He considered saying no, but then realized this was his best opportunity to get what he needed from Ellie Winston. In the long run, that would serve him better than staying at his desk. It wasn’t the fact that he wanted to see more of her. Not at all. He glanced out his window. “We could do lunch, and be stuck in some restaurant or … the weather is gorgeous. How about a stroll on the Esplanade?”
“Sure. I can’t remember the last time I walked along the river.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a small bag. “I even have flats with me.”
“Practical woman.”
She laughed. “Sometimes, not so much, but today, yes.” She slipped off her heels, tucked them in her bag, then slid on the other shoes.
Finn told Miss Marstein that he was leaving, then shut down his computer and grabbed his phone. A few minutes later, they were out the door and heading down a side street toward the Esplanade. Finn drew in a deep breath of sweet salty air. “I definitely don’t get outside enough.”
Ellie sighed. “Me, either. When I was younger, I used to be a real outdoorsy girl. Hiking, canoeing, bike riding. I tried to keep up with that after college, but the job takes up way too much time.”
He arched a brow at her dress and the spiky heels poking out of her purse. “You hiked?”
Ellie put a fist on her hip. “Do I look too girly for that?”
His gaze raked over her curves, and his thoughts strayed from business to something far more personal. Damn. “Uh, no. Not at all.”
“What about you?” she asked. “Do you hike or bike or anything like that?”
“I used to. I ran track in high school, was on the swim team, you name it. And during college, I biked everywhere. Now I think my bike’s tires are flat and there are spiders making webs in the frame.”
She laughed. “All the more reason to get it out of storage.”
They crossed to the Esplanade, joining the hundreds of other people outside. A few on bikes whizzed past them, as if adding an exclamation point to the conversation. “Maybe someday I will,” Finn said, watching a man on a carbon fiber racing bike zip past him. “I do miss it.”
“Someday might never come,” Ellie said quietly. “It’s too easy to let the To Do list get in the way. And then before you know it, another year has passed, and another, and you’re still sitting behind the desk instead of doing what you love.”
He heard something more in her voice. Some kind of longing. Just for more outdoor time? Or to fill another hole in her life? He wanted to ask, wanted to tell her he knew all about using work to plug those empty spots.
But he didn’t.
The bike rider disappeared among a sea of power walkers. Finn returned his attention to Ellie. She looked radiant in the sunshine. Tempting. Too tempting. He cleared his throat. “It’s hard to keep up with the personal To Do list when the business one is so much longer.”
“Isn’t part of your business taking care of you? After all, if the CEO ain’t happy …” She let the words trail off and shot him a grin.
For a second, Finn wanted to fall into that engaging smile of Ellie Winston’s. Every one of her smiles seemed to hit him deep in the gut. They were the kind of smiles that Finn suspected—no, knew—would linger in his mind long after they were done. And her voice … her years of living in the South gave her just enough of a Southern tinge to coat her words with a sweet but sassy spin. It was … intoxicating.
Hell, everything about her was intoxicating. It wasn’t just the dress or the smile or the curves. It was everything put together, in one unique, intriguing package.
She had him thinking about what it would be like to take a hike through Blue Hills with her, to crest the mountain and watch the busy world go by far beneath them. He imagined them picnicking on a rock outcropping, while the sun warmed their backs and the breeze danced along their skin.
Damn. What was it about her that kept getting him distracted? He needed to focus on business, and more importantly, on why she had proposed marriage a few minutes ago. No wild, heady anything with her.
Finn cleared his throat. “About your … proposal earlier. No pun intended. Were you serious?”
Her features went from teasing to flat, and he almost regretted steering the conversation back. “Yes. Very.” She let out a long breath, and for a while, watched the people sitting on the grass across from them. It was a family of four, with a small dog nipping at the heels of the children as they ran a circle around their parents. “I need something from you and you need something from me. Marriage is the best solution all around.”
“We could always do a legal agreement for the businesses. This is just one project, you know.”
“For me, it’s much more.” Her gaze returned to his. “I have to have a husband. Now.”
“Why?”
“First, let me lay out the advantages to you.” She slowed her pace. “For one, our lack of familiarity with each other is what makes it a perfect idea and a perfect partnership, if you will.”
“Partnership, perhaps. Not a marriage.”
“I may not know you very well, Mr. McKenna,” she went on, “but I know your life. You work sunup to sundown, travel half the year and have all the social life of a barnacle.”
She could have opened up his skull and peeked inside his brain. Damn. Was he that transparent? And put that way, well, hell, his life sounded downright pitiful. Riley would have put up two enthusiastic thumbs in agreement.
Perhaps she was joking. He glanced at her face. Saw only serious intent in her features.
“But don’t you think it’s wiser to work out a business arrangement instead? More money, more prestige, a reciprocal arrangement with my next project?” Something he could quantify, put into those neat little debits and credits columns. Not something like marriage, for Pete’s sake.
“Perhaps to you it would be. But a business arrangement isn’t the number one thing I need right now.” She gestured toward a small grassy hill that led to the river, away from the crowds out walking, and the energetic in-line skaters rushing past them. He followed her down to the water’s edge. In the distance, a rowing team called out a cadence as they skimmed across the glassy blue surface.
Her green eyes met his, and a thrill ran through him. Damn, she had beautiful eyes.
“Not to mention, you’re probably as tired of the dating game as am I,” she said. “And maybe you’ve looked ahead to the future, and wondered how on earth you’re going to fit the American Dream into your schedule.”
He gave her a droll smile. “Actually I had that down for next year, on Tuesday, March 30, at two in the afternoon.”
She burst out laughing, which also surprised him and stirred that warmth again in his gut. Those who knew Finn would never have described him as a man with a sense of humor. But apparently Ellie Winston found him funny. That pleased him, and had him wondering what else Ellie thought of him.
Damn. He kept getting off track. It had to be her proposal which had knocked the normally unflappable Finn off balance.
“I was hoping to fit it into my planner a little sooner than that,” she said. “Actually a lot sooner.”
“Why? Why now? And … why me? I mean, you are a beautiful woman. Smart, charming, sexy. You could have your pick of any man on the planet.”
“I … well, thank you.” Now it was her turn to sputter. A soft pink blush spread over her cheeks. Then she paused, seeming to weigh her answer for several moments before responding. He got the distinct impression she was holding