Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall

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СКАЧАТЬ adore them!’ She leaned forward. ‘And I have enjoyed it here, but I made it clear from the first that this was a time-out for me and not a permanent venture.’

      His hands clenched. ‘Why can’t you reconsider all that now—?’

      ‘I love my job as a schoolteacher.’ She sat back. ‘I’ve worked hard to get where I am. Becoming a nanny would not be making the best use of my skills. It would, in fact, be a demotion.’

      ‘I can afford to pay you your current salary.’ Plus more.

      ‘It’s not about the money, Cade!’ Her eyes suddenly spat fire. ‘Look, I have no intention of burying myself out here as if I’m afraid to return home, as if I can’t hold my head up and meet anyone’s eyes square-on.’

      She wouldn’t even take a few days to think about his offer? He slashed a hand through the air. She was perfect for his daughters. And they were perfect for her. If only she’d see it. ‘That’s just misplaced pride!’

      ‘No, it’s not.’ Her eyes didn’t flash fire any more. She looked cool. Too cool. ‘Besides, it’s sensible. Down the track, I want to marry and have children of my own. Who am I going to meet out here?’

      The thought of another man kissing those luscious lips fired him with an anger he knew he had no right to feel. An unreasonable, unholy anger. He bit back the torrent that clawed at his throat. Think. Think! It would be in everyone’s best interests if she stayed.

      She wanted to be a mother.

      He wanted a mother for his children.

      He shot to his feet. ‘Then marry me, Nicola. That way we can both have what we want.’

      Nicola recoiled from Cade and his outrageous suggestion.

      He strode around the desk. She shot to her feet but he caught her hand before she could back away.

      ‘Think about it,’ he urged in that silky voice that could tempt a saint.

      She had thought about it! The life here—her soul craved it. It seemed perfect.

      Except …

      He didn’t love her. And she wasn’t sure if she loved him. Lust wasn’t love. Nor was a desire for a family. She would not be weak and stupid, as she had been with Brad. She meant to be very sure of her reasons the next time she decided to marry.

      If there is a next time, Nicola Ann. At your age there certainly aren’t any guarantees.

      She swallowed.

      ‘I have a family that would embrace and welcome you. We’d have more children, of course. We could have as many as you wanted.’

       How many more offers of marriage do you expect to receive?

      ‘And you can’t deny there’s heat between us. It would be very pleasurable creating those babies.’

      She couldn’t deny that. And she couldn’t deny the empty ache that filled her whenever she thought of having children of her own and wondering if that would ever happen, but …

      He lifted her chin to meet his gaze, his fingers caressing the skin there. ‘I would be faithful to you. I would do whatever I could to make you happy.’

      He meant every word; she could see that. She swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘You don’t love me.’

      ‘I like you. I enjoy spending time with you. I desire you. And you love my daughters. What more could I possibly need?’

      ‘Love.’

      He frowned. ‘You said the next time you decided to marry, you’d make sure you got exactly what you wanted from the relationship.’ He eased back, his eyes serious. ‘I am offering you exactly what you want.’

      She had to bite her tongue. She had to swallow and then draw in a deep breath. No matter how much this man with his angry wounded eyes and his lips that could transport her to heaven tempted her, she would not make the same mistake she had in the past. ‘I was wrong and misguided when I said those things. I was feeling hurt and angry and I wanted to lash out. I wanted to find a way to protect myself, but it was all a lie.’

      She pulled herself up to her full height. ‘Since I’ve been here I’ve come to see how wrong that kind of thinking is. If I treated someone that callously and with that degree of calculation it would make me worse than Brad and Diane. I have no intention of … of being such a bitch.’

      His eyes narrowed. ‘Love is an overrated emotion and—’

      ‘And it’s precisely what I need, and I won’t settle for anything less.’ She snatched her hand from his. ‘I need love and friendship.’ Her eyes burned and her throat thickened. ‘You made me believe in friendship again, but it was a lie. You don’t care what’s best for me. All you care about is what’s best for your daughters and you’re more than willing to sacrifice me on that particular altar, aren’t you?’

      ‘I—’

      ‘But if you think a loveless marriage is what’s best for Ella and Holly then you are truly and utterly mistaken.’ She heaved in a breath, taken off guard by the pain that sliced through her. ‘There are a lot of nannies out there who would bond with Ella and Holly as well as I have done and whom you wouldn’t have to make the supreme sacrifice of marrying.’

      He clenched his jaw so hard white lines appeared around his mouth. ‘I wouldn’t consider marrying you a sacrifice,’ he ground out.

      For a moment she almost believed him. She gave a harsh laugh and shook her head. ‘You are so not ready to get remarried. Are you telling me you’re prepared to give another woman the chance to walk out on you and the girls again? Because what makes you so sure I wouldn’t, huh?’

      His head snapped back. ‘I know you. I know you wouldn’t do that.’

      Really? She folded her arms. ‘Let’s just play with another scenario for a moment. What if I said I would marry you and Fran heard about it and, as a result, came racing back here to ask you for a second chance? After all, she is Ella and Holly’s mother. Who would you choose? Which of us would you deem as the best choice for your daughters?’

      His face, his frame, his fists all tightened. ‘That is not going to happen!’

      ‘That’s not an answer, Cade.’ A terrible tiredness gripped her. Her temples throbbed and her hands shook. Perspiration prickled her nape. ‘And until you do know the answer you’re in no fit state to marry anyone.’

      She recognised the panic that raced across his face then too but she had to harden her heart against it before it led her into doing something she’d regret.

      She folded her arms. ‘Marrying you would not be the best thing for me.’

      Beneath his tan, he paled.

       You stupid girl, Nicola Ann!

      She lifted her chin. ‘I deserve better.’

      She СКАЧАТЬ