Business Arrangement Bride by Jessica Hart

Author:Jessica Hart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

MARY let Tyler pour her some wine instead. ‘It must have been very lonely for you growing up.’

He shrugged. ‘Maybe. It was normal for me, whatever it was.’

‘I’m an only child too,’ she offered. ‘My father died when I was nine, but my experience was very different from yours. My mother was always loving, and she married again when I was twenty and had left home.’

‘How did you feel about that?’

‘I was a bit jealous at first,’ she confessed. ‘But when I saw her and Bill together, I realised how lonely she had been all those years. She deserved to be happy.’

‘I’m not sure how I would have got on with a stepmother,’ said Tyler. ‘As it was, my father died when I was sixteen, and since then I haven’t had to worry about what anyone else thinks. When you’re only accountable to yourself, you can take risks you wouldn’t otherwise be able to take. I built up my first company from scratch, made a million and lost everything, so then I had to start all over again. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I’d had to think about someone else.’

‘You’re going to have to think about someone else if you get married,’ Mary pointed out.

‘I suppose so.’ Tyler didn’t sound particularly enthused at the prospect. ‘Not that my wife will be concerned with the business side of things.’

‘Why not?’ said Mary. ‘You can’t divide life into neat little compartments.’ She could see his jaw setting mulishly, and she sighed. ‘The whole point of marriage is that the two of you share everything,’ she told him patiently. ‘I’m not suggesting your wife is in on every business decision, but she’ll certainly want to know if you’re worried about work, just like you’ll need to know if there’s anything she’s worried about. You’re going to have to learn to talk to each other.’

‘Why are women so obsessed with talking?’ said Tyler with a return to his old irritability. ‘All they ever say is, “We need to talk,” when what they mean is, “I need to tell you what you’re doing wrong”!’

Mary took a reflective slug of her wine. ‘If you’d ever listened to what they had to say, you might not be in a position where you have to pay me five thousand pounds to say much the same thing,’ she pointed out with deceptive mildness. ‘Anyway, it’s not just about discussing problems. You shouldn’t marry anyone you’re not happy just to sit and chat to, without ever having to think of something to say. A fulfilling relationship is about a lot more than sex, you know.’

‘Are you suggesting that we don’t have sex until we’re married?’ asked Tyler, lifting his brows derisively.

There was a short pause while they both listened to his words echoing into the silence.

‘When I say “we”, of course I don’t mean you and me,’ he added, his colour slightly heightened. ‘I mean a future fiancée.’

‘Of course,’ said Mary, pleased to be the one who could sound smooth and understanding for once.

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