Page 46 of Bride Under Contract

Carter stood up, scanning the trees, then his eyes locked on one close to the riverbank. ‘Grace...’ he started.

‘Please...’

Grace tried to halt him. She couldn’t, though, because sitting in a river of lilac flowers, her body tender and her memory fresh from being bedded by him, she was having enough trouble designating this a holiday romance...enough trouble holding on to her heart. So instead, she stared back down to the flower, to the gorgeous petals, their orange tips like peacock feathers.

‘I don’t want to discuss this any further.’

‘Shh...’

‘Excuse me?’ she checked, affronted at being shushed.

But then she saw that he wasn’t looking at her. Instead he was staring out, holding up one hand as Felicity did when she wanted them to be quiet.

‘There.’ He pointed and she followed the line of his finger. What they’d been discussing faded. ‘See the nest?’

She couldn’t.

‘Come here,’ he said quietly, summoning her, his eyes set on the trees as, a little unsteadily, she stood too, and walked over. ‘There’s movement. Right there.’

Oh! She’d been looking into the distance, but he was pointing to a tree close to the river’s edge, and there was a huge nest halfway up.

‘See?’ he checked, and Grace nodded excitedly as a little head popped up. ‘They’re waking up.’

The tiny head bobbed down again, but not a moment later two arms stretched up, large hands holding a tiny baby orangutan in the air. She couldn’t see the mother, just her arms and hands around her infant, the little baby gazing down. It was such a tranquil moment, a precious moment... A mother raising her infant in the air, playing with her baby as any mother would. Then the baby disappeared from sight, still held in loving arms.

‘That was incredible...’

It was a relief for Grace to have a reason to let out a little of the emotion that she’d kept pent up since this morning—to cry a little and wipe the tears with the back of her hands.

‘I’d almost given up seeing one in the wild. We’ve been looking for them all week.’

‘They’re hard to find—the females make a new nest most nights.’

‘What about the males?’

‘Oh, they’re lazy—more often than not they use the discarded nests.’

Grace gave a soft laugh. ‘Typical!’

‘Or practical,’ Carter countered, and then she felt him looking at her. ‘Grace, I may be male, but unlike our primate friends I am not lazy. I have built my own nest and feathered it very nicely. I don’t mind feathering yours if you’ll join me for a year.’

‘I think I ought to get back.’

‘Are you sure...?’

She was about to nod, but then realised he wasn’t suggesting they stay to discuss his proposal, just asking if she wanted to watch the nest for a little longer.

‘They’ll come down at some point, though it might take a while.’

He was completely content to wait, and she could not understand how he could make such a calculating offer, then moments later stand in silent awe, patiently watching these beautiful creatures.

It was Grace who brought up the topic again. ‘I don’t see how it could work.’ Her cheeks were on fire. She was embarrassed to admit she was thinking about it. ‘A fake marriage.’

‘It happens all the time.’ Carter assured her. ‘We’d get an application for marriage here, then fly to Kuala Lumpur... We can meet my lawyer there, work out the details, draw up an NDA and such, then agree on a prenup.’

‘In English, please?’

‘We try to come to a deal we can both agree on and ensure nobody else finds out.’

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