The Cowboy Imports a Bride(The Cowboys Of Chance Creek #3) by Cora Seton Read Free Book Online

think I will be able to say that to you someday soon. I think…really soon." He swallowed hard at the very thought. "But we've known each other for so short a time, I can't say it yet. I'm sorry." He got to his knees again, ready to stand up and head right back out the door. He never should have said anything to Morgan. Now he'd probably blown his chance with the only woman he thought he could fall in love with someday.
    "I understand," Morgan said calmly, freezing him in place. "I appreciate how honest you've been. Sit down again for a minute. Can I tell you what I want?"
    He sat down, wrapped his arms around his knees and waited, his heart pounding at what she might say. This was by far the strangest conversation he'd ever had. The most liberating, too. "Definitely."
    "I want three things and I'll do just about anything to get them." She looked him straight in the eye, though he had a feeling it was hard for her to do so. "First, I want a winery – which means I need a vineyard." She held up one finger. "Second, I have some money saved up, but even if I had some land, I'd still need about twenty-thousand dollars more to buy rootstock and get it started." Another finger. "And third…"
    "Third…?" Rob held his breath.
    "I want a baby."
    Heat blossomed inside him the moment his brain processed the concept of making a baby with Morgan. Images of her in his bed, writhing beneath him, gazing at him as he joined with her, clouded his head until he couldn't think straight. Morgan wasn't saying no to his proposal. In fact, maybe she was saying… "A baby with me?"
    After a moment she nodded, but when he reached for her, she intercepted him, taking his hands in hers. "Wait. I think…I think there's more to say."
    "Okay." He took a breath, hoping to make his heart stop pounding. The idea of having a child with Morgan revved him up more than he could understand. Suddenly he was seeing her in a whole new light.
    He'd thought of his proposal as kind of a business transaction. A short-term deal that could get them both what they wanted. He'd figured in time they might very well divorce, but there was enough land for the two of them, and by then he'd have what he wanted – independence. A business of his own.
    But what if Morgan became his wife for real? Forever?
    He itched to unbutton the blouse she wore – hell, to tear it off of her – and get started making that baby right now. He didn't think they'd even make it to the bedroom. If he had his way, she'd conceive right here on the living room floor.
    "Rob. Rob?" Morgan was talking to him and he hadn't heard a word she'd said.
    "What?" He tried to focus on her lips. No, better focus on her eyes, instead. He couldn't kiss her eyes.
    Unless they were closed and she was half-naked, lying beneath him...
    Damn it . He shook the thoughts from his head and tried to pay attention.
    "If I'm hearing you right, you thought we could marry, get the land and split it between us. Then get divorced after a while. That's not what I want." She held his gaze. "I want to be loved. I want the kind of love that lasts a lifetime. I want laughter and affection and honor and understanding. In fact, I want more than to be loved – I want to be cherished. And I know it's too soon," she rushed on when he opened his mouth to speak. "Like you said, you don't know me that well, and I don't know you, but it seems to me that love is possible between us, and if love is, maybe something more is, as well."
    Rob nodded vigorously. Something was definitely possible between them.
    "And if it's possible, maybe we can go ahead and choose it."
    Choose it?
    "I'm not sure I follow you," he said when it seemed like she was waiting for an answer.
    "What if we choose to love each other?" she tried again, leaning forward so he got the barest glimpse down the neckline of her blouse. "What if you…decided to cherish me?" Her words drifted down to a whisper, but Rob heard every one. "I mean, could you really marry me if you