“Endeavor?”
He paid no attention to the sarcasm coloring that single word. “If you’re not pregnant by the end of six months, then we end this. We each go our separate ways and—”
She shook her head and blurted, “You get your land and I get what?”
“I wasn’t finished.” He frowned a little, but continued. “If you’re not pregnant by the end of six months, then we end the marriage and the bargain. We both lose.”
“You’d give up on the land you want so badly?” Was he really so anxious to get her out of his life? Was marriage to her really so hideous? God. Hadn’t she reached any part of him yet?
Yes, she had. She knew she had. She could feel it in his touch every night. See it in the flash of need and desire in his eyes when he came to her bed. Why was he fighting this so valiantly? Why was he so determined to keep her at bay? To stave off any chance they might have had at happiness together?
And why was she still here? How could she continue to love a man who so obviously wanted her gone?
“I’ll find another way to get the land. Surely your father would change his mind eventually.” He shoved both hands into the back pockets of his jeans and shook his head. “It’s the only way, Gina. What would be the point in drawing this out? Making it harder on ourselves?”
“Thanks very much,” she said.
At last, he gave her a very brief smile. More of a twist of the lips even than a smile, really. And it was a sad statement of fact that Gina’s insides jumped when she saw it.
“I like you, Gina. Always have. And frankly, I’d prefer to end this between us while we still like each other. If you’re not pregnant at the end of six months, neither one of us is going to be satisfied with this arrangement.”
“You like me.”
“I do.”
She choked back a laugh. She loved. He liked. Big difference.
But he was still talking, so she focused on Adam. “I think the only fair thing to do is cut our losses at the end of six months. That way, we both have a deadline. We know there’s an end in sight and we can plan around it.”
“Right.” She nodded, swallowed hard and tried to keep the bubble of frustration she felt rising within from spewing out her mouth. “The master negotiator at work. Gotta have a plan. Good idea, Adam. Wouldn’t want to relax into this.”
“Gina …”
“No, no!” She held up both hands and started walking. She couldn’t stand still another minute anyway. Honestly she didn’t know who she’d rather kick more … Adam or herself. He was so damn stubborn and what was she? A glutton for punishment?
She took a few steps away from him, thought better of it and spun around to walk right back. “Do you even see how crazy that is? No, of course you don’t. I’m not pregnant yet, so by putting a deadline on me, that’ll be sure to take the pressure off.” Gina threw her hands high then let them slap back down against her thighs. “Hey, maybe you should send a memo to my eggs? You know, something short and sweet like, Get in line to be fertilized. What’s the holdup?”
He scowled at her. It had no effect of course, because if there was one thing Gina was used to, it was that scowl.
“Sarcasm doesn’t really accomplish anything, does it?”
“Didn’t know it was supposed to,” she countered. “It’s sort of an end all in itself.” Tipping her head back, she glared up at him. “Adam, don’t you get it? A deadline isn’t going to help anything. What we need is to be closer, not more focused on a damn ticking clock.”
One dark eyebrow lifted. “As I recall, we’ve been damned close almost every night for the last couple of months.”
“That is so male,” she said with a shake of her head. “Naturally you assume that having sex is being close.”
“It’s not?”
“No, it’s not!” She reached up and yanked her hair in pure frustration. “What is it with your gender?”
“Just a minute …”
“No. You wait a minute.” Blowing out a breath, she tried for calm and just barely managed it. “Adam, don’t you get it? We’re together, but not. We sleep together and then you ignore me during the day. You make love with me all night and then the next morning, you shut me out. How the hell are either one of us supposed to loosen up enough to make a baby?”
His features went cold and stiff again. Typical.
“In case you’ve forgotten, this isn’t a standard marriage.”
She staggered back dramatically, slapped one hand to her chest and let her jaw drop. “Really? It’s not? Wow. That explains so much!”