Janice Maynard - A Contract Seduction

She nodded slowly. “It will look odd. Does this mean you’ve changed your mind?”

He stood to pace restlessly, shoving his hands in his pockets. Second-guessing himself was a novelty he didn’t enjoy. In almost any situation he was able to cut through to the center of a matter and make decisions...good decisions. But that was business.

This new scenario with Lisette comprised a hundred more layers of uncertainty. “I haven’t changed my mind,” he said. “But I’ve had more time to think about this, and I’ve come to a few conclusions.”

“Sounds important,” she said lightly, pouring each of them a glass of iced tea.

“It will keep until after we’ve eaten. I always think better on a full stomach. And have your wine,” he said. “You don’t have to abstain on my account.”

She shook her head. “I happen to love iced tea. Mine is very good, if I do say so myself. My grandmother taught my mom, and my mom taught me.”

“I know very little about your family,” he said.

“Not much to tell.” Lisette set white porcelain salad bowls, dressing, and the two plates of steaming pasta on the table, along with a smaller plate of fragrant garlic bread. Jonathan held out her chair as she seated herself. Then he took the spot opposite her.

“Is your father still living?” he asked. “I don’t remember hearing you say.”

She shook her head. “My mother never spoke of him. As a kid I fantasized that he was a secret agent or a prince in some foreign country. Unfortunately, I think the truth is that he just didn’t care and walked away.”

“Were they married?”

“I believe so. There’s a name on my birth certificate. And it’s the same last name as my mom’s and mine. But she could have made him up.”

“Haven’t you ever wanted to track him down?”

Lisette grimaced, a bite of spaghetti halfway to her mouth. She set the fork on her plate and sighed. “According to all the books and movies, I should. Want to, I mean. But the truth is, I don’t.”

“Why not?” Jonathan had cleared most of his plate. He was starving, and the meal was amazing. Lisette had barely picked at her spaghetti. Was it because she was nervous? He hoped not. He wanted things between them to be comfortable. Easy.

Maybe that was an impossible task under the circumstances.

She curled her fingers around the stem of her crystal goblet and wrinkled her nose. “My mom did the best she could for us, but I was a latchkey kid from the time I was eight or nine. Our house wasn’t like my friends’ houses. It was quiet and empty and lonely. I decided that I would make my own home someday and fill it with color and sound and happiness.”

Jonathan nodded and smiled. “You’re off to a good start.” Inwardly he groaned. His needs and wants were going to be in direct opposition to hers. Was it fair of him to ask so much when he could give her so little in return?

“Thank you.” Her cheeks were flushed. It could be the heat from the kitchen, or perhaps she was as aware of him as he was of her. Before today, he would have said that he knew Lisette Stanhope extremely well. Now, here in her cozy, peaceful home, he was finding out how wrong he could be.

Away from the office, she seemed a different person to him. Younger, more vulnerable. Again his conscience pricked him. Lisette was conscientious and compassionate. Last year when one of their employees suffered an extended illness, Lisette was the one who organized meals for the family.

She had been a devoted daughter and caretaker to her mother for a decade or more. Jonathan didn’t want to be another burden she had to carry. To be honest, he didn’t want to be anyone’s burden, but especially not hers.

If they were to enter into this arrangement, the benefits couldn’t and shouldn’t be one-sided. It was becoming more and more clear to him that there was only one real way for this new relationship to work. A drastic step that would change everything.

As the silence between them lengthened, Lisette finished most of her meal. Jonathan had a second helping of everything.

“Thank you for cooking,” he said. Something about the simple, hearty meal fed his soul as well as his stomach. Food was one of a man’s appetites. Sexual intimacy was another. The fact that he felt jittery and hungry for his hostess was as much a shock to him as what he was about to say.

They cleared the table together. Lisette started the dishwasher, and then she touched him lightly on the shoulder. “Let’s go into the living room. We’ll be more comfortable.”

The few steps between the two rooms did not give him time enough to prepare a speech.

Lisette kicked off her shoes and settled onto one end of the sofa, her legs curled beneath her. “Well,” she said. “Don’t keep me in suspense. If I’m not to have a promotion, what’s your answer?”

He sucked in a breath, feeling more rattled and off his game than he had since the day of his diagnosis. “I think you should marry me.”

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.