The Millionaire's Contract Bride

‘Because of Lauren!’

‘Because of Josh!’

Xander gave a mocking inclination of his head. ‘And then, as it turned out, our fears were all for nothing—because when they did both finally leave neither of them wanted Lauren or Josh! They only wanted each other.’

It was true, Casey acknowledged painfully. Whatever it was that had burnt so fiercely between Sam and Chloe—love, lust, whatever—everything else had been surplus to requirements. Including their two children.

‘All I’m asking right now is that you think about marrying me, Casey,’ Xander encouraged. ‘Think of what the two of us marrying could mean to you and Josh, of what I could give you—’

‘I said I don’t want to hear any of that!’ Casey cut in shakily, disturbed by his offer in spite of herself.

Because, the offer of financial security for herself apart, she wanted all those things he had mentioned for Josh, and she hated the fact that she was never going to be able to provide them for him.

And Xander Fraser had to have known that perfectly well when he made his outrageous offer of marriage…

Four days he had said he’d had to think about a solution to his problem, whereas she had only had a matter of minutes to accept that this man really was proposing marriage to her. That the only reason he had chosen her was because he knew she was desperately in need of the financial security he offered.

That he felt confident in making the offer to her because he knew her circumstances were such that he wouldn’t need to pretend a love for her he would never feel.

Xander watched the conflicting emotions flickering across Casey’s face, realising she was both tempted and repelled by his offer.

He had no idea which emotion was going to win…

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_81b81be2-a678-5e0d-a441-1cd349f73d65)

SHE needed time to think about this, Casey decided. She needed to sit down and think rationally about all that Xander Fraser was offering her.

She no more wanted to marry again than he obviously did—had been just as soured by her unhappy marriage to Sam as he had by his ‘hellish’ marriage to Chloe.

But that wasn’t all that was at stake here, was it? She had Josh’s welfare to consider. And, as his stepfather, Xander could give him all the advantages in life that she knew she would never be able to provide for him.

But before making any decision—was she actually considering his proposal?—despite his earlier comment, she really needed to know exactly what he would want from her in return.