Taking a deep breath in, Seth breathed out and studied the brunette. So far he couldn’t gauge what she was feeling. There was no longer any suggestion of a smile. Instead, her expression was carefully guarded. He decided to carry on.
‘In return...I’d like you to come and live with me. That would mean that whenever I travelled abroad for work, or simply when I wanted a vacation, you would go with me as my companion. It wouldn’t mean you couldn’t do other things. I like to think that I’m a reasonable man. But I would never tolerate you bringing my name into disrepute. It’s not too onerous, but I have a somewhat public profile because of what I do, and I’ve already entrusted some very personal information to you. I wouldn’t want to risk my story being sold to the newspapers. It goes without saying that I would never reveal what you’ve told me to anyone else. What we’ve shared is just between the two of us and private. To sum up—if you’re in agreement, I’d like to make our arrangement official.’
Seth saw the colour in her face drain a little.
‘What do you mean, exactly?’
‘I’m suggesting that we do things legally and get married.’
CHAPTER FIVE
IMOGEN WAS STUNNED. So stunned that she couldn’t think, let alone speak. In a bid to engage her brain with her mouth, she gulped down some coffee. When she glanced up and saw that Seth’s blisteringly blue eyes were all but eating her up as he waited for her answer, she murmured, ‘You’re serious?’
‘Yes, I am. I don’t have time to play games, Imogen. I’ve been on my own for a long time. It wouldn’t be a one-sided arrangement. As I told you before, it would benefit us both.’
‘And how do you work that out? Isn’t your work mainly in the States? I live and work here, Seth.’
‘I’m opening a new dealership in London, so it’s very likely I’ll be based here for a while. If I have Evergreen renovated and refurbished we could live there. In the meantime I’m going to look for another house for us to move into,’
‘Slow down a bit. I haven’t agreed to anything yet. My head’s reeling!’
Her companion sighed and scraped back his hair. ‘I realise that my suggestion must have come as quite a surprise, but I believe it’s a good one. It makes sense for us to get together and help each other out.’
‘I’m not as sure about that as you seem to be, Seth. What about my job? If I were to accept your offer, what would I do about that?’
His scorching blue gaze never left hers. ‘To start with I’d like you to give a month’s notice with the proviso that you’ll be available to me should I need you.’
‘And what am I supposed to tell my boss?’
‘You can tell her that you’re going to be married and that your new husband wants you to help him run his business.’
‘But you don’t want me to work for your business, do you? You want to hire me as a paid companion.’
A muscle flinched at the side of Seth’s jaw. He wasn’t finding it easy to hide his impatience. ‘I want you to become my wife. That’s all your boss needs to know.’
‘Don’t you think the news is going to come as a bit of a shock? Especially as she knows I haven’t been seeing anyone and that I vowed I wouldn’t for a very long time?’
‘You can tell her it all happened very quickly.’
Colouring at the thought of her and Seth having an immediate undeniable attraction to each other that would only be satisfied by them living together as man and wife, Imogen shook her head. ‘I doubt if she’ll believe that. And don’t forget I’m still dealing with a court case to try to get my deposit back from my ex.’
‘Let me speak to her about that. I’ll pay any costs that are outstanding and cover the deposit myself. You’ve already told me that you don’t need the stress of getting into a fight with your ex for it, and nor do you need to. He’s old news—gone. Erase him from your mind. From now on I’ll be looking after you.’
Despite her lack of trust that such a premise was at all likely, the declaration was irresistibly seductive. What woman wouldn’t want a man like him to take care of her? Imogen mused. But her surprise at his words mingled with not a little annoyance as she contemplated his steely-eyed glance.
‘You make it sound so straightforward and it isn’t. I don’t need you to look after me. I’m not a helpless little girl. I’m sure you mean well, but agreeing to have a relationship—any relationship as far as I’m concerned—is crazy. Is it likely that I’d want to risk walking into something that’s potentially going to hurt me again?’