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She smiled. “And I care about you, but as you often used to remind me, you aren’t cut out for marriage. You were marrying me out of duty. Now you don’t have to.”
“Keep the ring.” He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “We’ll postpone announcing our engagement for a month.”
Noelle closed her fist around the diamond and set both hands in her lap. “I don’t feel right keeping it.”
“It’s yours. I bought it for you.” He didn’t want the damned thing back. “We’ll proceed as we’ve been for a few weeks longer. You’re right that we rushed. Circumstances pushed us too fast. Now we have all the time in the world.”
When she didn’t respond, he glanced over at her. His stomach twisted at her obvious discomfort.
“What?” he prompted.
“See, the thing is...” She hesitated, and stared out the passenger window for so long he thought she might have forgotten he was beside her. “I called you earlier today to tell you about something that just came up.”
He did not like the sound of this. “What sort of something?”
“A business opportunity. I have a meeting with an investor next week. He’s interested in backing a line of ready-to-wear bridal gowns.”
“That’s fantastic.”
She smiled at his enthusiasm. “I’m very excited.”
“You don’t seem to be.”
“It’s just that the potential investor wants me to expand my business in the US, specifically New York City. That’s where my meetings are next week.”
He was starting to see why she was so subdued. “That’s a long commute.”
“I was worried about it.”
“And now you’re not?”
“I think Gabriel and Olivia’s news might have allowed us to dodge a bullet.”
“How so?”
“You didn’t really want to get married, and now you don’t have to. Marc is your son. As he gets a little older, we can figure out a visitation schedule that enables you to see as much of him as makes sense.”
“And in the meantime?” Christian was having a hard time keeping his rising anger out of his tone. “Am I supposed to just let you take Marc to New York and not see my son?”
“No, of course not. I’ll have to travel back and forth between New York and Europe. I have many clients on this side of the Atlantic whom I can’t afford to neglect. But I’ll be creating a collection to show at New York Fashion Week in February that will kick off my ready-to-wear line and I’ll probably be spending the bulk of my time in America leading up to it.”
“Marc should stay here with me.” It’s not what Christian had intended to suggest. He couldn’t imagine living without Noelle or his son, but once again he’d used Marc as a decoy to distract her from the full scope of his emotions.
“I can’t leave him in Sherdana. I’m all he’s known his whole life. He’s too young to understand why his mother is leaving him.”
“You don’t take him with you every time you travel for business. We’ll start small. How long are you going to be in New York next week?”
“A few days.”
“That’s perfect.”
“No.”
“You go to New York and meet with your investor while I stay here and take care of Marc. If we’d gotten married, it’s what would have eventually happened. The only difference is the lack of a legal document.”
She gave a soft gasp. “A custody agreement?”
“A marriage license.” Christian stopped the car in front of Noelle’s shop and put it in Park. Turning in his seat, he took her hand that held the ring and opened her fingers. “I’m not giving up on the idea of marrying you,” he said, slipping the diamond onto her right hand. “Take this ring as a sign of my faith in us as a couple and as a family.”
