The Ransomes: Matt, Nick and Katherine. Sara Orwig

buy her a fancy wardrobe and shower her with jewelry and clothes she had never been able to afford. He would wine and dine her at places that would impress the most hardened sophisticate. Then see if she still wanted to reject his offer when he turned down her marriage proposal.

      He picked up his phone to call and change his appointment with his lawyer. Next he called to get the Ransome corporate jet ready.

      He strode down the hall and knocked on her door.

      “Just a minute,” she called. She swung the door open to face him. She stood with a towel wrapped around her and looking at her was as jolting as getting socked in the middle and having the wind knocked out of him.

      Her slender shoulders were bare and the white towel was a contrast to her creamy skin. The towel was midthigh and all he could think about was only a towel covered her naked body.

      While heat flashed through him, his heart thudded. He wanted to reach for her, remove that towel and pull her into his arms. Memories of her kisses fanned the flames that consumed him and for an instant, he was tongue-tied.

      Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and she still had a few drops of water that sparkled on one shoulder. She had been sexy in the T-shirt and cutoffs. In a towel, she was gorgeous.

      He realized he was staring and she shifted impatiently. “Yes?” she asked, tilting her head.

      “Get dressed,” he said, hating the husky scrape in his voice. “I’ve made arrangements for a plane and I’ll take you shopping in Houston so we can get you some new clothes. You’ll need them. We’ll eat there tonight and then we can fly back here or get rooms there.”

      “You’re not doing this to postpone having to reach a decision about my proposal, are you?” she asked.

      “Partially,” he admitted, suspecting it wouldn’t fool her if he gave her any other answer. “We’re making big, life-changing decisions about our futures, though, so what will a twenty-four hour postponement hurt?”

      “It might get me fired from my job if I don’t show up two nights in a row.”

      “You can be back by tomorrow night,” he answered.

      She stared at him while she seemed to be mulling things over and finally she nodded. “I can be ready in ten minutes,” she said and closed the door.

      He stared at the closed door and still saw the image of her in the white towel. He wiped his brow. How was he going to cope with her under his roof for the next several years? He wanted the baby close, but if every encounter with Olivia was like the last two, he would be a basket case in no time.

      Matt charged back to his room to call his favorite hotel and reserve adjoining suites. He made dinner reservations and then hurried to shower and shave and get dressed to go.

      Ten minutes later he entered the family room to find her waiting. His gaze raked over her, taking in her denim skirt and simple, sleeveless white cotton blouse and sandals. He suspected what few clothes she owned were practical and cheap. There would be no way she could afford anything fancy or expensive unless she had the good fortune to find it in a secondhand shop.

      Even so, the sight of her made his pulse accelerate and he still had to fight the urge to want to touch her as he squelched images of her without the denim skirt or white blouse.

      “I’ve never flown before,” she said.

      “Good! You’ll like it,” he answered, taking her arm and steering her out of the house and toward his car. He wanted to dazzle her and make her want to stay so badly that she would give up all thought of marriage.

      They drove in silence to Meacham International Airport in Forth Worth. As they approached the waiting plane, her eyes were larger than usual. She was pale and silent, gazing with awe in her expression at the sleek jet awaiting them.

      In a short time they were buckled into their comfortable seats with Olivia near a window. She seemed overwhelmed and he hoped her life was changing forever today and she would never want to go back to the poverty and hard life she had known in the past.

      The moment they sped down the runway and then lifted into the air, she flashed him a brilliant smile that set his heart pounding. “This is fabulous!” she exclaimed, and satisfaction shot through him. Hopefully, in forty-eight hours he would be able to tell her no to marriage and she would cave in to his terms. All her awe and pleasure over the trip were only beginning—he could imagine how she would feel after two days of lavishly showering her with whatever she wanted. He smiled in return.

      Four hours later, his satisfaction had increased. He swam laps in the hotel pool while he waited for Olivia who was getting her hair cut and styled. He had dinner reservations and after the first hour with her he had left her to shop on her own.

      He glanced at his watch and climbed out of the pool to dress for dinner. She had seemed as overwhelmed by the hotel as she had been by their flight. Matt smiled grimly. He didn’t want to deal with her about anything, but at least now it would be on his terms and not hers.

      No one could live like this for two days and then go back to a grinding job at a rough Texas honky-tonk.

      He dressed in a navy suit for dinner. He had helped her select a simple black dress for dinner tonight, a dress with a price that had made her eyes grow round with wonder.

      Matt knocked on the door of her suite and waited. The door swung open and Olivia smiled at him.

      Once again, she stunned him and threw him off guard. Drawing a deep breath, Matt stared at her.

Four

      “Good evening,” Olivia said with far more assurance than she felt. At the sight of Matt, who was handsome, commanding and appealing in an immaculate white shirt and navy suit, her qualms faded momentarily to be replaced by a jump in her pulse.

      Matt’s gaze drifted over her in a thorough assessment that was as provocative as a caress. “You look sensational,” he said softly.

      “Thank you,” she replied, knowing they were treading dangerous ground. She reminded herself that he was a Ransome with all the complications of being Jeff’s brother. Her smile faded and she inhaled, fighting that irresistible draw she experienced around Matt.

      In spite of her wariness, she couldn’t keep from being pleased by the admiration in his expression. She was certain that his compliment had been sincere. Earlier, she had hardly known herself after the hairstylist finished. Her hair was cut, the sides brought up and looped on her head, the rest tumbling down her back. Instead of the simple black dress Matt had selected, she had found a dark blue one she liked that had a low-cut, draped back and was sleeveless with a skirt that stopped inches above her knees. She loved the cool silk lining that was smooth against her skin when she stepped into it.

      “Ready to go?” he asked, and she nodded, picking up her purse.

      “So is this a truce, more or less?” she asked as they headed to the elevators.

      “Might as well be,” he answered easily, yet she had a suspicion his animosity toward her had changed little. “You’ve moved into my house and we’ll be together a lot from now on so we might as well get along.”

      She smiled disarmingly at him, yet she couldn’t get rid of her suspicions that his sudden change in attitude hid an ulterior motive. Whether it did or not, she intended to enjoy the evening. She was with a handsome, sexy man, going to an elegant restaurant and she was dressed in the most gorgeous, expensive dress she had ever owned. Tonight she was Cinderella. She would enjoy herself until the clock struck twelve or whatever happened to burst her bubble.

      Today, his kisses had rocked her. Remembering caused her lips to tingle. She hated that he had stirred feelings she thought were long dormant.

      His kiss had plundered and all that pent-up desire that burned in the depth of his blue eyes had poured into his kiss and demolished