back in his chair, Adam watched her. Waiting.

“But,” she said, “I had to wonder about you asking me out to dinner. I mean, if you weren’t interested in buying a bride, why the invitation?”

His mouth flattened into a thin line. “One has nothing to do with the other.”

“I don’t know,” Gina said softly, running the tip of her index finger around the outside rim of the cup. “See, I’ve had some time to think about all of this…”

“Gina.”

“I think that when Papa first—” she paused as if looking for the right word before continuing “— proposed , if you’ll pardon the pun, his little deal, your first reaction was no. Of course not.”

“Exactly,” Adam agreed.

“And then…” She smiled when he frowned. “You started thinking. You came outside. You saw Mom and I and you told yourself that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”

Adam straightened in his chair, then leaned over the table, peering directly into her eyes with a hard stare. “I did not bring you here so that I could propose to you.”

Gina actually laughed at that. “Oh, you wouldn’t have done that. Not right away, anyway. You brought me here on a date.” She stopped and grinned, looking around the restaurant in approval. “And it’s been lovely, by the way. Anyway, after tonight, there would have been other dates. And after a couple of months, you would have proposed.”

He stared at her for a long, silent minute and Gina knew that she was right. For whatever reason, Adam had reconsidered her father’s offer. Which was good. In a way. Of course, she didn’t like the idea that he’d been seriously willing to marry her for his own gain. Actually it made her heart hurt to think about that too long. After all, she’d been in love with Adam King since she was fourteen years old. But at least it made her own plan seem more reasonable.

“Okay, that’s enough.” He lifted one hand in a silent signal to their server, requesting their check. “I’m sorry you feel this way, but since you do, there’s no point in continuing this. I’ll take you home.”

“Not ready to leave yet,” she said, leaning back into her own chair to watch him. “I know you, Adam. And right now, you’re a little embarrassed and a lot on the defensive.”

“Gina, what I am is sorry that you misunderstood.”

“But I didn’t,” she said. “In fact, I completely understand.”

“Understand what?” His tone was clipped, impatient.

“Look, I know how much getting the King holdings back together means to you,” Gina said and felt a tug of satisfaction when his eyes flashed at the thought. “I know that you would do just about anything to ensure that happens.”