LITMIR.BIZ

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this is a business proposition. Maybe that sounds kind of crass, but before we go any further, I wouldn’t want you to have expectations of it being anything else.”

      For some odd reason that stung like a hornet, as if she was stupid enough to think it might be more. “Really? Again I ask, what’s in it for me? Aside from being wed to the object of many a woman’s lust, of course.”

      He didn’t seem affected at all by her sarcasm. “First of all, you have a fairly substantial debt you’re dealing with.”

      Had he somehow discovered the money she owed her former firm? Impossible. Or so she hoped. “Did you run a report on my finances?”

      “No. I figured that out when you came begging for a job, and confirmed it when you mentioned your ex taking your money and cutting out of the country. I also recall some issue with staying in your apartment and possibly having to move to Idaho. Am I wrong?”

      If he only knew the true magnitude of her problems. “No, you’re not wrong.”

      “Exactly how much debt are you carrying?”

      “That’s really none of your—”

      “Business? If you want me to help you, you’ll have to be honest about the money aspects.”

      He had a lot of nerve making the request when she hadn’t agreed to anything. “I believe I asked you for a job, not for your help.”

      “Yeah, but I’m asking for yours. We could help each other. How much debt?”

      She momentarily swallowed her pride. “Over seventy thousand dollars.” Most of which she owed to her former firm.

      “Are you a chronic shopper?” he asked.

      “No, but my ex is. He left me with all the bills.” Including money he’d stolen that she was having to reimburse.

      “Okay. If you agree to this, I’ll make sure you’re debt-free. I’ll give you twenty thousand up front and you can live here rent-free. You can also design the lodge and I’ll pay you monthly for that. If you see that through, I’ll provide a reference and the seed money to start your own company.”

      Wow. She would finally be solvent, liberated from her former employer and on her way to a bright future. But at what cost? A nagging voice told her to go for it. Her mother’s voice told her to proceed with caution. “If I did agree to this, and I’m not saying I am, how long would I be expected to remain in this marriage?”

      “The will states a year,” he said. “It’s going to take at least that long to get Texas Extreme up and running and the lodge ready for guests. If you’ll stay until then, I’ll throw in another bonus. I’ll buy you a new car so you can put that rusty sedan out to pasture.”

      She took offense to him insulting her car. “Bubba is not rusty.”

      He chuckled. “You gave that clunker a name?”

      “Yes. He’s been very reliable, unlike most men I’ve known.”

      “Bubba sounds like he’s barely running.”

      “He does need a little work.” Now for a very pertinent question. “There is the very important matter of dissolving the marriage. I’m personally not keen on being labeled a two-time loser with another divorce.”

      “We could look into an annulment.”

      “Under what grounds after we’ve hung in there for a year?”

      He streaked a palm over his shaded jaw. “I’m not sure.”

      Neither was she, but she intended to find out. “Mind if I borrow your laptop to do a little research?”

      He reached behind him and offered her the computer. “Knock yourself out.”

      After setting it on her lap, Paris began the search for annulment criteria. She selected the most official-looking article and began to read. “Let’s see here. The first condition states the parties are family members, but I highly doubt we’re related to each other.”

      “Did you not pay attention to me telling you about my father’s philandering ways? I wouldn’t be surprised to discover you’re the sister I’ve always wanted but never had.”

      “Very funny and kind of creepy.”

      “I’m kidding, Paris. I don’t harbor any brotherly feelings for you whatsoever.”

      She looked up to see Dallas’s smile before scanning the text again. “On to the next point. I guess one of us could get drunk during the ceremony and claim we weren’t coherent enough to consent. We could then say we didn’t sober up until after our first anniversary.”

      His low laugh gave her pleasant chills. “Sounds like you could handle that with a couple of Jen’s mint juleps, pre-ceremony. I’m sure she’ll keep you supplied for the next twelve months.”

      This time she didn’t bother to look up. “Clever, but not anything either of us should consider. Coercion is out because I wouldn’t agree to this unless we’re both sure. Bigamy is also out. And fraud unless one of us is lying about our age.”

      “Nope,” he said. “But back to that bigamy thing. Are you sure you’re divorced?”

      Realizing she’d inadvertently hit a nerve bringing up bigamy, Paris closed the computer and frowned. “Yes, I’m sure I’m divorced. Peter couldn’t get out of the marriage quick enough. He’s a CPA so he’s fastidious and detail oriented.” As well as a con artist, a fact she chose to withhold. “That leaves us with the final possibility. Do you have issues with impotence that would lead to the old standby, failure to consummate?”

      He looked more amused than insulted. “You and I both know the answer to that after what happened a few minutes ago.”

      She’d realized very quickly he hadn’t been poking fun. “That’s too bad since it would make the whole failure to consummate much easier, which appears to be our only option. Get married, no whoopee.”

      He looked like he’d just bitten into a dill pickle. “You expect me to go without sex for a year?”

      Paris thought that would be the greatest challenge of all, and a possible reason for him to rescind the offer. “Cowboy up, cowboy. You can handle it if you want to keep the ranch. Which leads me to another question.”

      “Shoot.”

      “Does maintaining control of this place mean so much to you that you would enter into a fake marriage that requires celibacy for a year?”

      “I don’t like the celibacy clause one damn bit, but I can only promise I’ll try. And it would have to be a real marriage in order to meet the will’s requirements.”

      She saw a possible alternative. “Who would know if we only pretended we married?”

      “Fort will make a point to check it out.”

      The decision would be so much easier for Paris if that weren’t the case. “You’re obviously a rich guy, Dallas. I imagine you could buy a ranch just like this one anywhere in the world. Maybe even a bigger and better ranch. Then you wouldn’t have to resort to this ruse.”

      “It wouldn’t be the same,” he said. “To risk sounding like Jenny, the D Bar C is equivalent to losing the plantation that’s been in the family for generations.”

      “Wouldn’t it still be in the family if Fort takes over? Have you even bothered to work out some agreement that wouldn’t force you to go to such extremes?”

      Anger flashed in his eyes. “Fort doesn’t talk to anyone but Worth. He’d have the power to do anything he pleases, including selling it off piece by piece. I wouldn’t put it past him to do that just for spite. He hates anything associated with the Calloways, including me. Especially me.”

      A family feud of grand proportions. “Because

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