She’d spent twenty-six years believing those words to be true. Every time she looked in the mirror she recalled her mother’s warnings.
At Ryan’s urging, she scooted a bit toward the center of the sofa, pulling her wool skirt down further over her shins. He motioned her closer. She moved. Another inch.
“This is ridiculous.” Ryan closed the distance, situating next to her in the center of the sofa. Their thighs touched. Faith’s burned. The room was definitely getting warm.
“I can’t talk to you when you’re so far away,” he said. “As I said before when you clearly weren’t listening, I need your help.”
Desperately trying for focus, she nodded. “Of course. Anything at all I can do to assist you, you know I will.”
He tilted his head, examining her with inquisitive eyes. “You’re single, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Involved? Dating anyone right now?”
What was this about? He never asked personal questions about her.
In the five years she’d worked for him, she’d found out every minute detail of his life, from his childhood to present day. But he never once asked about hers. Why would he? And why was he asking now?
“No, not dating anyone. Not involved. Mr. McKay, may I ask why you’re curious about my personal life?”
“I have a solution, but wanted to be sure I wasn’t stepping on any toes first.”
A rolling ache formed in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed. “A solution?”
“Yes. You know how I depend on you to help me with McKay Corporation. I need your help to hold on to it.”
“What can I do?” Did she really want the answer? Some thread of an idea crept into her head, but surely Ryan wouldn’t suggest it. Not with her. The very thought was ludicrous and she quickly banished it from her mind.
Ryan took the pen from her fingers and picked up her hands. Faith glanced down. Her hand looked so small encased within his. Her entire body trembled with the reaction of feeling the full-on contact of his skin against hers for the first time. Other than the brief brushing of knuckles when they passed a file back and forth, he’d never touched her. And definitely not like this.
“Marry me, Faith.”
The earth stopped turning. Her mind whirled with his soft-spoken words and her heart beat a rapid rhythm that threatened to send her spiraling into oblivion. She felt sick to her stomach.
Fainting would be a bad idea right now. So would throwing up. She probably heard wrong, anyway. “Could you repeat that?”
“Marry me.”
His whispered breath caressed her face. He’d asked the question she thought she’d never hear from a man. Any man. And never in her wildest dreams from Ryan McKay.
She swallowed. “You can’t be serious.” Her voice wasn’t working, coming out in a raspy squeak that sounded nothing like her. She was certain Ryan was close enough to hear the thumping of her heart as it tried to escape her chest. Her body vibrated from her rapid breaths as she struggled to control her errant thoughts.
If she kept this up she’d soon be breathing into a paper bag.
“I’m always serious about any proposal I make. This makes perfect sense to me, and it should to you, too. You know as much about this business as I do. You know about Grandfather’s will, the ridiculous hoops the old man is making me jump through just to maintain control of this company, and you know what happens if I fail.”
All she could do was nod. She’d been struck dumb and doubted she’d ever be able to speak again.
“Help me, Faith. Marry me. It’s only for one year, and then we’ll divorce. You’re the ideal person to help me with this. You know how much McKay Corporation means to me, and you can do this without getting involved. With you and me, nothing will change.”
Nothing will change. Reality struck her with a cold slap, effectively breaking the self-induced spell of Ryan’s proposal. Of course. This proposal was just business. It wasn’t a declaration of love. There was nothing personal in his motives.
Heat spread across her cheeks. How could she have thought someone like him could possibly have any feelings for her? One simple touch of his hand and she’d conjured up a full-blown fantasy of love and marriage. Her mother would have laughed if she could see her now.
Laughed and told her how ridiculous she was.
What was she thinking? She was twenty-six years old, not sixteen.
The time of girlish dreams was behind her, long ago replaced by a gritty reality that had nothing to do with romance and love.
“Faith?”
She raised her eyes to his. “Yes?”
Ryan squeezed her hands. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“If you’re sure…”
“Yes, Mr. McKay, I’m sure.” She maintained a level gaze with his and almost smiled at his look of concern. It probably wouldn’t be good for his next intended bride to drop dead, considering he was rapidly running out of time and she was obviously his last choice.
“So, will you marry me?”
“Wh…what were the terms again?” She should know the terms. She’d quoted every line of the contract to Erica not more than a half hour ago, frantically trying to get Ryan’s fiancée to change her mind about backing out of the wedding. But for some reason, her mind had just gone completely blank.
“I’ll get the contract.”
Her eyes followed his retreating form, the custom-made tux fitting his broad shoulders perfectly. Could she really do this? Could she marry Ryan McKay, become his wife, bear his child, and then a year later go back to the way things were before? How could she sleep with someone, share his life every day for a year and then act as if it hadn’t happened?
But that’s exactly what he expected of her. She tried her best to appear calm and professional when he returned with the papers.
“Here’s the document. Read it carefully, because you have to be certain you can handle all the stipulations.”
Faith nodded and, with shaky hands, took the contract from him.
Trying to kick her brain into gear, she carefully read every word. It didn’t take long to refresh her memory. After all, she’d read it over what seemed like a thousand times with Ryan, trying to find the loophole that would free him from Quentin McKay’s marriage mandate.