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From the look on her face, he knew he’d misplayed. He’d made the suggestion way too soon.
“I mean—”
Without a word, she spun on her heel to march back down the hall.
He went after her. “I mean that’s one possibility. We should talk about it. Rent would be free. The schools are fantastic.” He trotted behind her down the stairs. “You could get any job you wanted, maybe part-time. You could go to college here. I’m a platinum donor, so tuition wouldn’t cost anything. Not that cost matters—”
“Stop!” she shouted, pivoting on him. “Just stop it.”
“I’m stopping.” He’d gone too far. And he’d gone too fast.
“I’m not moving to Whiskey Bay. Yes, you have a right to visit Eli. And yes, we will work something out. But I’m not walking away from my entire life to suit your needs.”
TJ battled the sense of defeat. He didn’t want to merely be a visitor in his son’s life. He wanted to be there all the time, for all the little things.
He wanted to hear about Eli’s day at school, throw a ball with him on summer evenings, tuck him in at night, pour his cereal in the morning and patch his cuts and scrapes. He wanted to do it all in real time, not on two weekends a month and every other Christmas.
He wanted Eli to be with him, day in, day out. But he understood that Sage wanted that too. She deserved that too. To make that happen, there had to be more for her in Whiskey Bay than free rent.
“Thank you,” she said. She drew a shaky breath and headed for the front door. “We need to get back to Seattle.”
He knew she was right. They weren’t going to solve this tonight. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but he found himself bitterly disappointed that it hadn’t happened.
He followed her, feeling cheated and angry at their circumstance. Parents all over the world lived with their children. It was the normal state of things. He wasn’t asking for the moon and the stars.
How were they all more deserving than him? How were they different?
Even as he framed the question, he knew the answer was patently obvious. Those parents were in love. And if they weren’t in love, they stayed married anyway.
And then it hit him.
“Wait!” he called out. “Wait just a minute.”
Her hand was on the doorknob, and her lips were pressed tightly together. But she waited.
“I’m not being fair,” he said.
Her shoulders lowered a little bit, and she looked relieved. “No, you’re not.”
“I can’t ask you to give up your entire life for free rent.”
“No, you can’t.”
“There has to be more to it than that.”
She tipped her head to one side, looking puzzled now.
“Marry me,” he said.
She didn’t react, and he wasn’t sure if she’d heard the words.
He continued talking. “Share my life, my whole life.”
She started to laugh. Her hand rose to her mouth, and she kept laughing.
He was vaguely insulted. “How is that funny?”
“It’s not funny.” She removed her hand and schooled her features, swallowing. “It’s preposterous.”
He’d admit it was unorthodox. “It’s logical. We share a son.”
“We barely know each other.”
“A marriage of convenience, obviously.” As he said the words, he pictured her in his bed. The vision startled him. He shook it away and pressed on. “Look at the size of this place. We can stay completely out of each other’s way. You and Eli can have the entire upstairs to yourselves.”
“Take me home, TJ.” She looked sad and tired, really fragile and forlorn.
She also looked beautiful, and he wanted to draw her into his arms and comfort her. He wanted to hold her, and he wanted to kiss her.
“What is wrong with me?” he muttered.
“You’re tired. We’re both tired.”
“Maybe.” But he knew there was something more going on.
* * *
Exhausted as she was, Sage couldn’t sleep. Because, ridiculous as they were, TJ’s words kept echoing through her brain.
It was likely the worst marriage proposal in recorded history. But, no matter the complex circumstances, it was also the only one she’d ever received. He’d asked her to marry him. Nobody had ever done that before.
She sat up in bed, gazing at the glow from the street through her thin curtains, hearing the buzz and clunk of the refrigerator and the intermittent drip of the kitchen faucet. A car drove past, its headlights sweeping across the bedroom wall, flashing in the mirror.
TJ was handsome. He was buff and sexy. He was also smart and wealthy. What woman wouldn’t want to marry him?
