Page 39 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

Were they a team? He didn’t do group activities, and when he did, he led.

Pressing her to come with him, to try to form a family, was in their child’s best interest. He stood by that. But he did have certain misgivings about their relationship. They came from very different worlds and all they really shared was a baby.

And the heat with which they’d conceived it.

He was trying not to dwell on that, even though it was definitely a factor in why he’d pushed her to come with him. Could she even have sex? He hadn’t yet asked. He’d been focused on the immediate business of yanking her firmly back into his life while trying not to hold a grudge over what had happened with REM-Ex.

“Can I ask you something?” Vienna asked quietly. She dragged her eyes from where the nurse was watching a movie, her ears covered by noise-canceling headphones.

“Yes?” He lifted inquiring brows.

“Why—” She seemed briefly perplexed and a little self-deprecating. “I’m wondering how rich you are and why you didn’t tell me? Which I know is rude, but I had the impression in Tofino that REM-Ex had much deeper pockets than you did. I was surprised when I heard you had bought them.”

“I’m rich enough that we’ll need a robust prenup if we decide to marry.” It circled back to that moment in the grocery store parking lot and a burning need to prove himself to a woman who had forgotten him the moment she turned her car back onto the street.

“You’re insulted. I shouldn’t have asked.” She wrinkled her nose.

“I’m offended that I was ever judged on what I have or didn’t have. Orlin Caulfield made the same mistake, thinking I wasn’t his equal.”

“You’re not.”

He snapped a look at her.

“You’re far more than he could ever hope to be, whether you own REM-Ex or not.”

Those eyes of hers could drown him if he wasn’t careful.

“What’s going to happen to him?” she asked. “Is it dangerous for us to be in Santiago? I heard you talking to someone about upping security to include me.”

“That’s an abundance of caution. I asked a firm to shadow us for a few weeks, to confirm there’s nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t have brought you if I thought it was dangerous for you. No.” He shook his head. “There was a rash of firings and resignations when I took over. The guilty ran for cover, but they’re hoping to get away with their crimes, not come back on me for exposing them. Mostly my takeover has been greeted with enthusiasm because I’m cleaning house.”

“And the investigation into Saqui’s death?”

“I have an email that shows Orlin Caulfield ordered the landslide. I don’t know if I’ll ever find the person who set off the charge, but Orlin is the one behind all of this. The investigation has moved into calculating a settlement number for the Chilean authorities for the environmental damages, which I support. The REM-Ex lawyers are already filing a list of charges against Orlin for misrepresentation and other corruptions. There are liens on his Canadian assets pending the outcome, so he’s definitely enjoying a taste of what he served me. He’s unable to access his money and is stuck on his boat with few ports of call where he won’t be arrested and extradited.”

“Are you satisfied with that?”

“For now.” He would never be satisfied. Not until Orlin was rotting behind bars.

“What I mean is, I don’t want it between us that I ruined your plan to have him arrested.”

“It’s not.”

Her mouth quirked to a skeptical angle as she searched his gaze.

They really did have a distance to go before they trusted one another. Fine. He went with brutal honesty.

“For Saqui’s sake, I can’t rest until Orlin is in jail, but it’s not productive for me to keep it between us, so I’m doing my best to let it go,” he said.

She flinched and looked away, nodding jerkily. “At least I know where I stand.”

Sensitive, he remembered with a pinch of chagrin. She felt everything twice as hard as most people.

Grudges had always been his fuel, though. He didn’t know how to operate without feeling that burn of rancor inside him.

What more did he need, though? What did he want to prove? To whom? Vienna?

You’re far more than he could ever hope to be.

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