Page 23 of Hire A Cuddler

I’m still shaking my head, overwhelmed and confused. “But why? Why would we? Why would you want to?”

“Will you sit down?” he asks, pointing at the couch.

I walk over and sit down on the chair, effectively making it so he can’t sit next to me, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. He sits down in front of me on the coffee table, and the wood groans under his weight.

He has the papers still clenched in his hands. “This is not a joke. I’m not messing with you. I want you to be my wife.”

I can barely form a sentence I’m so shocked. “Why?”

He repeats the question. “Why do I want you to be my wife?”

I nod my head, and he leans forward. “Because I’m forty years old. I want to settle down. Hell, you’ve seen what it’s been like since I went to your modeling show.”

I blink in confusion. “What do you mean? What’s happened?”

He tilts his head. “You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t. I try to stay off social media.” I leave out the part where I spent the whole afternoon searching for information about him when I found out who he was. Since then, I’ve made a point to stay off the Internet because it was driving me crazy seeing all the pictures of him with that other woman.

He pulls out his phone, scrolls, and then holds it out in front of me. I take the device from him and start reading.Jasper’s most eligible bachelor is on the prowl.There are articles and pictures about who he was at the show to see. I look up from the phone. “Who were you there to see?”

“Huh?”

“Who were you at the fashion show to see?”

“You, Haven. I was there to see you.”

“Oh!” I exclaim.

He puts the paper on the table next to him and then holds his hands out in front of him with his elbows resting on his knees. His hands are palms up, and I know what he wants. He wants me to put my hands in his, but I’m not there yet. “So you want to marry me to avoid gossip?”

“Fuck, no, I’m doing this all wrong. I want to settle down… I want a family. You said you wanted kids—”

Damn. I’m pretty sure my lady parts just exploded. I can’t sit across from this hunk of a man and listen to him tell me he wants to have my babies. I’m a strong woman, I know I am, but I’m weak when it comes to resisting King. “I do want kids, but this was not the way I thought it would happen. Contracts and—”

He grabs the papers and holds them up. “If you don’t want a contract, I can rip it up. But I was trying to protect you too.”

He shoves his hand through his hair and looks at me wildly. I’m not sure what is going on in his head, but it’s obvious that he’s thought about it, and he’s determined to make it happen.

“Let’s talk about this. You want a kid? Why getmarried? This is the twenty-first century, after all. If we wanted to have a child… we could just have a child.” Where did this even come from? I’m not having a kid with him. Why am I humoring him by even talking about it?

“I would want the baby to have my name.”

I scrunch up my nose. “You know you can do that without a wedding, right?”

“That’s the deal, Haven. Marriage. Kids. The contract has it all in there. If you decided to end the marriage, I would still take care of you and the kids.”

Speechless, I stare at the papers in his hands. He tries to give them to me, but I’m not taking them. “Why would you do this?”

“I like you. I trust you. I want a child. You said you want one too.”

I laugh out loud. He makes it sound so simple, and it’s crazy. “I can’t marry you to have a child, King. Yes, I want a baby, but I want more than that. I want a real marriage. I want a man that loves me and will be faithful.”

“I will be faithful,” he exclaims, but I can’t help but notice that there’s no professing his love for me or anything.

“I’m sorry. I can’t.”

His jaw tightens. “I’m not taking no for an answer, peaches.”

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