Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed

Ry nodded. “Yes, that’s true. They even wanted to buy out my land. But I’m hangin’ tough.” He shook his head. “We’ll see.”

Darcy’s eyes widened and she stared at Mitch. The two men went on talking about the project, about what was being planned and how Ry’s land might enter into the deal, but she hardly listened. So this was what Mitch had come along with her for, this was what had been his reason for hunting down Ry Tanner.

And here, a part of her had been thinking he might just have wanted to be with her. And that part of her had been reveling in that hope, hadn’t it?

What a fool she was! In the first place, for wanting him to want to be with her. And in the second place, for wanting that despite the danger it posed. Was she crazy? So it seemed. That did it. She was going to have to be much tougher on herself from now on. After all, she’d fallen for this man’s charm before. She had a record to live down. She had to be doubly careful.

Mitch had a devilish look in his eyes as they walked back to the car. She glanced at him suspiciously. “What?” she asked him.

He leaned against the car door and his gaze rose slowly to meet hers. “The Heartland Project,” he said softly. “I want it.”

She stared at him, mouth agape. “You’re crazy!”

“Pipe down,” he warned, laughing at her. “Get in the car. Let’s not advertise it.”

“There is no way you can get that project,” she went on as she slipped into the driver’s seat. “You know that, don’t you? There are plenty of big boys after it. Ned Varner, for one.”

“Ned Varner has been my family’s nemesis for years, you know,” he told her casually. “He makes moves every time he thinks my father’s hold on the company is weak. Fear of what he was up to was the very reason my mother got me to come home.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure she was thinking defensively, not for you to try a suicidal move like trying for the Heartland Project.”

His head rose and he had a steely look. “I’m going after it.”

She was astonished at his crazy naive attitude. “What are you talking about? You don’t have the experience, the background. You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I could do it.” His blue eyes were intense as they held hers. “You and me together. You can teach me the ropes. I’m a quick study.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Wait a minute.

Why would I be teaching you the ropes?” She threw her hands up. “If I know so much, why aren’t I heading the project?”

“Because you don’t have the credentials.” Reaching out, he cupped her cheek in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. “Let’s face it, Darcy. They won’t let you. But you and me together—we could do it.”

His touch was something between fire and silk, and she knew it could act on her like a drug. She pulled away, shaking her head. “You’re nuts,” she said, starting the car.

She was fuming and he was making jokes. He wanted the Heartland Project, and he wanted to use her to help get it. Now wasn’t that just special! If she wasn’t careful she would get roped into having even more of her life taken over by this man. Who did he think he was, anyway?

But she knew the answer to that, didn’t she? Oh! She wanted to scream.

Still, she managed to control herself and she was quiet most of the way back into town. So was Mitch.

Probably thinking over ways to get her to pull in the Heartland Project for him. That was not going to happen!

But how was she going to avoid it, working for him in that office every day? She’d known this was going to be a problem from the beginning.

“It’s Friday night,” he said suddenly, as they entered the city limits. “Date night. Have you got a date?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,” she said, tossing her hair back and looking at him sideways.

“Oh.” That surprised him. “So who’s the lucky guy? Bert Lenson?”

Was that sarcasm she heard? Had to be.

“There are two of them, actually,” she told him. “A couple of very special guys. We’re planning to paint the town. If things really get hot, I might even let them stay up past their bedtime.”

He’d realized what she was doing long before she wrapped it up and he waited, a twisted smile on his face. “The joys of motherhood,” he said dryly.

That put her back up but she held back the sharp comment that came to mind. “I suppose you’ve got plenty of old girlfriends you could look up,” she said instead.

He laughed. “Oh sure. There are old girlfriends of mine scattered all over the San Antonio area. Terra Dulce is crawling with them.”

“I would have thought so.”

He turned in his seat, shaking his head. “Are you crazy? Look how old I am, Darcy. All my old girlfriends are too busy organizing car pools for their kids to give me the time of day. Arguably some of them will be divorced, but still …”

“Ah, it’s the kids that turn you off, is it?” “I didn’t say that.”

She pulled onto the local freeway. They were almost back at work. “What do you have against kids?”

“I don’t have anything against them,” he said, though he sounded a bit too defensive. “I’ve dealt with kids before. Last year I hid out with a woman who had two kids and I spent a lot of time helping her take care of them. I can give bottles. I can even change a diaper if I have to. I don’t want to. But I can. I’m not totally clueless.”

But Darcy was still hung up on what he’d said at that beginning of that monologue. “'Hid out'?”

He sighed, hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s a long story. Forget it for now. Someday I’ll tell you all about it.”

She could tell by the finality in his voice that these were his last words on the subject—for now, at least. She turned into the ACW parking lot and pulled into her space.

“Well, that was fun,” she murmured, turning off the engine and starting to gather her things to get out of the car. And then she noticed he was still sitting there, making no move to exit. He had the look on his face that she was beginning to realize meant he had something he wanted to say. So she settled back into her seat and sighed.

“Okay. Out with it.” “Darcy, I’ve been thinking.” Here it came. He had big plans for things she could do to help him win that darn project. “Yes?” she said.

He was quiet for a moment, then turned and looked into her face.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I think we should get married.”

“What?” She couldn’t have been more surprised. “I was thinking that maybe we should reconsider this marriage thing.”

She was struggling for breath.

“Why?”

“If you look at it objectively, it’s only fair. This whole situation is as much my fault as it is yours.”

The man had experienced an epiphany. “Oh, you think so?”

He was frowning thoughtfully. “I realize I’ve taken too long to come to this decision, but you’ve got to admit, the twins threw me way off kilter. You had nine months to get used to the idea of having kids before they even got here. I didn’t get that luxury.”

“But Mitch …”