Lauren closed her eyes, her chest rising and lowering as she took in a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, she met his gaze but remained tight-lipped, not offering him a single hint at her answer.
“What are you thinking?” Over the months, he’d learned that while Lauren may like to be silly and have fun—her crazy earrings were a perfect example of that—she was a practical woman. Once she thought about what he’d just offered, she would agree to the marriage.
She shook her head, her hair brushing against his hands. “I . . . Kevin, I don’t . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she took a sudden step backward, forcing him to let go.
“I enjoy spending time with you. But marriage? I don’t know.” Her voice wavered.
He smiled to himself. She hadn’t said no, and from the sound of it with a little coaxing she’d agree.
“I need some time to think about it.”
“I can understand that.” Kevin moved back into her personal space but kept his hands by his sides. “Take as long as you want.” He could be patient, and in the meantime he’d work on swaying her toward a yes.
Lauren flashed him a tentative smile. “Thank you.” Her relief echoed in her voice.
“Why don’t you hold on to this for now?” Kevin pressed the ring box into her hand. Before she could offer up a protest, he said, “Let’s put on a movie.”
Her eyes darted down to the ring and then back to him. “It might be better if I go home.”
A twinge of doubt flickered through his mind. “I thought you planned to spend the weekend.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “It’s late, Lauren . . . stay.”
Despite his efforts, ten minutes later, Kevin walked back into the house alone. He bypassed the open bottle of wine and headed toward the back of the house. After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, he hit the weights. He’d learned a long time ago that exercise helped him plan. Some of his best business decisions came to him when he worked out.
By the time he punched out half of his hour-long routine, his annoyance had subsided enough for him to look at things from Lauren’s point of view. She would come around at some point, but maybe he did spring it on her too soon. Looking at a marriage as a business deal was the norm for him. In his world, people did it without blinking an eye. In fact, most of the time he didn’t consider marriage as anything more than a business deal. Other people did, though. He needed to remember that. He also needed to show Lauren that, even without love, a marriage between them could thrive. His own parents never claimed to love each other, at least not in his presence. Regardless, they worked well together. They complemented each other. His mother left all the business and financial details to her husband, while his father left the social and charitable details to his wife. But Lauren wasn’t his mother.
Sherry Miles had come from a family already well-established in society. When she’d met Clinton Walsh, she’d already set her mind on taking her position in society to the next level. From the start, she’d known marriage to Clinton would do that for her.
Lauren didn’t think in those terms, which sucked. He’d spent his life around women like his mother. He understood how they thought and what they wanted. His relationship with Lauren threw him into new territory. At times the challenge of figuring her out exhilarated him. Made him realize how routine everything in his life had become, including his relationships with women. Other times, like now, it drove him up the wall. Since he’d met her at a charity dinner, he’d known she could be the catalyst to push him and his company into the elite circle of the Sherbrookes and Talbots. Before that chance run-in with her, he’d never been able to quite breach the inner sanctum where the Talbots and Sherbrookes lived and worked. At the same time, his association with Lauren—and thus her friend Callie Talbot—would help launch his political career.
Kevin took a seat on the rowing machine. Of course, his decision to propose hadn’t only been influenced by how their marriage could benefit him. Not only did they have a lot of interests in common, she was hot. In fact, the night they’d met, that was what had drawn him to her. Only later during dinner did he learn she and Callie were best friends.
He exhaled as he started rowing. If Lauren needed flowers and romantic dinners before she said yes, then that was what she would get.
***
Come on. Lauren glanced at the clock again, but only a minute had passed since the last time she checked. Was it possible for time to run slow? It sure as hell felt like it. All she needed was for the clock to hit nine then she would head over to Callie’s.