âI want you, Sunny York.â
Bryce cupped her face in his hands as he continued, âIâd marry you right this minute if I could.â His eyes blazed into hers, commanding her full attention.
Bryceâs desire for her sizzled into Sunnyâs bloodstream, bringing a vibrancy that reenergized her whole body.
âThen I willâ¦I will marry you, Bryce,â she heard herself say, as though the words were drawn from a place she was barely conscious of, yet she knew even as she said them, she wouldnât take them back.
âI WANT you married.â
Bryce Templar gritted his teeth. It wasnât the first time his father had made this demand. Undoubtedly it wouldnât be the last, either. But he hadnât come out of his way to visit the old man, still convalescing from his recent heart operation, to have another argument about his bachelor state.
He kept his gaze trained on the view, ignoring the contentious issue. The sun was setting, adding even more brilliant shades of colour to the stunning red rocks of Sedona. His fatherâs winter residence was certainly sited to capture one of the most striking panoramas nature had to offer, here in the Arizona desert. And of course, communing with nature was another thing Will Templar preachedâspiritual peace, clean air, clean livingâ¦
âAre you hearing me, boy?â
Bryce unclenched his jaw and slid his father a derisive look. âIâm not a boy, Dad.â
âStill acting like one,â came the aggressive grumble. âHere you are with your hair going grey and youâre not settled with a woman yet.â
âIâm only thirty-four. Hardly over the hill. And you went grey in your thirties. Itâs genetic.â
It wasnât the only physical aspect of his father heâd inherited. They were both well over six feet tall, big men, though his father had lost quite a bit of weight over the past year and was looking somewhat gaunt in the face. They had the same strong nose, the same determined mouth, closely set ears, and while his fatherâs hair was now white, it was still as thick as his own.
The only feature heâd inherited from his mother was her eyesâheavier lidded than his fatherâs and green instead of grey. Will Templarâs eyes had been described in print as steely and incisive, but right now they were smoking at Bryce with irritable impatience.
âI was married to your mother in my twenties.â
âPeople married earlier in those days, Dad.â
âYouâre not even looking for a wife.â He shook an admonishing finger. âYou think I donât hear about your bed-hopping with starlets in L.A.? Getting laid indiscriminately doesnât sit well with me, son.â
Bryce barely stifled a sigh as he thought, Here comes the clean living lecture. âI donât bed-hop and Iâm not indiscriminate in my choice of playmate,â he bit out. Hoping to avoid a diatribe on morals, he added, âYou know how busy I am. I just donât have the time to put into a relationship what women want out of it.â
It brought his father up from his lounger in a burst of angry energy. âDonât tell me women donât want marriage. They all want marriage. Itâs not difficult to get a woman to say yes to that. And Iâm living proof of it with five wives behind me.â
All of them walking away with a bundle, Bryce thought cynically. Except his mother who died before sheâd got around to divorce. The billion dollar empire of Templar Resources could absorb the cost of hundreds of wives. It just so happened Bryce didnât like the idea of being taken for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow ride.
If a woman wanted himâ¦fine. Especially if he wanted her. But the occasional pleasure in bed did not warrant a gold ring and a gold passport to a hefty divorce settlement. Apart from which, he certainly didnât need the aggravation of a demanding wife. He much preferred a walkaway situation.
âYou get married, Bryce, or Iâll put Damian in control of business, right over your head. Make him CEO until you do get a wife. That will free up your time,â his father threatened.
âAnd give you another heart attack when he messes up,â Bryce mocked, knowing his half-brotherâs limited vision only too well.
âI mean it, boy! Timeâs slipping by and Iâm feeling my mortality these days. I want to see you married, and married soon. With a grandchild on the way, too. Within a year. Just get out there and choose a wife. You hear me?â
He was going red in the face. Concerned about his fatherâs blood pressure, Bryce instantly set aside the argument. âI hear you, Dad.â