Page 38 of Bride Under Contract

Now it seemed doable.

He’d have to tell Grace why, though—have to share his past when he preferred not to. And he’d have to tell her that this place, even though he’d prefer that it didn’t, still mattered to him.

‘Hey...’

He turned his head as she came out on the balcony and joined him. Her hair was combed and slicked back.

‘Thanks for this,’ she said, gesturing to the black sarong he’d left out, then she looked up. ‘Wow...’ she said, gazing up at the canopy of stars and then staring down to the dark of the thick jungle stretched out in the distance. ‘Which way is the resort?’ she asked and her eyes followed to where he pointed. ‘So, no chance of walking back?’

‘None,’ Carter agreed. ‘Do you want breakfast?’ he offered. ‘We could take it up here and watch the sunrise. It’s pretty incredible.’

He saw her hesitation, knew she really just wanted one night, and it actually strengthened him, made the thoughts in his head take clearer shape. He wanted to be certain before he voiced them.

‘Are you going to cook?’

‘I don’t cook.’ He wasn’t going to summon breakfast, though. He didn’t want anyone else invading, nor his thoughts interrupted. ‘But Malay will have it all prepared in the kitchen. We can load up a tray and bring it back.’

‘Sounds good.’

They walked through the house she had barely noticed last night, down the curved stairs, and she paused at a photo of a baby smiling.

‘Is this your brother?’ She looked at the gorgeous almond eyes and spiky hair, the wide smile.

‘Why do you think that?’ Carter asked.

‘Well, he’s blond, and far too smiley to be you.’

Carter gave a low laugh. ‘You’re wrong—that is me.’

They wandered down a little further, and they came to an image that had her throat squeezing tight.

His mother was too beautiful for words, with blonde hair and fine features. His father was handsome, but perhaps not as arrogant-looking as Carter. And there he was, smiling again.

Then she looked at the baby Carter held in his arms.

‘He’s blond too,’ Grace said, and then wondered if she should have said was.

But all she could see was his soft spiky blond hair and huge eyes. He was such a beautiful baby, and his smile was so infectious that even though she felt her throat grow tighter she found that she was returning it.

Carter could not.

He didn’t see the smile. He just stared. Not at his parents, nor at Hugo, but at the silver teething ring his brother held in his hand.

What the hell had Arif been thinking? He should have left it where it belonged.

He walked away, and Grace followed him into the gorgeous kitchen. It was old but very, very beautiful, and as he put some coffee on she took a high stool.

He wondered how to broach things.

How to explain that he was considering asking her to be his temporary wife.

‘It looks as if you were a very happy family.’ Grace was undoubtedly still thinking of the photos. ‘Your parents were clearly in love.’

‘It’s easy to be happy when you don’t have responsibilities,’ Carter said dismissively. ‘They were happy at the expense of others...’ He glanced over. ‘I find love to be selfish.’

‘Selfish?’ Grace checked, and he nodded.

‘Extremely. My parents wanted adventure, to travel. To see the Northern Lights, sleep under the stars, trek through the jungle...’

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