to the office and soon I wanted to learn more. My father put me in the intern program and, much to his surprise, I soaked up everything like a sponge. I was interested in learning what it took to run a multimillion-dollar company, so I majored in business. During breaks, I worked at Stewart Technologies, learning the business from the ground up while earning my MBA. Until, eventually, I proved to all the naysayers I had the chops to run the company.
“And, as it turned out, my father was ready to take a back seat. He’s now chairman of the board. Of course, I had no idea of the financial straits he was leaving me to tend to. He’d leveraged the business and owed the banks a substantial amount due to projects he’d started but failed to get across the finish line.”
“Very intriguing indeed,” Gage replied. “And here we are.”
Fallon took a generous sip of her wine. She hadn’t planned on revealing so much, but Gage was looking at her so intently, as if hanging on her every word.
“And you? Fill me in on your time abroad.”
Gage leaned back against the cushions. “I don’t think my story is quite as intriguing as yours.”
“But it clearly has a happy ending,” she replied. “I mean, look at where we are. The roles have been reversed.”
“Yes, they have,” Gage said quietly. “But I won’t sugarcoat it. After my mother and I were kicked off the Stewart estate, she had a hard time finding work, especially because your parents refused to give her a reference.”
“Gage...”
“I was young and resilient, with only a year left of college. I worked two or three jobs to keep us afloat. Once I finished school, I struck out on my own. A friend of mine worked on Wall Street and told me I could make a lot of money. The stock market had never really been my cup of tea but, lo and behold, I had a knack for it. From there I went to London, Hong Kong, making money in stocks and foreign trade. Until I settled on mutual funds and started my own business.”
“So why come back here?”
“Simply put, I missed home,” Gage replied. “I haven’t been back since I graduated other than the odd trip. Mostly, I’ve sent Mom tickets to meet me at some exotic destination. She deserved it, after all her years of menial labor.”
Although she’d never experienced the kind of hardship Gage mentioned, Fallon understood his drive to succeed because she shared it.
Over dinner they continued talking about his trading career, lifestyle and trips abroad before returning to the subject of Fallon. It surprised her how easy it was to talk to Gage, considering all that had transpired between them. It felt like a lifetime ago, but she was sure at some point Gage would be getting to the point of the evening.
“Are you having dessert?” Gage asked after they’d polished off nearly two bottles of wine with their meal.
She shook her head. “I couldn’t eat another bite.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It’s been a lovely evening, Gage, but I’m sure that’s not the reason you asked me to dinner.”
“What do you think the reason is?”
“Payback. What else?” Fallon asked with a shrug of her shoulders. “And although I’m not destitute and put out of the family home, we are in a bind. Surely this must delight you?”
“Not everyone is like you and your family.”
Ouch. Fallon took that one on the chin because, after all this time, he deserved to speak his mind. “Why am I here, Gage?”
Gage leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and arresting her with his eyes. “I have a proposition for you.”
“And what might that be?”
“Marry me.”
Fallon coughed profusely and reached for her water glass. Her hands trembled as she placed the glass to her lips and sipped. With all the wine they’d drunk, she must have taken leave of her faculties because Gage Campbell couldn’t possibly have asked her to marry him. Could he?
“Are you all right?” Gage asked, his voice etched with concern.
“Y-yes.” Fallon sipped her water again and placed the glass back on the table. “Can you repeat what you said?”
Gage’s mouth curved in a smile. “You heard me, Fallon. Marry me and, in exchange, I’ll give you the money you need to save your family business.”
She had heard correctly. But he was dead wrong if he thought for a second she would take him up on his outrageous offer. “Gage! What you’re suggesting is insanity! You didn’t even give an expiration date for this union. How long would you expect this to last?”
“It’s a business deal that will last as long as needed,” he stated calmly. “You get the money you need to save a dying technology firm, while I get a wife from an upstanding Austin family. Think about it, Fallon. Our marriage would legitimize my social standing while simultaneously letting all those pesky bankers who have been hounding you know the Campbell/Stewart family is as solid as ever.”
“That’s real vague. Plus there’s any number of society debutantes out there waiting to meet a catch like you, Gage. You don’t have to marry me.”
“But it’s you I want,” Gage responded. Within seconds he’d slid closer to her in the booth, until they were thigh-to-thigh.
Fallon flushed. “What are you saying?”
“A caveat to the marriage is it will not be in name only.”
“Meaning?”
“Do you really need me to spell it out?” His piercing look went straight through her. “We would consummate the marriage and share the same bed. Become lovers.”
Fallon sucked in a deep breath. Sweet Jesus! She had drunk too much wine because the words coming out of Gage’s mouth didn’t make any sense. She took another small sip of water.
“I think we would be quite good together,” Gage said, picking up her hand and turning it over palm side up.
Immediately she tried to pull it back, but his grip was too strong. “How can you say such a thing? I haven’t seen you in sixteen years.”
“Yet, you still want me.” His hold softened but he didn’t let her go. Instead his thumb began circling the inside of her palm, making her pulse race erratically. “I can see all the signs of arousal in you, Fallon—the way your eyes dilate when you look at me, the way your breath hitches when I come near. Even the way your breasts peak with one look from me.”
Fallon felt her cheeks flame. Was she so obvious that he could read her like a book? It was as though he’d put her under some kind of spell, the same as when she’d been sixteen. And why oh why wouldn’t he stop circling her palm with his thumb? He was teasing her and she didn’t like it. She jerked her hand free. “Stop it, Gage.”
“Stop
