Page 13 of Her Diamond Deal with the CEO

She glared at him. ‘I think it’s time for you to leave.’ Snatching up her car keys, she stepped aside to let him pass, but he didn’t move. Instead, he stared at her, his golden eyes hot and bright in the tiny kitchen.

‘What would you say if I told you that I could make all of those bills just disappear?’

‘I would say you probably need to go back to the hospital for a CAT scan,’ she said stiffly.

He smiled then—a quick, devastating, get-out-of-jail-free smile that made her breath catch.

‘And on any other day I’d probably agree with you, but today is different. Today is your lucky day. You see, I have a proposition, a proposal really. I need something that I think you can provide. A service.’ His eyes rested on her face, then dropped to the swell of her breasts. ‘And if you were to provide that service I would be willing to recompense you. Generously recompense you.’

There was another silence. Her face felt as if it were on fire. ‘Are you offering to pay me for sex?’

He stared at her. ‘No, actually. As much as I enjoyed myself that wasn’t part of the plan, but it could be—’

‘What plan?’ She cut him off. The room was starting to spin.

‘I want you to marry me.’

CHAPTER THREE

ONDINESTAREDAThim in silence. ‘Is this your idea of a joke?’ she said finally.

He frowned. ‘A joke? No. I couldn’t be more serious.’

‘Right.’ She was suddenly so furious she could barely speak. ‘So you want me to believe that when you woke up earlier you suddenly realised you’d fallen in love with me and that you had to marry me?’

Behind him, there was a vase of cream roses and their lush romanticism seemed to highlight the bitterness in her voice.

‘Close.’ His eyes flickered over her face, then past her through the window to the distant glitter of Palm Beach. ‘But what I really want is for everyone else to believe that.’

What was he talking about? Her heart gave a thump. Maybe she should take him back to the hospital.

‘I don’t know why you’re looking so worried,’ he said softly. ‘It was you who gave me the idea.’

‘Me?’ Her heart gave another lurch.

His golden eyes rested steadily on her face. ‘Marriage is good for men. That’s what you said. People think they’re more dedicated, responsible, mature.’

‘That’s why you want to marry me? Because of some random comment I made—’

He was shaking his head. ‘I don’t want to marry anyone. But I do need a wife. Not for very long. A year or two at most, I haven’t really nailed down the details—’

‘And now there’s no need to.’ Stepping forward, she pushed her hands against his chest, ignoring the feel of his muscles, the way everything inside her pulled taut. ‘Because it’s time for you to go back to your hotel—’

It was as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘Look, I get it. It sounds crazy—’

‘That’s because it is crazy, Jack. You’re crazy.’ He wasn’t moving and, glaring up at him, she snatched her hands away.

‘It’s not crazy. It’s completely logical. Unconventional, maybe, but logical, and entirely practical for both of us,’ he added, as if he were offering to do a car share to work. ‘You need money and I need a wife.’

‘Unconventional would be wearing a ball gown to go to the mall. And nobodyneedsa wife, Jack. Not in this century anyway. And I certainly don’t need or want a husband. I’ve had two already.’

She had thought that would stop him in his tracks, but he just lounged back against the counter, seemingly unperturbed. ‘So you’re an expert.’

‘Obviously not. Otherwise I’d still be married.’

‘Maybe you haven’t met the right man.’

Her chest was pounding with disbelief. And yet she couldn’t look away. ‘You can’t possibly think that’s you.’

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