Free A Daring Proposition by Jennifer Greene Page B

beaming face. When she opened the box, she feared he looked so excited he was going to have apoplexy.
    “Brian!” She’d told him she didn’t want an engagement ring, and even if she had wanted one, she would never have expected anything like this. The marquis diamond, surrounded by sapphires, flamed mysteriously in the candlelight. The setting was delicate and of very old gold, simple in design yet exquisite. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly, looking up at him unhappily. His next words made her feel even worse.
    “The stones were my mother’s. I had them reset in a style I thought you’d like. Shall I put it on for you?”
    “No!” Reluctantly, she slipped the ring on, not wanting his hand to touch hers. When she looked at him again, there was a glint of…something in his eyes. He had won, of course. She was wearing the ring.
    “I also brought the wedding rings,” Brian continued, unruffled, as he withdrew another box containing the plain gold bands that Leigh had thought would be the only token of their marriage.
    “Well, if you two will excuse me, I think I’ve had all the excitement I can handle for one evening.”
    “Oh, Robert, I…” A moment ago, she would have been happy to see Robert fade into the woodwork, but then she hadn’t had the chance to consider that his absence would put her alone with Brian. She was suddenly unsure of him: the kiss, the tactful consideration of Robert, the engagement ring. Her trust in the man who was now her husband was tenuous at best, and she hoped he had no other surprises in store for her.
    “Good night, Robert,” Brian said firmly.

Chapter 6
    As soon as Robert was gone, Leigh rose to set the dessert dishes on the counter and bring the coffeepot back to the table. She poured both cups before she sat down again, and then simply looked at Brian. Really looked at him.
    They had eaten by candlelight; it would have been awkward to change the arrangement when Brian arrived, and Leigh loved the softness of candles. There were a half-dozen ribbons of flame, all of which accented his masculinity. He looked broader, larger, in the semidarkness. His black eyes reflected tiny fires; the hollows beneath his cheekbones were shadowed. The humor had left his face, which seemed now to have no expression at all, just an aura of strength and brooding silence.
    Leigh felt agitated. He was right there, the cold-blooded, always-in-control man with a gift for manipulating people, the man she had married because she believed he’d never give a damn about her. Still, if she closed her eyes for only a few seconds and opened them again, she seemed to see another Brian: the father of her child, a man capable of sensitivity and understanding, iron-willed, but…human. In the candlelight she could see the dark circles under his eyes, the little lines of fatigue on his face.
    “Brian, you look exhausted,” she said gently, as the wariness she’d been feeling faded somewhat.
    His eyes flickered to hers, filled with annoyance. “I am.” It was obvious to Leigh that he didn’t appreciate her noticing the chink in his armor.
    “Why don’t you relax in the living room for a few minutes, while I get the dishes done,” she suggested.
    “Leigh, are you absolutely sure?” he asked abruptly. “It’s only been three weeks.”
    “If the test had been negative, it wouldn’t have been positive this early. But since it was positive, it was positive!”
    “I dare you to repeat that.”
    She smiled. “I’m sure,” she said simply.
    “You got what you wanted.”
    Leigh nodded, seeing it in exactly those terms: She had everything she wanted. It seemed so much more than he could possibly get out of their bargain. “How’s Joan?” she asked idly, referring to the woman he’d been with in the newspaper photo that had upset Robert.
    “Would you really like to know?” He poured himself a second cup of coffee and settled back into the chair at the head of the table.
    “Not if you feel