The Ransomes: Matt, Nick and Katherine. Sara Orwig

is beyond anything I had imagined,” she said softly, turning to face him. Her pulse drummed. She wanted to learn how earnest he really was about this whole proposition. “Shall we discuss our future and terms of a contract?” she asked, the words our future causing her insides to clench.

      “Sure,” he replied, giving her a long, speculative look that made her feel he knew her every thought. “Let’s get a drink and sit in the family room.”

      They walked in silence back to the kitchen and she watched, barely aware of what he was doing while her pulse beat faster and her nervousness increased. At the last minute she vacillated between an overwhelming desire to accept his offer unconditionally and reap the fortune, or risk her demands that would either cause him to send her packing or solidify her prospects and fortune.

      Finally, they were seated in the family room at a polished oak game table with tall, frosted glasses of ice and lemonade and a plate of cookies in front of them. She couldn’t eat or drink anything. Aware that her entire prospects hung in the balance, she inhaled deeply to calm down.

      “You’ve had time to think it over. You’re here on the ranch. Does this mean you’ll accept my offer?” he asked.

      His blue eyes cut into her like shards of a glacier. He was formidable and determined, but she clung to her course. It was time to see how much he would commit to what he wanted. She took a deep breath and raised her chin while she locked her hands together.

      “You’re being very generous,” she said, still awed by his offer and filled with trepidation over what she was about to demand from him for her part. “I have a counteroffer to make to you.”

      Fire flashed in the depths of his eyes and a muscle worked in his jaw. She suspected he was bracing for her to ask for more money.

      “All right. Name your conditions and price,” he said, grinding out the words. “How much Ransome money do you want?”

      “You’ve made an overwhelmingly generous offer, but if you’re truly committed to protecting this baby and raising it as a Ransome, then I want you to give my baby the Ransome name. I want a paper marriage, an in-name-only marriage that we can later dissolve.” Her heart thundered so loudly that she could barely hear herself speak. “In other words, will you marry me?”

Three

      Stunned, Matt stared at her. “You want me to marry you?” he repeated in amazement.

      “Yes, if you’re so determined to make my baby a part of your family. It’ll be the same conditions you’ve already given me, plus marriage. This way, you’re more committed. My child will legitimately be a Ransome as it should have been all along. You’ll do the honorable thing that your brother would not do.”

      Matt stared at her. Anger and shock rocked him that she would put one more demand on him when he had given her an offer that was magnanimous beyond anything she had ever known in her life. Then he noticed her white knuckles and her hands doubled into fists. Perspiration dotted her brow and worry glazed her green eyes.

      Suddenly he could see her viewpoint and why she wanted legitimacy. In the future marriage would truly tie Jeff’s child into the family.

      Yet it would bind Matt to Olivia in a manner he never intended. For an instant heat flashed in him at the thought of marriage to her. On a purely physical level he speculated about her shapely, naked body in his arms. With lightning speed the image aroused him.

      He forced his thoughts back to business and a contract with her and a paper marriage. A marriage in name only.

      “We can dissolve it as soon as I get my law degree,” she added.

      Could he stay under the same roof with her and keep his hands to himself? He had planned to do just that before she had come up with the proposal.

      “You want it all,” he said quietly, and she flushed, her cheeks turning a bright pink.

      “No. I don’t want sex with you,” she answered bluntly. “You know it wouldn’t be a true marriage. Not in any manner. But you can see that if you really want what you’ve been telling me, it would give my baby more protection and give me a better deal.”

      “Hell, yes,” he snapped. “You could sue me for divorce and half of everything I own.”

      “You said we’d have a contract. We’ll have a prenuptial agreement that will list terms as both of us want them. You can have your lawyer draw it up.”

      Matt was impressed. She was taking charge of part of their bargain, making some shrewd demands and she once again surprised him. He rubbed the back of his head. She had him in a corner and she knew it. He didn’t want to marry her, not even a fake, paper marriage of convenience because that would be legally binding.

      But if he backed out on marriage, she might refuse his deal and the baby would go out of the Ransome family.

      “And you still want all the rest I’ve offered—the education, the cash, the trust fund for the baby?”

      “I want the education and the trust fund. I’d like some cash so I can go to school full time, but if I live at the Ransome ranch, I think you could cut the amount of money in half or even less if you want. As soon as I finish my education, we can dissolve the union. I don’t intend for it to be permanent.”

      “I’ve got to think about it. I hadn’t planned on marriage,” he said and watched her let out her breath and unclench her hands. She raised her chin.

      “I didn’t think you’d do it.” She stood and sighed. “You were better than your brother, but it’s not good enough. Since you’re not interested in my terms, I’ll keep my independence and move on.”

      “You’ll be walking out on a fabulous future that’s a whole hell of a lot better than you’re doing now or can do. You’re selling your baby short by turning down my offer.”

      “Perhaps, but I’m not the one who wants something here,” she said. “If you’re willing to commit to this baby, I want the whole deal—I want support and legitimacy and some of the things your brother should have given me.” She shrugged. “I’m accustomed to tough times. You can take it or leave it.”

      He gazed into green eyes that were fiery and unyielding and he was certain she wasn’t bluffing about turning down his offer. He believed every word she said and it increased his anger that she was being so foolish, yet at the same time, he couldn’t keep from appreciating her determination to get more for her child. And deep down, Matt knew she was right. He might have done the same thing himself, had he been in her place.

      “Sit down,” he ordered quietly, his anger growing. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. I simply want to think about it like you wanted to consider my offer last night.”

      She sat and he stared hard at her. She stared right back at him and he felt tension coil.

      “I’ll talk to my attorney about it,” Matt finally replied, buying some time before he made any kind of commitment. “In the meantime, call and quit your job and settle in. I’ll introduce you to people who live and work on the ranch.”

      “Until you come to a decision, I’m not leaving a job that pays better than most around here. I’m going to my room to get ready to go to work.”

      Matt stood and watched her walk away. He wanted to grab her and shake her and he had never felt that way with a woman before. Not even Margo before she walked out on him. Olivia Brennan got to him as no one ever had.

      What was worse, was that steady, fiery sexual awareness of her, a hot attraction that kept his nerves on edge. Marry her!

      His whole being wanted to yell never, but then he thought about what he would be tossing aside. He was certain she would walk right out of his life and at any point in time, she could move far from Texas. She had no roots, no ties except going to college