“How old are you?”
She blinked, but she answered readily enough. “Twenty-six. Actually my five-year plan was only formulated last year. By the time I’m thirty, I hope to have created a very substantial business with at least three more shops.”
He waved that away. “You don’t leave yourself much room for a husband or children or any other personal pursuits.”
Frowning now, she surveyed him with a wary eye. Tony knew he needed to retrench, to give her a bit more room. The thing was, he’d never been a patient man. When he wanted something, he wanted it now.
And he wanted a baby.
He reached out to take Olivia’s hand, but she snatched it back, then looked embarrassed that she’d done so.
“I don’t understand the need for such personal questions. I assumed you were satisfied with our business dealings…”
“More than satisfied. You run a very profitable business and your two existing shops have already benefited my hotels. I don’t see any problem in expanding them.”
Olivia let out a breath and gifted him with a beautiful smile. “Thank you. Obviously that’s what I was hoping to hear. I’ll admit, though, you threw me with all that personal stuff. I know it’s important to understand your associates, to make certain they won’t suddenly change their priorities and let their businesses flounder. If that was your worry, let me assure you—”
“I’d like to have a baby.”
His timely, or not so timely, interruption, left Olivia with her mouth hanging open and her brows lifted high. It was a nice mouth, full and soft. He could see her tongue, pink and moist and…She also had beautiful skin, which of course would be a plus, along with her excellent health and unbelievable ingenuity.
She cleared her throat, and with a small, nervous laugh, said, “I believe that might be an anatomical impossibility.”
“Not if I can find the right woman to carry the babe.”
She fell back in her seat, her hands braced on the arms of the chair, her mouth once again open. Right then, Tony decided to stop noticing her enticing mouth.
He was saved from having to say anything by the knock on the door. Tony waited until the server left the room and softly closed the door behind him before meeting Olivia’s eyes again. She still looked stunned.
“I can practically hear your brain working, Olivia, and I want to assure you, before anything else, that this has nothing to do with your business. The third shop is yours, regardless. I’ll sign the papers Monday morning and have a courier deliver them to you.”
Olivia’s mouth opened twice before she managed to say, “Thank you.”
He poured her a glass of soda and handed it to her. “However, I would like to discuss something else with you.”
“I gathered as much.”
He grinned at her dry tone. “As I said, I want a baby. I have excellent people who can see to the daily running of my business now, so I no longer need to put in such long hours. I can more than afford to raise a child with every privilege, but not so many that the child is spoiled or doesn’t understand the value of work. I’ll be very careful to make sure the babe is raised with good morals and strong convictions, and—”
Olivia leaned forward in her seat and touched his arm. Tony liked her touch, felt it all the way to his stomach, and immediately cursed himself for reacting in a way he’d forbidden. Olivia, thankfully, seemed unaware of his plight.
“I have no doubt you’d be an excellent father, Tony.”
He felt warmed to his soul by her praise. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But what does all this have to do with me?”
His gaze flickered from her hand on his arm, to her face. “Why…I want you to be the mother.”
He didn’t get quite the reaction he’d expected. She covered her mouth with one graceful hand, and after a long, stunned pause, a nearly hysterical laugh emerged. Tony stood, caught her forearms and lifted her from her chair. “Olivia! Are you all right?”
She shook her head, and another giggle escaped. “Didn’t I just make myself clear? Didn’t I just say that my business was my life? I can’t get married, certainly not to—”
“Married? Good God, I don’t want to marry you!” He immediately realized how horrid that sounded, and quickly explained, “I just need you to carry my baby. After you’ve delivered it, you’re free to do as you please. I’ll make certain you can relocate any place you choose, but of course, you would have to relocate. I don’t want any interference with raising my child, and neither of us would want a scandal. I thought the northwest would serve your purposes.”
“You just want me to…”
“Carry the baby.” He was still holding her arms and felt the way she tensed, the way her body trembled. He forced himself to release her. “As you said, it’s anatomically impossible for me to do so, not that I have any desire to suffer through such a thing. God in all his wisdom knew men weren’t cut out for such a trial. And I don’t want you to think I’m being…well, untoward. There are medical procedures that would guarantee the planting of my sperm. Everything would be…”
She staggered back as if he’d struck her.
“I’m really messing this up, aren’t I?” He ran his hand through his hair, then shrugged. “Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve been uncertain of myself while presenting a business proposition. And that’s exactly what this is, Olivia. A business deal.” He waited, but when she remained silent, her eyes huge, he added, “Well? You could make this a little easier by saying…something.”
“I would. If I had any idea what to say.”
He nodded, then slowly drew a deep breath. “You need time to think it over. Why don’t we sit back down and I’ll go over all my reasons for choosing you, all the benefits that will be yours if you agree, how I intend to handle the legalities involved, and—”
“That’s an awful lot of ground to cover, especially considering it’s near midnight. I put in a full day already, and plan to visit the office tomorrow morning.” Her voice still sounded shaky, but she did resume her seat. Tony let out a short sigh of relief. She wasn’t crying sexual harassment, she wasn’t storming out. No, Olivia, bless her, was a reasonable woman. It was one of the qualities that had drawn him to her.
“First of all, you please me very much, Olivia. Not as a wife or for any other personal relationship, but as a gene donor. Your intelligence sometimes staggers me, especially given what few advantages you had in the world. The way you’ve excelled—”
“Excuse me?”
Tony lifted his brows, silently asking for clarification to her interruption.
“How, exactly, would you know anything about my advantages or disadvantages?”
Uh-oh. He could tell by the mulish set to her chin that he’d pricked her temper.
