Chapter 8
8
Step one of his plan. Distract her.
On purpose.
Keep Veronica from having a moment to stop and think. To determine what it was she wanted from him. Then, he was going to seduce her. Get her into his bed. And in his house. Forever.
His house . Damn it. His house needed work.
He’d bought it two years ago and was slowly refurbishing it. Preserving the history of one of the largest homes in Value’s past. It had needed a lot of work to make it livable. It was still rough around the edges. He was going to have to get his brothers there to help him get it repaired and painted—before Veronica could move in. Fast.
Especially Grady—his brother Grady was damned good at fixing things, building things. His younger brother could help him. George would have to talk to him, to the rest of them. Explain what he needed.
He could have her stay with his parents for a few days. To let the fumes air out. They could stay with his parents—he wouldn’t want to leave her with his four brothers without him. They could be overwhelming to a shy, reserved woman like his Veronica.
His house was a nice, sturdy three-story Craftsman. Almost forty-four hundred square feet. Seven bedrooms. It was the biggest house in downtown Value. It would shelter a family for generations to come—with a little work. He needed to get that work done. He’d have to dip into his savings to make it happen, but it was doable. Just how quick was the question, though.
Babies—and wives—weren’t cheap. But he would make it work. She’d have a home she could be proud of. That would be safe for her and the baby. “Did you find another job in Barrattville?”
“No, not as a paralegal. I had a temporary one with the Barratt firm, but the woman’s maternity leave ended two weeks ago. I’ve got a part-time position at the Barratt-Finley Creek though. I start in two days.”
“Your old job is yours. I’ve not replaced you.”
“Why not? It’s been three months, you goober. You need a paralegal. You can’t go that long without someone keeping you in line. Remember when I took a week off last year?”
Hell, yes, he remembered. It had been one of the longest weeks of his life, until she’d come back that following Monday.
“Because no one who interviewed for the position could replace you. It took me two weeks just to empty your trash. I missed you too much.” George had been raised by very verbal parents in a household where everyone talked and communicated. He wasn’t used to holding back what he was thinking.
“Sure you did. You could have called me—or emailed, or texted, or stopped by—if you missed me that much. Tell me the truth, would you have ever looked me up again if I hadn’t shown up with proof of your virility tonight?”
“My… virility?”
“Yep. You are very virile. Potent. Nailed me once and it was all done. All it took. Super sperm, apparently. Now… survival of the Hiller species has been cemented. We can work out the details later. But this… is not the way to my apartment.”
“Nope.” He shot a look at her as he turned onto the quarter mile drive that led to his childhood home. It was one of the largest ranches in this part of Texas. His grandfather and father had built it from almost nothing. George would always be proud of it. But the ranching life wasn’t for him long term. He had always known that. He was going to build something of his own now. “My parents requested we all be here tonight. Otherwise, I would have taken you back to my place, instead. I have to seduce you, after all. I’m so ready to get started.”
“That is not going to happen.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“You have your work cut out for you. I know the truth. You just want the baby. Well, I don’t work that way, pal. Just keep that in mind.”
“I’m up to the challenge. And Veronica—I want you. Forever. Now I’m just going to have to prove it.”