The Texan's Contract Marriage - By Sara Orwig Page 0,24
Noah. For a panicky moment, she wanted to change her mind, but there was no turning back time and events. “The first thing I’ll do when I get home tonight is go see him. I miss him when I’m away from him for just hours,” she said, struggling to hang on to her emotions. “Days are impossible to think about.”
“The first little bit will be the hardest, and we won’t jump into a schedule the minute we marry,” he promised, taking her hand. “Stop worrying so much, Camille. I’ll work with you on this and maybe we can’t do a lot at first while he’s tiny. Besides, some of the time, you and I will be under the same roof and you’ll have him as much as ever. The difference will be I’ll be living with you, too.”
A shiver spiraled through her as his words echoed in her thoughts. How vastly her life would change. Locked into a loveless union, she would spend part of her time on his ranch. She couldn’t imagine that. His thumb lightly rubbed the back of her hand while his brown eyes hid his feelings. Yet why should he be emotional over this proposition—it was his idea and what he wanted desperately. Her acceptance of his proposal was worth millions to him, so all he hid was his desire to convince her to cooperate.
“Let’s face it, Camille,” he said in a softer tone. “We have a positive physical response to each other now. That’s a plus any way you look at it.”
Her heartbeat increased a notch. “I didn’t know you noticed.”
“I’ve more than noticed since the first day I met you,” he said. “We’ll get along,” he added in a huskier tone that surprised her, a tone that made his words sound as if he referred to a physical relationship. “We’ll just do a day here and a day there so you get more accustomed to this and see if it’s workable,” he said, getting back to the matter at hand. “When we’re in the same town, we’ll be in the same living quarters so there will be no problem. At some point, I’d like him a week out of each month. You will get him the other three weeks. That’s not even half the time. How does that sound to you?” he asked. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Marek once again sounded businesslike, in control of the situation.
Trying to avoid thinking about Noah, she picked up the calendar. “I’ll be in Budapest in the fall, so you will have him two weeks out of those months.”
“I said at some point. For now, he should stay with you while he’s under a year old.”
She stared at him, feeling as if a huge weight had lifted. Her pulse began to race with rising joy. “Do you really mean that?”
“Of course. When you’re in New Mexico, you’ll have him all of the time because we’re just starting and he’s too little to be away from you. We’ll ease into this. As he grows, the schedule will change anyway.”
She felt as if sunshine had just spilled over her. “You didn’t say that before. I’m so relieved. I’ve been trying to imagine him in Texas when I’m in Santa Fe and I can’t even bear to think about it. That is a wonderful wedding gift. Marek, I’m overjoyed,” she said, giving him a squeeze.
He laughed in one of his rare moments with a flash of white teeth. “I think you are far happier over this news about Noah than over your ring or the money or any material gain.”
“Of course, I am. You should understand why.”
“I should have come to this conclusion from the start,” he said, still smiling, and her happiness rose. “I want Noah to be a Rangel, and I hope he loves the ranch. Kern loved ranching.”
“In our weekend together, I got that much from him, so I feel I’m giving Noah part of his dad by our marriage and seeing that he grows up knowing the ranch life. It’s a relief to know he won’t start living there without me when he’s so tiny. If I find any of what we do difficult to live with, you’ll hear from me about it.”
“I’d want to. I want something we can both live with.”
“Right now, even when he’s older, I can’t imagine him gone for almost a month.”
“We’ll work into long stays gradually. You can come visit anytime you want, and if that’s bad,