Page 17 of The Baby Behind Their Marriage Merger

‘I find you, your past and your family, interesting,’ Jude told her.Did he? Really? Why?She supposed it was because she was totally different from the women he normally dated or was seen with. Unlike them, she didn’t come from a ‘good’ family, and she wasn’t rich, sophisticated, elegant or into art, poetry and opera.

‘I think we should get married.’

Addi looked at him over the rim of her tea cup and, conscious of her shaking hand, slowly lowered the cup to the desk, trying not to spill her tea on his brand-new, expensive-looking carpet.

No, he couldn’t possibly have said that, could he?

‘I’m sorry, I thought you said that we should get married.’

Leaning back in his chair, with an ankle on the opposite knee, he looked relaxed, but Addi could tell he wasn’t, not really. His green eyes were wary, and a muscle jumped in his rigid jaw. His shoulders were tight with tension, and he played with the laces of his shoes.

Addi tried to think of a response, and eventually settled on, ‘Why would you think that us marrying would be a good idea? It’s the twenty-first century, Jude, people don’t get married because of babies any more.’

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, but didn’t drop his eyes. ‘I have reasons why I think it’s a viable option.’

A viable option.Good grief.As a little girl and teenager, even as a young adult, she’d imagined a proposal that had the love of her life down on one knee, preferably holding a huge diamond ring that could be seen from space.

She’d grown up and realised that life didn’t work that way, but she’d never thought both her marriage proposals would be so lacking in romance. Dean had suggested they marry over a bowl of popcorn while they’d watch an action movie, and two weeks later had tossed a ring box at her, telling her to let him know if it didn’t fit. Now Jude’s proposal—or was it a suggestion?—contained the words ‘viable’ and ‘option’.

‘Would you like to hear them?’

She might as well. And afterwards she’d say no, they could move on and, maybe, discuss something familiar, such as Thorpe’s hospitality division.

‘When I say married, I am talking of a marriage of convenience—it wouldn’t last more than a year, maybe eighteen months. And nobody would need to know that.’

Well, wasn’t this just sounding better and better?

Jude frowned and tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. When his eyes met hers again, he leaned forward and placed his forearms on the desk, looking deadly serious. ‘Look, I know you are worried about your job with Thorpe, but if you marry me I’ll pull you over into a position at Fisher International. Whether you accept my job offer or not, I will pay all your medical bills and hefty monthly maintenance, starting this month.’

She wished she could say that she would dismiss his offer, that it wasn’t attractive, but to someone who had mastered the art of stretching her budget it was. How could it not be? ‘Go on.’

‘I will also pay the fees of the best family law practitioner in the country so that you can keep your sisters with you.’

That alone was a huge incentive to tie herself to this man for eighteen months. Addi placed her hand on her heart, scared it would jump right out of her rib cage. He was making a good case for marriage, for explaining what she would get out of it. But so far it was all very one-sided. And she didn’t, for a moment, believe that Jude Fisher would give up his single status just to help her out.

He might occasionally be nice, occasionally thoughtful, always hot and sexy. But he wasn’t a saint, and he wouldn’t sacrifice himself on the altar of matrimony unless there was something in it for him.

She switched legs, half-turned, draped her arm across the back of the chair and nailed him with a look that said ‘don’t you dare lie to me’.

‘Well, you seem to have the answers to my problems,’ she commented, sounding a great deal more casual than she felt. ‘So, what’s in it for you?’

Jude drained his coffee cup and considered her question. Now came the tricky bit. How did he explain to her that, business-wise, having an illegitimate child was the worst thing that could happen to him? How did he explain that he was still being punished for a youthful mistake, for messing up? How could he even start to explain that his errors of judgement had caused Bart to lose all faith in him, so much so that he’d rewritten his will just a day after the story of Jude being conned by Marina hit the headlines?

Fishers didn’t air their dirty linen in public, it simply wasn’t done, and it would always be Jude’s fault for letting that happen. He now had a minor paranoia about his privacy, and the thought of the contents of his grandfather’s will, the fact that all his decisions had to be approved by a board of trustees and that he’d have to marry to keep his company under his control, made him want to break out in hives.

This situation was fraught with peril, and he had to be very careful about what he said.

‘I don’t know if you know that I was raised by my grandfather—he died about nine years ago,’ he began, tapping the end of his pen against the surface of the sleek, designer desk.

Sympathy flashed across her face. ‘I think I remember reading something in the press,’ she replied quietly. ‘I’m so sorry, Jude. Was he your only family?’

‘He was, from the time I was a young kid.’ When he caught her wince, he thought he should explain. ‘Briefly—my mum died unexpectedly and my father checked out in every way a father could. When he died, Bartholomew took me in, but he wasn’t a warm and fuzzy guy. Honestly, he was more of a headmaster or a bank manager than a father figure.

‘We weren’t close, and Bartholomew had very definite ideas on how I should live my life and what was expected of me. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t always live up to those expectations,’ he continued.

Addi linked her hands around her knees, looking intrigued. ‘Well, if it’s any consolation, Joelle didn’t haveanyexpectations of us, except that we did not inconvenience her any more than what was strictly necessary.’ She waved her words away. ‘Sorry, this is about you, not me. How do your grandfather’s wishes connect to us getting married?’

He drummed his fingers against the surface of the desk. ‘My grandfather and I had a falling out when I was nineteen. I got caught up in something I shouldn’t have and it damaged our relationship.’ Jude pushed fingers into his right temple to push away his headache. ‘Then another lack of judgement on my part led to that incident being revisited, and my grandfather’s blood pressure went through the roof. He died about three months later but not before he’d made certain amendments to his will.’

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