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“I don’t suppose your lawyer can recommend someone to complete the process? Someone reputable?”
“I’m sure he can, but we’re not there yet.” The waiter returned with our appetizer, and I pushed the plate toward her. “Stuffed mushrooms?”
“You’re stalling. Why would you be stalling? Why on earth would you want to not fix this immediately?” she demanded as she snagged a mushroom and popped it in her mouth. “Oh, god…” she moaned, making my cock jump to attention, “these are just as good as I heard.”
I shifted in my seat, silently demanding my damn prick to stand down as I watched her lick a crumb from her lips.
Damn.
I needed to focus.
“The news that we’re still married has come at a rather important junction in my life. I’m looking to close a business deal and getting a divorce right now wouldn’t look great. Having an estranged wife is one thing but divorcing your estranged wife out of nowhere is another.”
“Brendan, I don’t really care about your business deal,” she growled as she reached for another mushroom. “What kind of business deal?”
“Oh, now you want to know something personal about me? I wasn’t sure that you cared enough,” I pointed out with a cocked eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to make a connection with you. So that when I ask, again, about a divorce, you’ll give it to me.”
“I’m more than happy to give you that divorce. I just don’t want to give it to you now. I’ve been back at the ranch since our… um, separation. With my father’s death, I own it now.”
She blinked in obvious surprise. “You always talked about how much you hated the ranch.”
“We talked about a lot of things when we were young and stupid,” I said with a shrug. “But in the end, family duty doesn’t go away.”
“And the fact that it’s obviously made you rich doesn’t hurt.” Jillian looked pointedly at the expensive watch on my wrist. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice the expensive car or the expensive bottle of wine?”
“We’re married. My money is your money.”
Her nostrils flared. “I don’t want your money, Brendan. I want—”
I held up my hand to stop her from saying that damn word again. “Do you think you can avoid saying the d-word until we at least get our steaks? I have a proposition for you that I think will work out for both of us. All I’m asking right now is that you listen to me. I won’t even ask you to answer.”
Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked around the restaurant. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable. “Fine. What do you want?”
“First, let’s talk about what you want. A quiet, uncontested divorce? Maybe enough money to help start your own practice after you graduate? Maybe pay off your student loans too?” Her eyes widened, and it took everything inside me not to smile. “I’ve done my homework, Jillian. I want to offer you something that we would both find satisfactory.” Her eyes narrowed, but I forged ahead. “The land right next to my property is for sale. To protect my ranch, I want to buy it, but the owner is giving me some grief about some personal choices I’ve made.”
“What sort of personal choices?”
There was no point in lying about it. “It’s no secret that I haven’t been in a relationship since, well, you. But I’ve still had…”
“Relations?” she finished dryly. “I guess some things never change. You were a womanizer before we married.”
She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t about to touch that subject with a ten-foot pole. “He wants to make sure that the new owner of his lands will put family first, unlike him. Seems in his golden years, he’s sorting through some regrets he has in his own life. Regrets about his family.”
She leaned forward, and her blouse gaped open the slightest bit, and my cock stirred even as I cursed my body’s reaction.
“That’s great,” she said, giving me a fake smile that took up most of her face. “Remind him that you returned to the ranch years ago because of family duties. Problem solved. He’ll love that.”
I leaned forward, linking my fingers together so that I wouldn’t reach for her. “He wants me to focus on the future, Jillian. On future family. As in wife and kids.” I said the words tentatively and as softly as I could, but she immediately paled. Gathering her napkin in her hand, she tossed it on the table and started to rise. I immediately leaned forward and intertwined her fingers in mine. A jolt shot through my body, and I quickly released her, but I could tell that she felt it too. She was already sinking back into her chair.
“I’m just asking for a few months, Jillie. Stay with me at the ranch. Pretend that we’ve decided to work things out. Pretend that you’re going to be that future Harry wants.” Something tightened in my chest, an emotion I refused to name. Clearing my throat, I went on. “In return, as soon as the ink has dried on the contract, I’ll happily sign the divorce papers and make sure that your future is taken care of.”
