Pink tinged her cheeks. “So this would be like a business arrangement?”
“Not exactly. It’ll be what we make of it. So what do you say?”
She returned to folding a blanket. “We don’t have to be married to be a family. I still believe we’ll all be happier if you have your life and I have my own.”
A frown pulled at his lips. This wasn’t the way it had played out in his imagination. In his mind, she’d jumped at the offer. If she was waiting for something more—something heartfelt—she’d be waiting a very long time.
There had to be a way to turn this around. The stakes were much too high for him to fold his hand and walk away. He needed to be close to his children—
“Stop.” Her voice interrupted the flow of his thoughts.
“Stop what?”
“Wondering how you can get me to say yes. You can’t. I told you before that I didn’t want to get married. That hasn’t changed.”
But the part she’d forgotten was that he was a man used to getting his way. When he set his sights on something, nothing stood in his way. He would overcome her hesitation about them becoming a full-fledged family, no matter what it took.
He wanted to be a full-time father to his kids and do all the things his father had been too busy to do with him. He would make time for both of his children. He wouldn’t demean one while building up the other. Or at least he would try his darnedest to be a fair and loving parent.
And that was where Holly came into the plan. She would be there to watch over things—to keep the peace and harmony in the family. He knew already that she wouldn’t hesitate to call him out on the carpet if he started to mess up where the kids were concerned.
He needed that reassurance—Holly’s guidance. There was no way that he was going to let her go. But could he give her his heart?
Everyone he’d ever loved or thought that he’d loved, he’d lost. He couldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t have Holly walk out on him. It was best that they go into this marriage as friends with benefits as well as parents to their twins. Emotions were overrated.
* * *
The storm had made a real mess of things.
And Holly found herself thankful for the distraction. She moved around the living room where one of the floor-to-ceiling window panes had been broken when a shutter had been torn off its hinge. There was a mess of shattered glass everywhere.
So while Finn worked on restoring the power to the house, she worked on making the living room inhabitable again. But as the winds whipped through the room, she knew that as soon as Finn was free, she needed his help to put plywood over the window. But for now she was happy for the solitude.
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear she dreamed up that marriage proposal. Finn Lockwood proposed to little old her. She smiled. He had no idea how tempted she was to accept his proposal. She’d always envied her friends getting married...until a few years down the road when some of them were going through a nasty divorce.
No, she couldn’t—she wouldn’t set herself up to get hurt. And now it wasn’t just her but her kids that would be hurt when the marriage fell apart. She was right in turning him down. She just had to stick to her resolve. Everyone would be better off because of it.
So then why didn’t she feel good about her decision? Why did she feel as though she’d turned down the best offer in her entire life?
It wasn’t like she was madly in love with him. Was she?
Oh, no. It was true.
She loved Finn Lockwood.
When exactly had that happened?
She wasn’t quite sure.
Though the knowledge frightened her, she couldn’t deny it. What did she do now?
“Holly?”
She jumped. Her other hand, holding some of the broken glass, automatically clenched. Pain sliced through her fingers and she gasped. She released her grip, letting the glass fall back to the hardwood floor.
Finn rushed to her side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He gently took her hand in his to examine it. “You’ve cut yourself. Let’s get you out of here.”
“I...I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll see about that.” He led her to the bathroom and stuck her hand under the faucet. “What were you doing in there?”