Page 40 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

“I’m going to lie down in the stateroom,” she said, unbuckling. Avoiding his gaze.

It was barely eight o’clock Vancouver time, but he nodded and watched her go.

They had left the drizzle of autumn in Vancouver for early spring in Chile. Snow on the Andes formed a backdrop to a fascinating city of contrasts. The green spaces had yet to green up, but thick vines and tall palms grew in abundance between old-world stone buildings and glass skyscrapers. The bright, sunny sky cast deep shadows into narrow streets where elderly women ran flower shops brimming with fragrant blossoms.

All of these things managed to distract Vienna from her concern that she and Jasper didn’t really stand a chance, not if he continued to resent her.

He seemed to be genuinely trying to smooth things over, though.

After they checked into their penthouse suite in the hotel, they napped and freshened up from travel, then ambled through the downtown area to have lunch with a property agent.

The woman was excited by the idea of a generous commission and couldn’t wait to get started.

“I was thinking to leave the house-hunting in your capable hands,” Jasper said as they walked through a park on the way back to their hotel. “Would you feel comfortable if she took you around without me? The security detail would go with you.”

“I don’t mind doing it alone if you’re too busy, but would you trust me?” They had talked with the agent about finding something they could call “home” at least part-time for the next several years—which felt very permanent when their relationship was still so delicate. Vienna was holding her breath, convinced any misstep on her part could wreck everything.

“Did you not agree with the direction I thought we should take?” He had told the agent they wanted several bedrooms so family could visit for extended periods, along with room for entertaining and accommodation for staff. He wanted grounds that offered a sense of privacy and a pool if possible. “In terms of style, I liked your place in Tofino.”

“Hunter found that house.”

“Yes, but we both liked it, so we have similar tastes. You’ll have opinions about what might work as a studio, too.”

That had been her contribution to the wish list, but, “What if I reject something you might think is perfect?”

“If you don’t like it, how could I see it as perfect?”

She halted in the middle of the wide path. For a second, she could only stare at him.

“What?” His brows came together over the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses.

She started to dismiss her astonishment, then admitted with a flex of shame in her brow, “It still surprises me when you’re so considerate. I’m not used to it.”

His sighed out a subdued rumble of discontent and they continued walking.

“We both bring baggage into this relationship,” he said with deliberate patience. “We’re going to leave it out sometimes and the other one will trip over it. But I’d rather not be compared to your ex if you can help it.”

“I don’t. Believe me, there is no comparison on that front,” she said with a husk of humorless laughter because it was so true. Jasper could tell her right now that he didn’t think they would work after all and he would be miles ahead of Neal on the honesty and consideration scale. “Neal wasn’t the only one who really didn’t give a damn about what I wanted or needed, though.”

She hated admitting that. There was always a lingering fear that maybe the way she’d been treated was her own fault because she genuinely didn’t measure up. Maybe it was only a matter of time before Jasper saw it, too.

“Your stepmother?” he asked. “I thought she was... I don’t know. A narcissist?”

“She was. And a sex addict, I think? She definitely had a troubling relationship with alcohol and drugs.”

“Why did your father stay married to her?”

“I don’t know. But his reason doesn’t matter, only that he did. And the fact he took her side makes him just as bad as she was, in my opinion.” She paused as they came up to the lip of a giant fountain filled with shiny coins. “It makes him worse, I think, because he should have protected me from her, but he sided with her instead.”

“Where was Hunter all this time?”

“Being a child, too!” She would never hear a word against him. He ought to get used to that. “Hunter was dealing with the same thing I was—being belittled and humiliated at any sort of gathering because she refused to wear underwear and loved to dance on tables.” Among thousands of other things. “Hunter did what he could, standing up for me and talking to Dad, but he started working at Wave-Com in high school. The board pressured him to rein her in, as if it was up to him to be responsible for two grown adults! I know he felt guilty, leaving me alone with them when he went to university, but it wasn’t like I was in danger.” Not physically, anyway.

“That’s not the sort of father I intend to be,” he said gravely.

“I know.” She started walking again, offering a polite smile to a woman who walked by with her miniature schnauzer. “But they did leave me with horrible self-esteem issues.” It was so lowering to admit that. She had grown up and moved past a lot of it, but that kind of baggage lingered and still ambushed her sometimes. “Everyone always asks me why I don’t work at Wave-Com and the answer is that I asked Dad if I could, when I was fifteen. I wanted to job-shadow in the marketing department for a school assignment.”

“Why would he refuse? Graphics. Art. That’s right in your lane.” He glanced at her again.

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