She gaped at him. “Of course not. After I move away from here and get settled somewhere else, I’ll tell them I had a baby.”
“The truth?” he asked with one raised brow.
“Half-truth.”
He couldn’t wait to hear this. “And how exactly does that work?”
She sighed and set her glass down on the coffee table. “I’ll tell them I decided to have a baby and found a man to provide me with one. That’s close enough to the truth.”
He didn’t like the idea of being a nameless sperm-donor. “Wow. That’s... kind of cold.”
Her facial features froze. “You told me you’d give up your parental rights and said I could move wherever I want and raise my child however I please. Are you changing your mind already? We have a contract, you know?”
Was he? There didn’t seem to be any point in doing that. He shook his head slowly. “I don’t think I’d make a very good father... or a good husband, for that matter.”
A soft smile curved her lips. “You might surprise yourself.”
He shrugged. “Guess we’ll never know.”
And that bothered him more than he cared to admit. He’d assumed he wouldn’t have children. There didn’t seem to be a reason to have them. He wasn’t the type who cared about passing on his legacy or having a miniature of himself running around, and he hadn’t planned to marry anyone. People got married to have children, to create a family. That was the last thing he wanted.
Thanks to his father’s ridiculous Will, the decision had been taken from him. It was still difficult to wrap his mind around the situation. He was legally married, but he didn’t feel married. Soon, he would have a baby on the way, a child purposely created to save his stock. It didn’t seem right. Part of him was deeply ashamed of giving into his father’s idiotic demands.
The worst thing was that he’d dragged Katie into his mess.
At least she was getting a baby out of the deal.
He cautioned her, “Just remember that I won’t be signing over my parental rights until the whole matter is settled with the Will. My name has to be on the birth certificate, and we have to stay married for at least a year.”
“But we don’t have to live together, right?”
“Not the whole time. No. After you get pregnant, there won’t be any reason for us to share a bed.”
She sipped her wine and stared at the fire. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Whatever she was thinking, it tightened her jaw and put a faraway look in her eyes.
After a moment, she said, “If you go back on your word to me...”
“I won’t. You know me. You’ve watched me do business, and you know I always keep my word. When this is over, I will sign over my rights to the child, and you can raise him or her wherever you want. I won’t interfere.”
She visibly relaxed.
“You have a contract. Remember?”
“I remember.”
He pressed his lips against her throat and felt her pulse jump. “Shall we head to the bedroom?”
She stiffened again. “Bedroom? No.” She turned to him with eyes that danced with excitement. “Hey, let’s try out the balcony.”
Taken aback, Chase blinked at her. He didn’t know what to think about this woman, this chameleon he’d married. For two years, she’d been a cool and efficient secretary in matronly clothes and hair in a tight bun. Then she was a sexy seductress in a slinky black dress. She’d admitted to not having sex since the death of her husband, but now she wanted to do it on a balcony in front of the world.
“Aren’t you afraid of being seen?” he asked.
“It’s dark,” she said with a grin. “And we’ll be discreet. I can wear my black dress again if you’d fancy that.”
“And all these years I thought marriage would be boring.”
His statement made her giggle. “Maybe it would be, but you’re married to me, so you have nothing to worry about.”