Forged of Steele Bundle (Books 1-4) - Brenda Jackson [209]
Lena shivered, feeling the heat of that gaze. As usual he was dressed in a business suit. When he had taken off his jacket her gaze had been drawn to his broad shoulders. No matter what he wore, there was something masculine and virile in every outfit, always relaying a degree of inner strength. “Yes,” she finally responded. “And I think the contingency is a good thing.”
“Sounds like it is.”
“Are you interested?”
Morgan suddenly caught her gaze and held it, and when he did so she suddenly began experiencing a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Yes, I am very much interested,” he said, not taking his eyes off her.
It was something in the way he’d made that statement that made her feel that perhaps they weren’t talking about the same thing. With all the poise she could muster, she then stood to her feet. “Well, that’s all I had to cover with you, Morgan.”
He nodded. “There is this business proposition that I’d like to discuss with you, if you have the time.”
She smiled as she settled back comfortably in her chair. “You have another house you want me to sell?”
“No, but it is something very important to me, something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time but kept putting off because there wasn’t anyone I’d met that I felt comfortable about approaching to discuss a partnership.”
Lena leaned forward. “Not even Cameron Cody? I understand the two of you are good friends and have done business together on several projects.”
Morgan cleared his throat, cracked a smile and chuckled. “Trust me, Cameron wouldn’t work for this. I need a woman.”
He watched her eyes reflect a myriad of questions before she repeated the last part of what he’d said. “A woman?”
“Yes. In order to pull things off successfully, I need a very astute businesswoman, someone with an open mind, who could think outside the box, and who will appreciate a golden opportunity. And I believe that you are just that person.”
The charming smile on Morgan’s lips almost had Lena agreeing to anything, without knowing exactly what this “business venture” was about. His eyes were hooked on hers, and somehow she felt his keen sense of intelligence as well as his single-minded determination. He had piqued her curiosity and she definitely needed him to elaborate. “Just what type of business proposition are you talking about, Morgan?”
Morgan leaned forward a little, making sure he had her absolute attention. He also wanted to be right there, to gauge her reaction to his words. “I want you to marry me and have my baby.”
Dead silence.
Morgan studied her expression as she sat perfectly still. He saw her blink, then witnessed the fine arching of her brow; and mere seconds later he became an ardent observer of how her lips trembled slightly at the corner. His gaze then moved back to her eyes and saw how they slowly narrowed to sharp slits. Her expression left no doubt in his mind what he’d just told her wasn’t anything like what she’d expected.
“Excuse me. I must have heard you wrong,” she finally said, not taking her eyes off his.
“No, you heard me right, Lena.”
She stared, as if what he’d said didn’t make sense and she was imagining things. Then she spoke as she straightened up in her chair. “In that case, I need you to explain why you think I’d be interested in involving myself in something so preposterous.”
He smiled. “Is it really preposterous? Think about it for a second. It’s no different than a couple agreeing to a prenupt. Marriages of convenience, or more simply put, the one I’m interested in, a marriage of purpose, are not unheard of these days. People are marrying for a lot of reasons. Not everyone who marries is doing so for love.”
Lena heard what he was saying and a part of her was a little disappointed. She had been the product of a couple who loved each other dearly, and when she had met his parents at Kylie’s wedding, she had thought the same thing about them. And if she’d ever married, it was to have been for love. But then,