“Lauren, I want to ask you something.” He held her gaze, his voice confident and business-like. Leaning back he reached into his pants pocket.
In slow motion, Lauren watched him pull out a ring box.
Popping open the box, he held it up to her. “Will you marry me?”
She heard the words. Saw his lips move but her brain couldn’t put the two together. For years she’d dreamed of a handsome man proposing with a beautiful ring. Now she had her dream in front of her, yet she couldn’t reply. Couldn’t comprehend the situation.
Lauren glanced down at the intricately set diamond then back up at Kevin as her utter confusion set off warning bells in her head. Nothing had prepared her for this. He’d never once hinted that he loved her. That he wanted their relationship to be permanent. Heck, she didn’t know if she wanted their relationship to become permanent.
“I . . . Kevin, I don’t know what to say.” Somehow she managed to get the words from her brain and out her mouth.
Kevin’s lips curved upward. “Usually a woman says yes when a man asks her to marry him.” He pulled the ring from the box and held it toward her.
Yeah, but usually they love each other. “We’ve only been together a few months.” She fought down the hysterical laugh threatening to escape.
“So? My parents only knew each other a month before they got engaged. They’ve been married for thirty-eight years.”
He trailed his hand down the side of her face. Again, she couldn’t help but notice how smooth and soft his hands were. The complete opposite of Nate’s. His hands had been callused and dry. The single thought of Nate’s hands brought back memories of their kisses. Not now. She couldn’t let him into her thoughts now. Not with Kevin’s gigantic ring in front of her. Lauren jumped to her feet, turned, and took several steps away from him. “Kevin, we don’t love each other. At least not yet.”
His immediate laugh surprised her, and she spun back around.
“What does that have to do with anything? Marriages are a lot like business deals in my family.”
Okay, had she walked into an alternate universe or something? “Business deals?” Maybe she’d misheard him.
In one smooth motion, Kevin rose. “My parents were married to solidify the Walsh and Miles merger. Olivia’s marriage to Greg expanded the company on the West Coast. In both relationships they respect each other and support each other, but they didn’t marry for love.” Kevin moved closer. “We respect each other. Have fun together. Share a lot of the same interests. Get along well. What’s the problem?”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. The weight of his arms pressed down on her. “So if marriage is all about business, how does marrying me make sense?”
“I can give you financial security for life. You could stop teaching and open the dance school you told me about. In fact, you could open several. You could travel. See those places in Europe you have up on your walls. You’d be part . . .”
He rubbed her lower back as he spoke, but rather than help relax her, the movement increased her unease. The more Kevin spoke, the more she wondered if she’d left planet Earth.
Lauren pressed her index finger against his lips. “Stop, please. I get the benefits to me, Kevin. But what do you get out of this business deal?” I’m not going to like the answer.
Before he said another word, he pulled her hand back and kissed her knuckles. “A solid friendship with the Talbots and Sherbrookes. A personal connection would help in the bidding war for the contract to construct Sherbrooke Enterprises’ newest resorts in California. Not to mention the extra boost it’d give me when I run for a seat in Congress in another year.”
Her mind flooded with a jumble of thoughts. For a moment, she felt as if she were back in Mr. Tasca’s senior calculus class. The one and only class she’d ever failed in high school because nothing the man had ever said made any sense to her.
Rubbing at the sudden throb in her forehead, she took a step back. For the first time that night, she really looked at Kevin. No one would deny that he was a handsome man in a sleek metro way. He always wore the best clothes. His hair always appeared just right. And they did have fun together. They had similar senses of humor, enjoyed the theater and the latest music. He treated her with respect. With the exception of his proposal, she always knew what to expect from him. He was safe and predictable. And at the moment he was offering her the world.
That’s what I want. The thought ran through her mind, yet she held back from accepting the diamond. Even with everything he offered, something told her to hold off. A marriage treated like a business merger may protect her heart, but was it what she wanted? Since she’d gotten her first bridal Barbie, she’d dreamed of marrying her own prince charming. A man head over heels in love with her, that she’d have children and eventually grandchildren with. The future Kevin presented didn’t come close to her dream. At the same time, though, he could give her everything else she’d always dreamed of. And who knew? Maybe someday they would love each other.
Beneath his hands, her back tensed as the silence stretched out. He’d expected Lauren to be surprised. Never during their time together had they spoken of marriage. Still, he’d assumed she’d accept his offer tonight. Why wouldn’t she? Most women would jump at what he offered her. Lauren didn’t strike him as any different.
“If you want a long engagement, we can do that. The wedding doesn’t need to be next month. We could wait until the fall or after the holidays if you want.”
Lauren closed her eyes, her chest rising and lowering as she took in a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, she met his gaze but remained tight-lipped, not offering him a single hint at her answer.
“What are you thinking?” Over the months, he’d learned that while Lauren may like to be silly and have fun—her crazy earrings were a perfect example of that—she was a practical woman. Once she thought about what he’d just offered, she would agree to the marriage.
She shook her head, her hair brushing against his hands. “I . . . Kevin, I don’t . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she took a sudden step backward, forcing him to let go.
“I enjoy spending time with you. But marriage? I don’t know.” Her voice wavered.
He smiled to himself. She hadn’t said no, and from the sound of it with a little coaxing she’d agree.
“I need some time to think about it.”
“I can understand that.” Kevin moved back into her personal space but kept his hands by his sides. “Take as long as you want.” He could be patient, and in the meantime he’d work on swaying her toward a yes.
Lauren flashed him a tentative smile. “Thank you.” Her relief echoed in her voice.
“Why don’t you hold on to this for now?” Kevin pressed the ring box into her hand. Before she could offer up a protest, he said, “Let’s put on a movie.”
Her eyes darted down to the ring and then back to him. “It might be better if I go home.”
A twinge of doubt flickered through his mind. “I thought you planned to spend the weekend.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “It’s late, Lauren . . . stay.”
Despite his efforts, ten minutes later, Kevin walked back into the house alone. He bypassed the open bottle of wine and headed toward the back of the house. After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, he hit the weights. He’d learned a long time ago that exercise helped him plan. Some of his best business decisions came to him when he worked out.
By the time he punched out half of his hour-long routine, his annoyance had subsided enough for him to look at things from Lauren’s point of view. She would come around at some point, but maybe he did spring it on her too soon. Looking at a marriage as a business deal was the norm for him. In his world, people did it without blinking an eye. In fact, most of the time he didn’t consider marriage as anything more than a business deal. Other people did, though. He needed to remember that. He also needed to show Lauren that, even without love, a marriage between them could thrive. His own parents never claimed to love each other, at least not in his presence. Regardless, they worked well together. They complemented each other. His mother left all the business and financial details to her husband, while his father left the social and charitable details to his wife. But Lauren wasn’t his mother.
Sherry Miles had come from a family already well-established in society. When she’d met Clinton Walsh, she’d already set her mind on taking her position in society to the next level. From the start, she’d known marriage to Clinton would do that for her.
Lauren didn’t think in those terms, which sucked. He’d spent his life around women like his mother. He understood how they thought and what they wanted. His relationship with Lauren threw him into new territory. At times the challenge of figuring her out exhilarated him. Made him realize how routine everything in his life had become, including his relationships with women. Other times, like now, it drove him up the wall. Since he’d met her at a charity dinner, he’d known she could be the catalyst to push him and his company into the elite circle of the Sherbrookes and Talbots. Before that chance run-in with her, he’d never been able to quite breach the inner sanctum where the Talbots and Sherbrookes lived and worked. At the same time, his association with Lauren—and thus her friend Callie Talbot—would help launch his political career.