Free The Bachelor’s Surrender by Janelle Denison Page B

wishes?”
    Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “I can afford it,” she assured him with a smile. “Bright Beginnings was set-up with a substantial trust fund that was endowed to me by my grandmother two years ago, when I turned twenty-five. I’m an only child, and I was her only grandchild, so she was quite generous in that regard. I’m putting the money toward a good cause, and I’d like to think that if she were still alive, she’d approve of what I do.”
    Unlike Lauren’s mother, who felt she was being frivolous with her money. Despite her mother’s objections to how she’d invested her trust fund, Lauren didn’t regret her decision to originate Bright Beginnings. The foundation brought her as much pleasure as working with the children.
    She exhaled on a long sigh the breeze carried away. “One day, I hope to do more for these underprivileged kids.”
    He cocked his head inquisitively, looking handsome, and very likeable. “Like what?”
    “Something on a grander scale possibly, like a camp, or even purchase land for horseback riding adventures,” she said, unable to contain the excitement infusing her voice. “Something fun that would give these foster kids a start in the right direction.”
    He digested that, but there was a more prying light in his gaze. “You come from money, then?”
    There was no censure in his deep voice, just a mild hunch he openly expressed. “My parents are wealthy, yes, but I like to think I’ve made it on my own, without their financial support. I earn my own paycheck, I financed my own car, and I pay my own rent in an apartment I share with my roommate, Amy. Everything I own I’ve bought with money I’ve earned.”
    Begrudging respect flitted across his expression. “And your parents, what do they do?”
    “My father is a criminal lawyer with his own firm, and my mother works real hard at trying to find me a suitable husband.” She’d used a humorous tone of voice, but the burden of her mother’s interference in her love life was no joke.
    Rafe blinked lazily, and as if seeing past her attempt at levity, asked, “Don’t you want to get married?”
    “Oh, absolutely,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. “But with a man of my own choosing.”
    His smoky gaze flickered down the length of her, taking a slow, leisurely journey that kindled little brush fires of awareness beneath her skin and tightened the tips of her breasts. By the time his eyes returned to hers, her heart beat an unsteady rhythm against her chest.
    “I would think you’d have hordes of suitors to pick from,” he murmured, his tone velvet-smooth and very distracting.
    Struggling not to let Rafe know how strongly he affected her, all with just a look and that rough-and-sexy voice of his, she returned her attention to Chad. The young boy had dismounted Bronwyn and was plucking wildflowers from a patch of bright, colorful blooms blowing in the breeze. A small, pleased smile touched the corner of her mouth, and she experienced relief that the foster care system hadn’t jaded Chad’s sensitive, giving nature . . . yet. The years ahead would take their toll, she knew.
    “I’ve dated,” she admitted to Rafe, guessing by the stall in conversation that he expected an answer to his previous comment. “But I’m holding out for something no one has sparked yet.”
    “And what’s that?” he drawled.
    She took a deep breath and admitted, “Love.”
    A mocking light entered his storm-gray eyes. “You believe in fairy tales, huh?”
    Irritation bristled up her spine. “Is it so wrong to believe that love exists and to hold out for it?” Her question was direct, and certainly a challenge for this cynical hero who believed he didn’t need anyone.
    “No, I suppose not,” he admitted gruffly, not looking at her.
    “I guess I want that fairy tale so badly because I don’t want the kind of relationship my parents have,” she explained softly.
    That confession surprised him, bringing