No Ring Required: Millionaire's Calculated Baby Bid

Mary smiled at the girl, shook her head, then followed Ethan out the door.

“You know, there was an iffy-looking Thai place next to that baby store,” Mary said, sipping lemonade and munching on perfectly tender chicken picata and fresh spinach salad.

Across from her, Ethan waved his fork. “This is better.”

Mary shrugged, a trace of a smile in her voice. “Well, sure, if you like quiet, great food and a killer view.”

Under the guise of work, Ethan had taken her to his home for some lunch. Worn-out from the experience at the baby shop, and more than a little bit curious about what kind of home a man like this one would choose, she hadn’t put up much of a fuss. And her curiosity was well rewarded.

She had expected Ethan’s home to mirror his office—glass and chrome and modern—but maybe she should’ve taken a clue from his rooftop garden instead. There was absolutely nothing modern about the estate. It was enchanting and secluded, complete with a charming wooded drive that led straight up to the massive French-country style home.

Inside was nothing less than spectacular, but not in a showy, uptight way. Though it was sparsely furnished, the rooms were warm and rustic with lots of brick and hardwood.

Mary sipped her lemonade, taking in the soft summer afternoon on the sprawling deck that nestled right up to the edge of a private lake.

“I thought you should see the space you’ll be working with,” Ethan said, finishing off his last bite of chicken.

Mary nodded. “You’re nothing if not helpful, Mr. Curtis.”

A breeze kicked up around them, sending pre-autumn leaves swirling over the edge of the deck into the water.

“Hey, I thought we talked about this back at the baby shop. You were going to call me Ethan—”

“I only agreed to that to get you to stop talking.”

“What?” he said, chuckling.

“You were bringing up the past and I wasn’t interested in going there.”

“The very recent past.”

She attempted to look confused. “Was it? Feels like ages ago, like it didn’t happen at all.”

He glared at her belly. “Oh, it happened, Mary.”

Heat flooded her skin, but she forced her expression to remain impassive.

His gaze found hers again and he studied her. “You’ve got quite an attitude on you.”

“With you, yes.”

“I’m sure I’m not the only one,” he said, one brow raised sardonically.

“Don’t you have a room to show me?”

He sighed. “Come on, Mary, can we make peace here? Maybe even start again? Friends?”

Inside the confines of his office, where she could remember who and what he was, Mary felt safe. She had her walls up, double thick. Even on his rooftop or at the baby shop, he still seemed arrogant and ever the dictator. But here, in his home, with nature and softness surrounding him, it was different. His skin seemed bronze and highly touchable, his eyes glistened like two inviting lakes beckoning her to jump in, and his clothes seemed highly unnecessary. Mary felt her defenses slipping. Forget being friends; she wanted him to kiss her again—just once so she could prove to herself that it wasn’t as good as she remembered. Sure, he had more depth than he let on, but she could make no mistake about it—Ethan Curtis was a selfish, misguided man, who was solely out for himself.

She put down her napkin and tried not to stare at the lush curve of his lower lip. “I won’t pretend that we’re friends, or even friendly.”

“Fine, but can you really despise me? For wanting a child?”

She laughed, shocked at how obtuse he was being. “Is that a serious question? Of course it’s understandable and wonderful to want a child—blackmailing a woman you know nothing about to get one is not.”

He leaned forward and with a trace of a growl said, “True.”

“You have no excuse for your behavior?”

“None whatsoever.”

They stared at each other in stubborn silence, sparks of heat, of desire, flickering between them.

Finally Ethan spoke, “Let’s go see the room.”

They walked side by side through the house and up the curving staircase to the second floor. Ethan had run these stairs a hundred times, alone of course. He hadn’t invited many people to his home, and the ones that had made it past the foyer had never been allowed upstairs. He normally took women back to their place after a date. Less complicated that way.

These upcoming parties were going to be the first time he’d invited a large group to his home, and the thought alarmed him somewhat, though he knew it was the right business decision. If a person was going to switch insurance companies for their billion-dollar business, they would want to see the man who’d be taking it over in his natural habitat—simple as that.

“I chose the room next to mine,” Ethan explained as they walked down the long hallway. “If he or she needs me in the middle of the night…” He paused at the door to the nursery and looked at her. “That’s how it goes, right? They wake up at night and you go to them?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Her skin had taken on a grayish pallor as she stared into the empty room with its beamed ceilings and white walls.

“Your womanly instincts must tell you something—” Ethan began, but was quickly cut off by Mary’s soft laughter. “All right, I’m a little nervous about this whole thing. I want a child more than anything, but I know absolutely nothing.”

“You’ll get help.”

“I don’t do therapists.”

She released a heavy sigh and turned to face him. “No, Ethan. Not that kind of help.”

“What? Like a nanny or something?”

“Or something.”

He shook his head. “All this child will need is me.”

“Two seconds ago you were saying you didn’t know a thing.”

“I’ll learn.”

“Maybe you won’t be able to give a child everything. I mean…”

“What? What do you mean?”

She gritted her teeth. “Well, you were just talking about womanly instincts. I mean, don’t you think that a child needs a mother?”

Ethan felt his whole body go numb at her query and tried to shake it off, but the more he tried to control the feeling, the anger building inside him, the harder it attacked him. He heard himself mutter a scornful sound, then say, “Not from what I’ve noticed.”