The Texan's Contract Marriage - By Sara Orwig Page 0,26

can gain more than just money out of this.”

“Noah will gain more—he’ll get a dad who, hopefully, will love him.”

“I already love him. All I have to do is look at him and think about his dad. He’s a happy baby, so that makes him doubly lovable.”

She looked away, having another moment when her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. “I can maintain better control on a stage than I can here.”

“That’s different. You can walk away from that without it tearing up your life.”

Startled that he understood, she turned back to look at him. “You’re perceptive, thank heavens,” she admitted. “That makes me feel a tiny bit better.”

“Good,” he said gently. He placed his hand on her cheek lightly. “Camille, we’ll get through this. Just always tell me and I’ll tell you if something isn’t working.”

Again he surprised her and also made her feel better. “Thank you,” she whispered, looking into his dark eyes and wondering about the future.

Picking up the calendar, he studied it. “A small wedding should be easy. How about the last Saturday in April?”

“Two weeks and a few days?” She laughed, her worry transformed to amusement over his ridiculous expectations. She shook her head. “That seems impossible, even for a small wedding. I’m free right now from any performances, so I agree it should be before I perform in Dallas and definitely before I go to New Mexico, but two weeks? It can’t be done. I’m sure I can’t even book the church with that short of notice.”

“If necessary, we can marry at my ranch. There are plenty of places. Remember, don’t worry about expenses. I’m paying and I can get people moving,” he said in a determined tone.

“I’m sure you can,” she replied, looking at the calendar he was holding. He had well-shaped hands, strong wrists. His French cuffs had gold links that flashed when he moved. Returning her attention to the calendar, she studied it. “It’s April. How about the second Saturday in May? That is really fast for a wedding.”

“How about the first Saturday in May?” he asked. “I promise, we can pull this together. I’ll give you all the help you want.”

She stared at the date and finally nodded. “If you think that’s possible, I guess that will be all right.”

“I know it’s possible.”

She glanced up at him. “You’re supremely confident, but I imagine you get what you want the majority of the time.”

“No. I didn’t with Jillian and Kern. But some things are doable if you have the resources.”

“Or the determination,” she added quietly.

“We’re doing well together, Camille. This is a good sign,” he said. He patted her hand. “See, it’s working.”

Again, his slightest, casual touch, a touch that was meaningless to him, stirred unwanted responses in her. Was she getting herself into a situation that would hurt deeply later? This change with Noah was unwanted, foisted on her. Falling in love would be equally as unwanted and complicated. Realizing that he was saying something to her, she tried to get her mind back on their discussion.

“I’ll need to get the church, let my sisters be bridesmaids, even though I want to keep this small. I need to take you home to meet my family.”

“It’s fine with me however you want to handle it. They’re your family. Except you didn’t tell them everything, so they had no part in the decision you made.”

“Correct. I think they would see all this differently. And they don’t fully understand the job or career that I have, either. They like my singing and are proud of me, but I know they wish I had a regular job where I lived in Saint Louis or one particular place and went to an office each day.”

“They’ll get used to your career as it grows. So we go meet Mom and Dad.”

“And brother and grandmother. What about your parents? You said they’re not very involved now with you and your sister.”

“They’ve said they will be here as soon as they can. Mom hates flying, but she’ll do so. They’ll be here for the wedding, I’m sure.”

“You’re still hurting over your loss. We barely know each other. Frankly, I prefer to put a physical relationship on hold. If we stay together the time will come when we might want to have one, but at this point, there are a lot of uncertainties and we’re not in love.”

“Whatever you want. We should make decisions about a honeymoon.”

“A honeymoon seems foolish under the circumstances. We have a business arrangement.”

“One, for distant