Page 18 of Baby Contract

"So you dream of me too."

"Oh my God." I cover my face with my hands.

"It's a good thing." I drop my hands, not sure where he is going with this. "It will help with what I need next." Oh shit. What can he need me to do that pairs well with me thinking he's handsome? I should probably be thinking something sexual, but I don't get thosetake advantagevibes from Carr.

"All right." I shift in my seat to face him more.

"I don't want to upset you." Okay, maybe I'm wrong and I’ve been misreading him this whole time.

"You know we have to keep things professional." My words come out with no power behind them. The truth is, I have a serious crush on him that keeps growing. I swear the harder I fight it, the worse it gets.

"You know how I told you they are looking for a family man."

"Yes." I don't think he'll have a problem there. He's so freaking good with Violet. Yet another reason to be attracted to him.

“Well—” He hesitates for a second as though he’s unsure if he should say whatever it is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this way before.

“Spit it out, Carr.”

“I need you to be my fiancée,” he finally blurts out.

“Seriously?” I’m not sure if he’s joking or not until he pulls out a ring. The ring should maybe shock me, but the man produced passports with the snap of his fingers. At this point, I'm starting to think he's a magician. “Is that real?”

“Of course.” I don’t know why I asked. “Hold your hand out.” I should say no, but I swear my hand moves on its own. He slips the ring onto my finger. It fits as though it was custom-made for me. The giant oval diamond sparkles even under the dim overhead lights.

“I don’t think I can wear this.” I’m scared to ask how many carats it is. Four? Five? Probably six. This man is insane.

“It’s a perfect fit.” He seems almost smug about this.

“What if I bang it or lose it?!” I should be focusing on how we are going to fake this, but the ring is so overwhelming. And, well, breathtaking. I didn't know I had a thing for jewelry until now.

“Don’t take it off and you won’t lose it.”

“It’s worth a car, I bet.”

“Or a house, depending on the area or market.”

“Carr!” I gasp.

“Congratulations,” the flight attendant says as she passes by us.

“Oh no, I?—”

Carr cuts off my protest. “Thank you.” He smiles at her, taking my hand by my fingers as he kisses the top of it.

“You’re really good at that.” I pull my hand up. He’s already pretending. Carr shrugs.

Every few seconds, my eyes drift back to the ring. I keep stroking the underside with my thumb. When we land, we’re the first off, and Carr has a vehicle waiting to zip us over to a fancy hotel.

“I kind of feel like I’m in a whole different world,” I whisper more to myself when we enter the suite.

“You must be hungry.” I just nod as I explore the giant suite. It has two rooms, but one is set up for a complete nursery. I bet he made that request, and they redid the whole room. The problem is, where the heck am I sleeping?

“Am I staying in another room?” I ask. Violet starts to fuss. I pick her up to change her diaper before making her a bottle. It’s nice that there is even a small kitchen.

“You don’t want to stay close to Violet?”

“Of course I do; it's just there is only one bed,” I point out. He might not have noticed.

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