Page 38 of Vegas Baby

“I am proposing that we think about this,” he said before he lost his nerve. Asking her to remain married was a huge step for both of them and frankly, the commitment scared the shit out of him. Except she was pregnant and he couldn’t walk away from his child, or from her. “I was thinking about your argument on arranged marriages and I have to admit; you made some valid points.”

Raina shook her head, chin raised, the confusion gone from her eyes. “Our marriage isn’t based on anything but a sleeping pill, alcohol, and sex. An arranged marriage entails family interviewing the potential spouse, and each person having things in common would make the match work. We have nothing in common. If we stayed married, it would be more like a marriage of convenience.”

“Call it whatever you want but we do have things in common. We’re both driven professionals and we understand each other’s jobs. There’s a definite attraction between us —otherwise, you wouldn’t be pregnant— and you’re having my child.” His child. A chill crept up his neck and he inhaled, still unable to believe what he proposed. From the moment he’d discovered the pregnancy test, the idea of staying married had planted itself in his mind. Beyond the physical, he’d enjoyed spending time with her. She was fun when she loosened up and the sex was great.

“You are serious.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth before taking a sip from her cup.

“Yes, I’m very serious.” Staring at her pale face, he tried to picture himself being married to Raina, to see her day in and day out. To spend every hour he wasn’t at work with her. Yes, she was smart and sexy, but she was also stubborn and difficult when she wanted to be, like she was now. He’d be staying with her because of the child, not for any emotional reasons except obligation. “Let’s not be the judge if we’re compatible or not. You meet my family, I meet yours. Although I’ve already met Miller. He doesn’t like me.” And I don’t like him. He’d try to get along with the guy for Raina’s sake.

He held his breath, waiting for her to respond. His tie pressed into his neck and he wanted to loosen it but he kept his fingers looped around the base of the cup.

“If I agree to this, Miller isn’t a factor in my decision,” she said in such a soft voice, he nearly missed her comment.

“So you’ll consider it for the sake of the baby?” Howler hissed out air from between his teeth, relieved and panicked at the same time. He’d be stuck with her for the rest of his life.

It was too late to back out and the ball was in her court.

Raina lowered her lashes, fiddling with the lip of her cup before she raised her eyes to his. The anger had deflated and her solemn expression softened. “If I say yes, we’ll need do draw up a contract, spelling out the details and expectations.”

“That sounds fair. We can think of this as a prenup.” They were doing this, really doing this. He should be ecstatic. Should be. This wasn’t about him, but his values, and his sense of morality towards his unborn child.

She pulled out her laptop from her briefcase and turned it on, back straight. “Good, we’re on the same wave length. This is a business deal, no strong emotions to cloud our judgement, no fuss, no muss. Two responsible adults trying to make the best of a bad situation. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll walk away.” It was almost as if she were trying to reassure herself.

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to fall for my many charms and ruin a perfectly good arrangement.” Sitting back, he ran his thumb along the outside of his plastic cup. It wasn’t marriage that was the problem, it was the commitment that scared the hell out of him. It was the emotional aspect he didn’t want. Love faded after the pheromones wore off and what you were left with was two people with something in common, working toward a goal.

Cold and cynical.

She glanced up from the computer, cocked one arched eyebrow, amusement brightening her eyes. “Given our past association, there’s no fear of that, but I’ll include it in the contract. Article I: Raina Ashton will not fall in love with Xavier Hamilton.”

Her words cut deeper than they should. He wanted the same thing as her yet putting it on paper felt disingenuous. Why do you care? You never had any desire to fall in love. Love was fleeting and often volatile and didn’t fit into his plans for the immediate future. Neither did marriage. Yet he was married to her.

Raina cleared her throat, a flush burning her neck. “Okay, what’s next?”

“I propose we have dinner with each other every night when we’re both in town.” As a child, his mother had insisted they sit down and eat together, until his dad came back into the picture, then everything had been turned upside down. When he moved to Grams’s, she’d put him back on a schedule, adding some much-needed stability to his life.

“Okay, sounds fair. I have social responsibilities for the Pioneers and I assume you have them for your agency as well. We’ll need to have our assistants coordinate our social calendars.”

He stifled a groan but nodded. There would be some perks to having a wife on his arm as opposed to a girlfriend. She’d bring a sense of family to his agency, much needed PR for the firm. “Since I have a house, you should move in with me. You’ll have your own suite.” Although I’d rather you share my bed. Baby steps.

“You want us to live together? It is a big commitment for an experiment. What if something happens and I lose the child?” Raina asked. She was barely pregnant and there was a risk she could miscarry. A strong urge to protest the possibility settled on Raina’s lips and she clenched her teeth. She placed her hand on her still flat belly. Last week, she’d been freaking out about the baby, yet even talking about a potential loss hit her like a punch in the gut.

He frowned into his cup, a notable tick in his jaw. Was he just as upset over the prospect as she was? He was the one who instigated this entire conversation. A surprise that she was still trying to adsorb.

“Make that Article II. If you lose the baby, the deal is immediately null and void. You can move back to your condo and we’ll continue with our divorce proceedings. We’ll never have to talk about it again,” he said, his tone reflecting his expression, grim.

If such an event happened, they’d no longer have a reason to be married. She dropped her shoulders, the tension leaving her body. If things didn’t work out, she would have an out, but at a price. “Actually, we’ll still be required to go to court to finalize the divorce except it’s a moot point. Once we split, each of us will keep the same assets we walked into the marriage with. How big is this house?”

“It’s three floors. I bought it to host athletes and their families in the lower level. Obviously, I won’t use it for that purpose if you’re opposed to doing so.”

“I don’t mind. Your clients are important to you. Outside of business expenses, we’ll each use a percentage of our income for combined household expenses.” That way she could keep her independence without feeling beholden to him. Compromise. Marriage was all about compromise.

“That’s not necessary, I--”

“Yes, it is. I have no expectations other than trying to get along for the sake of our child.” Alarm bells rang in her mind and she shook her head. Raina was successful in her own right and she didn’t need him to take care of her. She could pay her own way.

“Once the child is born, we can reevaluate the money situation,” he said, a determined tilt to his chin. “Anything else?”

Eyes locked on the computer screen, she swallowed before clearing her throat. “If I agree to this arrangement, sex is on the backburner for now. The entire purpose of this is to see if we’re compatible. If we hop into bed, our hormones will take over. It’ll give us a false sense of compatibility.” She waited, breath held for his reply. Every cell in her own body screamed no to her own suggestion but this was an arranged marriage. If she walked it back, she’d lose a lot more than a few hot nights in bed with Howler. She’d lose control. Like Brandi had with Miller. Only Howler isn’t Miller but he was enough like her father that she needed a safeguard. “I also want a fidelity clause. If we’re going to have any kind of marriage, we agree to be monogamous. Any cheating is grounds for an immediate divorce.”

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