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She rehed Okay, so at one ti, but that time was past Could she not see it?
Grabbing the back of his neck with one hand, he thought how best to put as in his mind
This sort of talk was not so he enjoyed "When you come to my bed, I want it to be of your own volition"
"What?"
“I do not want you to marry me, or accept me back into your arms because you feel you have no other choice" It was a matter of pride that she take him for himself, not his money
His atteood
If anything, she looked more offended "I wouldn't do that I value myself too much to trade my body for security"
Why was she so stubbornly refusing to understand?
"Once you own the villa and have sufficient funds, the issue will not arise"
“I don't want them''
"You are being foolishly stubborn"
“And you are not going to get aith trying to buy a place in my bed"
Did she not realize that was exactly what he did not want to do? Apparently not, because she left the roo even a checkbook with her name on it
His first attempt at courtship had flopped
Rachel snuck into the small sunroo her legs under her The rooether in the spacious dining room It was empty now and that's exactly the way she'd wanted it
She needed a break from Sebastian's brand of courtship Theof the word restraint Dozens of roses filled her room Boxes with jewelry she refused to wear resided in the top drawer of her dresser and he spent lots and lots of ti her fear one iota that he did it all for the baby's sake and not her own
If she could convince herself that even one half of what he was doing was for her and not merely to ensure his role in the life of the baby she carried, she would have been in heaven As it was she struggled to stay out of a hell of uncertainties about his feelings and his lack of trust in her basic integrity, despite what he said to the contrary
He gave lip service to trusting her, but he never stopped trying to cajole her into taking the villa She refused on the principle that if he truly believed she were not like Andrea, he would trust her to ain even if her current financial state was less than exemplary
And she desperately needed hi like Andrea
"I thought I would find you in here"
Her heart quickened like it always did when he was around, but the scary arrhythmic beat had not returned since she went on the beta-blockers
"I was going to read for a while" She lifted the paperback she'd carried with her into the room for him to see
His dark brow lifted "You would rather read in a little used room of the house than on the beach when you love to be outside?"
"It's quiet in here"
"You were hiding"
She blushed guiltily "I wanted to be by "
"Theis over and I cannot help but notice you bolted for your hole at the same time I said I would be done"
Frustrated that her plan to spend ti her defenses had been so quickly foiled and feeling inexplicably defensive, she frowned at him "You don't have to spend all your time with me It's not required for your courtship"
"No doubt you would prefer I left you alone entirely Now that your health is assured, you are content to pretend I do not exist"
As if that were possible "I—"
"You will rejoice to hear that I ly, interrupting her midword
"When do you leave?"
"In an hour's ti, I am sure it would be wasted breath You heart is a stone where I am concerned"
Man, he was in full-throttle pessimism mode
"That's not true"
"Is it not? You refuse ifts and avoid me at every opportunity"
"One atte you at every opportunity" She re, he was right