He raised an eyebrow. “You mean lovemaking?”
“I do,” she said. “It’s a reasonable consideration since we’re not strangers on that front.”
“No, we’re not.” A small muscle twitched in his jaw. “I’m open to the idea of a consummated marriage.”
Her skin heated. She swallowed. Hearing him say the words brought memories racing to the fore. Memories of their bodies sliding against each other, of sensitized skin, of the sounds he made as he found his release.
The waiter reappeared with their meals, and Harper was thankful for the timing so she could regain her poise. There was no doubt he made her melt inside. And they already knew they had explosive chemistry. But things were different now—so much more entwined and complex. Would that dampen some of the chemistry between them? Or would his touch always affect her?
She needed to move on, to stop thinking of his touch...
She cleared her throat. “What about length of time? Are you suggesting a lifetime commitment?”
“No, that would be unreasonable. Ideally it would last until our children were grown, but if we both made a commitment of, say, five years, we’d address all of our issues.”
“Except the one about the intact family unit.”
Nick reached out and covered her hand, his gaze softening. “It would never be the way it was with your father, Harper. Since we’d be going in with a businesslike arrangement, we’d be able to dissolve the union with little mess and drama. We’d prioritize the children and both have major roles in their lives. There would be no words in anger. Neither parent would just disappear.”
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze then released it and picked up his utensils to twirl a forkful of pasta.
Her skin immediately felt the absence of his touch, which seemed to highlight the inherent problem of having to deal with his absence at the end of their marriage. What if they came to the end of five years and she’d fallen in love with him? Would she be setting herself up for another abandonment?
The weight of everything they were discussing came crashing down on her shoulders, and she could barely keep herself upright. She couldn’t do it. There had to be another way. There had to be.
She put her fork down, her dinner barely touched. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I don’t think marriage is the right way forward for us.”
He stilled, eyes focused on her. “Do you have another solution?”
“Not yet,” she said. She’d figure something out, though. She always did. “Give me a few days.”
He shook his head. “With Maverick on the loose, we might not have the luxury of a few days.”
She blew out a long breath, considering the factors. “Okay, give me twenty-four hours.”
“Sure. I can do that,” he said and signaled the waiter.
The short moment of relief that his agreement granted her soon faded as she realized that she had one day to achieve the near impossible.
Pushing that thought aside, she picked up her handbag and squared her shoulders, ready to meet the challenge head on.
Three
By the next afternoon, after looking at the situation from every angle, Harper had to concede that Nick’s plan was the only option that addressed all of their issues. If she moved to Connecticut, her mother would give her the support she wanted, and they’d form a little family unit—the twins, their mom and their grandma. But it would make Nick look bad in his case for shared custody of Ellie. She couldn’t make a decision that solely benefited her babies and threw their half sister and father under the bus. It would also risk the reputation of Tate Armor, and not just for Nick’s sake—she’d worked there for years and had a lot of loyalty to the company, to Malcolm and to the staff.
She’d brainstormed, even tried to match various smaller plans together to achieve the outcomes, but it seemed only Nick’s plan would deliver on all fronts.
Her heart had been heavy since the realization had dawned. Marrying a man she didn’t love, a virtual stranger, simply wasn’t the path she’d dreamed her life would take, even if he did make her pulse race every time she saw him. Or thought of him.
As she listened to the ringtone, waiting for Nick to answer, her brain was still frantically trying to come up with an alternative.
“Harper.” His smooth, deep voice sent a wave of heat over her skin. “Have you made a decision?”
As no alternative had presented itself in the last thirty seconds, she closed her eyes and faced her fate. “I think you’re right. Getting married is the best option we have.”
He blew out a breath. “Thank you. And I’ll do my best to ensure you don’t regret this.”
She appreciated the sentiment, but she had a feeling she’d just stepped into something that was bigger than both of them.