Page 44 of Bride Under Contract

‘I didn’t come here to discuss business or money.’

She didn’t like this game...whatever he was playing.

Grace was aware she’d already been putting on a bit of a front, shielding her heart from the impact of this stunning man. And now her reckless night, her one-night stand, was offering her more, and it had utterly thrown her.

‘Can we please go?’ she asked.

‘Of course.’

Only they were in Borneo, so it wasn’t quite as simple as walking off. The little silverbacks were all waiting to pounce and have a little party with any leftovers, so she gritted her jaw as they both cleared the table away.

‘I think you should ask someone a little more...’ She didn’t know the word she was looking for as they carried the trays down the stairs. ‘I am sure there are plenty of women who would be only too happy to take your money.’

‘I’m asking you, though, Grace.’

‘Well, I wish you hadn’t.’

Midway down the stairs, she simply halted, glimpsing again the precious sense of freedom she’d found last night, her own reckless abandon, the joy of discovering herself while knowing the jungle would keep her secrets.

‘You’ve spoiled things now.’

‘Or...’ Carter had stopped behind her on the stairs ‘...I might just have made things a whole lot better.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘YOU SEEM OFFENDED by my offer...’ Carter commented as they walked across the grounds.

‘Of course I am,’ Grace stated, even if she did feel like some avatar that kept glitching every time the sum of money on offer popped into her head. ‘I was raised to believe marriage meant something...’ She paused. ‘Till my dad walked out.’

‘This would mean something,’ Carter said. ‘Financial security for you, less guilt for me.’

‘Guilt?’

‘I might not love this place; it doesn’t mean I want to turn it into a movie set.’ He glanced over. ‘This is far less whimsical than marrying for love.’

‘You think marrying for love is whimsical?’

‘I do. I prefer relationships to be transactional. I don’t want the responsibility for another person’s safety or happiness, and I certainly don’t want another person to feel responsible for mine. I told my grandfather the same. But now here we are...’

He had a point—even if she didn’t agree or aspire to his cold, lonely life. She knew that responsibility well...the claw of anxiety when she thought of her mother.

She honestly hated it that she was...just a tiny bit...thinking about the advantages.

He climbed onto the boat and offered his hand. He helped her onboard then, as she took a seat, stored his laptop and the leather cylinder he always carried.

‘What is that?’ she asked as he carefully tucked it away with more care than his laptop. ‘You take it everywhere.’

‘Blueprints,’ he said. ‘Hand-drawn plans. And I am not going to lose them or risk them getting wet... We shan’t be long.’

‘It’s fine. I think I’m already too late for the jungle walk...’

As he started the boat Carter didn’t want to examine the relief he felt. He would never tell another person what to do, yet he’d felt a familiar dread when she’d said she was going into the jungle. The same dread he felt when Arif so casually strolled there, or Jamal said he was in the jungle with their son.

He wanted this solved so he didn’t have to think of all that...so he barely had to see this land again.

And he would not lose focus on that.

Grace sat, sulking, as he started up the speedboat. ‘I thought you were the one worried about your temporary lovers making demands the morning after.’

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