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feeling smothered by her constant attempts to help you. That’s just going to give you a case of the belated adolescent angst you missed out on during your teenage years.”
    Merry sucked in a breath—this conversation passed inappropriately intimate about ten exits back—but Ben wasn’t finished.
    “I’m saying I can help, with both of those things,” he said clearly, his deep, resonant voice rumbling out of his chest. Ensnared by the intensity of his tone, by the magnetic pull of his steely eyes, Merry held her breath.
    “I’m saying…” Ben paused for a heartbeat, long enough that Merry had to gasp in air that seemed too thin to fill her lungs.
    “What?”
    Ben squared his shoulders and firmed his mouth, his stare never wavering. “Marry me, Meredith Preston.”

 
    Chapter Three
     
    Merry swayed on her feet, her face as pale as the sand on Sunrise Beach. Cursing inwardly, Ben juggled baby Alex onto one shoulder to try and get a hand free to catch her, if she was planning to topple.
    But he should have known better. After one sharp, wheezing breath, Merry got her balance back, along with her voice.
    “Is that a command or a question?”
    “It’s a solution to your problems. It would get you out of Jo’s house, give you some distance so you and she can interact in a healthier way. Plus you won’t have to feel dependent on her good will, which will free you up to be the parent you want to be—and maybe the daughter you want to be, too.”
    Her gaze sharpened on his, glittering in the moonlight. “So I should be dependent on you, instead. A man I hardly know, who barely seems able to tolerate me for the length of a normal conversation, much less love me enough to marry me. What’s wrong with this picture?”
    Maybe he’d made his move too quickly—it might have been smart to take the time to consider the best way to convince Merry. But Ben preferred not to wait for the iron to get hot when he could make it hot by striking. He saw his chance, and he was taking it.
    So here they were, standing in the darkness of her mother’s empty barn. Hardly the romantic proposal women dreamed about.
    Of course, he could fix that by telling her the truth—that she and Alex had unearthed something inside him that he’d buried years ago, that when she smiled it made Ben want to smile back, that all he wanted in the world was to keep Merry and Alex safe and try to make them happy.
    The words clogged in his throat, choking off his air. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t open himself up that way, knowing Merry didn’t feel the same.
    But this doesn’t have to be about romance, he reminded himself firmly . As far as Merry is concerned, it’s about practicality . And there was his angle, right there.
    “Look, don’t get bent out of shape and emotional about this. I’m proposing a simple transaction, one that has occurred over and over between men and women since the dawn of time.” Ben kept his voice even and calm, rational. “You want independence from your mother and sister; I can give you that.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “And what do you get in return?”
    You and Alex.
    The words lodged in his chest, a truth so deep he couldn’t force it to the surface. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m from Richmond, originally. Have you ever lived there?”
    Confusion dragged out her response. “Nooo. What does that have to do with anything?”
    Come on, Ben, you’ve got to give a little to get a little.
    Every word like pulling splinters out of a snarling dog’s paw, Ben opened up. Just a crack, but enough to make him feel uncomfortably exposed.
    “The Fairfaxes of Richmond have been leaders in the FFV for generations. First Families of Virginia,” he clarified when she still looked confused. “It’s an exclusive set of Virginia society made up of folks who can trace their ancestry back to the original settlers of the colony. There’s a lot of prestige, a lot of tradition. A lot of ridiculous, meaningless,