Part Time Marriage Read Online Free PDF

time at all to sort through the situation.

    `It seemed the better way of saving his face when he asked me to go out with him.' Noah Peverelle gave her a look as if to say the sophisticated image she was trying for had slipped a mile and he had just glimpsed her softer centre. `For my sins,' she went on, not liking that he had observed her softer side, `he told my mother I was going steady.'

    `She must have been pleased.'

    Sarcastic devil! Again, though, Elexa felt an urge to laugh.Most odd. All this stress must be making her light-headed. `My mother phoned me at six this morning wanting to know more about it.'

    'It's getting you down?"

    'You could say that.' `Why not marry one of these men and be done with it?' Peverelle demanded.

    Nothing like being told he'd rather drink burning oil than marry her himself, Elexa thought sniffily. And went on to think, Well, who asked you? But she more or less had.'Because they would want to be emotionally involved.'

    `And you don't?"

    'All I want is time free of my mother being on the phone every five minutes. All I want is to be left alone to get on with the career I love. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, love my mother dearly, and I'd do anything for her but...'

    `But marry some man on a permanent basis?"

    'That's about it,' she had to agree, and looked steadily at the grey-eyed man across from her.

    As she stared at Noah Peverelle, so he scrutinised her. She would have dearly liked to have known what was going through his mind, but guessed he would only let her know what he wanted her to know.

    But, when she was thinking that he was probably considering he had wasted enough time and was about to leave, he surprised her by asking, `How do you feel about children?'Oh, help, was he really, seriouslyconsidering ... ? Had she seriously proposed what she had to this cold, unsmiling man? She wanted to swallow, but wouldn't, but, since he seemed such a forthright person, she gave his question serious thought, and answered honestly, `Up until the day I heard you talking about having a son, I hadn't given children a thought-having them, that is. The furtherance of my career is important to me, as I mentioned. But, on thinking about children, I've realised that, while marriage has never featured in my plans, ultimately I shouldn't like to miss out and never have a child.'

    She didn't know what she expected him to say to that. But discovered that he was clearly a most decisive man when, getting to his feet he informed her, 'I'm away from home for the rest of this week. Presumably your mother isn't too far away. What time shall I pick you up on Saturday?'

    Elexa wasn't sure her jaw didn't drop. 'You're-you're coming to dinner with me at my parents' on Saturday?' she questioned, only just holding down a gasp of shock. Decisive, had she said?

    'I'm not yet ready to be engaged to you we need to discuss this more thoroughly first, and I'm already running late for another appointment. But I don't mind being your '`steady" in the meantime.'

    `Don't do me any favours!' she snapped huffily.

    Noah Peverelle looked arrogantly down at her. `We're in the territory of mutual favours here!' he rapped.

    `So call for me at six-thirty!' she flared, and felt as if she'd just been poleaxed when, with nothing more than a curt nod, Noah Peverelle strode from her apartment.

    How long she sat there, stunned that Noah Peverelle had actually been inside her flat, had asked her a few short and to the point questions, and had then gone on to keep an appointment, Elexa had no idea.

    But slowly, as she got herself into more of one piece, it began to dawn on her that with Peverelle's talk of mutual favours it rather looked-future discussions going well-as if they could be on the way to him marrying her, and to her giving him the son he wanted. Oh, heck. Ice encased her southernmost extremities but, knowing that her mother was probably sitting by the phone, waiting for her to ring, this was no time to start