With his eyes so direct and intense, and his features shadowed with grim purpose, a distinct tingle of doubt shot through Eden, forcing her to acknowledge just how little she knew about this man she’d employed without checking past references. From the moment he’d walked onto the Double L looking for temporary work she’d liked and trusted him—pure instinct on her part—and in the weeks since hiring him he’d done nothing to diminish her high opinion of him.
If he was even an ounce as corrupted as he was suggesting, then he would have taken advantage of all the times they’d been alone on the ranch long before tonight. She’d also seen him with Phoebe, and how kind and patient he was with her daughter. If anything, Eden’s respect for Luke had increased during the past month.
He was trying to shake up her composure, attempting to make her back down and cower, just like he’d attempted up at the house earlier. But, she wasn’t one to retreat from a challenge, and he was about to learn just how deep her fortitude ran.
“You’re not some depraved criminal, Luke.”
His gaze narrowed. “But you don’t know that for sure, do you?”
She dismissed his direct provocation, and the insinuation behind his words. The only thing she knew for certain was that something in Luke’s past haunted him, made him believe he wasn’t worthy of trust and respect. “I believe it, and that’s all that matters.”
She’d given him the perfect opportunity to do something to prove the sort of man he was, but he merely released a sound of disgust and sat forward again. “Why don’t you wait until you fall in love with a man who’ll make you a suitable, proper husband?”
She chose her answer carefully. “Because I don’t care to be any man’s wife again, not in the sense that includes honoring and obeying.”
He chewed on a bite of pie, then washed it down with a drink of coffee, all the while studying her speculatively. “Which brings me back to my original question. Why are you looking to get married, and why me?”
“Because you’re safe, and you won’t demand anything from me.”
Her candid response seemed to surprise him. She hadn’t meant to be so blunt and truthful, but she didn’t regret her words. If they did marry, she’d be honest for the duration of their short-term relationship, and she’d expect the same from him in return, which meant she needed to be up-front with him now.
“My marriage wasn’t an ideal one,” she admitted, pushing her plate aside. “My husband was very controlling and manipulative, and when he died, his will stipulated that his brother Allen maintain control of the Double L until I remarried. Since I prefer to live alone, without a husband, that means I’ll never secure the ranch and cattle operation as mine. The Double L is Phoebe’s future, and with me barely making ends meet on the paltry monthly allowance Allen gives me, by the time she inherits the ranch there might not be anything left.”
“So you figure the best way for you to gain back control of the ranch and accounts is to get married?”
“Yes. Temporarily.” She had no desire to become emotionally involved with another man, or give up the freedom and independence she treasured. “All I’m asking for is one year of marriage.”
“That’s six months longer than I stay in any one place.”
She’d assumed as much, and was prepared to compensate him for his time. “I’m hoping I have the incentive to make your extended stay worth your while.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, as intimate as a caress. “What kind of incentive?” he asked, his low, rich voice drizzling over her like warm honey.
There was that melting heat in his eyes again, and her entire body responded, glowing with expectation and need. “At the end of a year, I’ll give you the deed to one thousand acres of prime land in Montana.”
“Your parents’ land?” he guessed.
She nodded, hating to part with the property, but knowing her options were limited. “Yes.”
He blew out a stream of breath and rubbed at the back of his neck with a broad hand. “That’s quite an offer.”
But he hadn’t agreed. Yet. Feeling restless, Eden slid off the stool and rounded the counter into the kitchen to rinse off their dessert plates. The sink faced him, allowing her to keep an eye on him and gauge his response.
“I’d like to think of this as the barter system,” she said in a businesslike voice as she reached for their dishes. “One year of marriage in name only so I gain full control of the Double L in exchange for a deed to land in Montana. During our year of marriage you’d continue to work on the ranch as you are, but you’d live up at the main house for appearance’s sake. You can sleep in the downstairs guest room, and I’ll provide all your meals.”
He braced his arms on the counter. “In return for me playing the doting husband.”
She stacked their clean plates on the dish drainer. “Only when a convincing performance is required,” she said, wanting him to know that his husbandly duties wouldn’t be required on a full-time basis. “I know Allen will be skeptical of a sudden marriage, and I don’t doubt that he’ll ask around town about us, and stop by often.”
“And after a year?”
“We divorce, and go our separate ways.” She dried her hands on a dish towel, wishing her bargain didn’t sound so cold and calculating. “I don’t expect that you’d want to hang around any longer than that.”
Harsh laughter escaped him. “No, you’re right about that.” He stood and paced into the living room, a raw kind of energy pouring off him. “What about Phoebe?”
She knew what he was asking. How would she explain this unorthodox situation to her daughter? “She’ll know we’re married, of course. Just treat her the same way you do now, and I’ll do my best not to let her get attached to you.”
He moved to the window overlooking the ranch and scrubbed a hand down his face. “That would be for the best.”
Hope surged through her. “Then you’ll agree?”
Luke remained quiet, his body taut, as if he was struggling with deep, dark forces.
She knew what she was asking would change his way of life for a year, but he had to see the value of her proposal, for the both of them. Maybe he just needed time, and she could give him that. “Luke, I know this is very sudden and unexpected. Please, just take a few days and think about my offer.”
He turned back around and braced his hands on his lean hips, looking every inch a renegade. “And what will you do if I decline your proposition?”
She didn’t want to think about that, because he was the perfect man for the job. So, she lifted her chin determinedly and bluffed. “Then I’ll have no choice but to find another man who’ll appreciate my mutually beneficial offer.”
Two hours later, unable to concentrate on one of the suspense novels he liked to read at night before retiring to bed, Luke left his quiet apartment and followed the moon’s silvery glow toward the darkened barn. No matter how much distance he put between himself and the main house, Eden’s proposition pursued him, relentlessly dogging his heels, and preying on his mind like a plague.
Frustration snuck up on him, at her for enticing him with a chance at the freedom and independence that had eluded him for the past eight years, and at himself for wanting that land in Montana so badly.
But not at the cost of her reputation.
I’ll have no choice but to find another man who’ll