Behind The Proposal novel Chapter 4

She stared at him for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

Tom felt his own cheeks redden. "Did I really just say that?" She had him tongue tied and saying stupid things. Single as a slice of cheese? Seriously? It was so unlike him.

"Lunch would be nice," she agreed and visibly relaxed as she smiled warmly at him. It was the kind of smile that lit up her whole face, her eyes, and his life.

She was lovely, and he was completely enthralled by her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd played hooky to spend time with a woman. Usually he was only after one thing and they were after another thing entirely. But this was different. Sophie was different. And he wanted to spend more days like this. Chatting and laughing and flirting with her. It was easy. And it was exciting. He wanted her.

He forgot about the meetings he was supposed to have as they ordered lunch and a bottle of wine. He'd even turned his phone to silent and sent a message to his PA to clear his calendar. It would do his younger brother some good to be left in charge for a little while longer. Because Tom was not moving from this spot or the woman beside him anytime soon.

"How long are you here for?" he asked as he sipped his wine. Maybe they could do this again?

"Almost two weeks," she smiled. "Only arrived yesterday."

"So you haven't seen any of the islands yet?"

She shook her head. "Only what I saw getting from Honolulu to the Big Island, and then out here." She looked down into the glass of wine in her hand. "I'm actually looking forward to doing nothing for at least a week."

"Sounds like a good holiday," he murmured, wondering if he could take the time to show her around. He could be her own personal tour-guide. "Are you here with family? Friends?" he asked as he leant his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand, watching the way her mouth twisted, twisting something in his gut at the same time.

Sophie smiled, her soft blonde hair creating a halo around her pretty face. "It's just myself and my daughter," she confessed, glancing up to meet his gaze as if that would change everything.

Breathing deeply, he narrowed his eyes a fraction as he took in that information. A daughter, huh? "You have a daughter?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Jasmine. She's three. And a handful at times, like this morning." She pulled out her phone to show him some photos of a stunning little girl, with curly blonde pigtails, big blue eyes and a cheeky smile. It was clear how much she loved her child. "I'd just dropped her at the kids club when I bumped into you."

"Literally," he teased, looking up from the phone to look into her beautiful eyes, very much like the blue eyes her daughter had. "She's a cutie. Looks a lot like you." Sophie turned a deeper shade of pink as she put her phone away. "So it's just the two of you?" he asked, wanting to know where the father was. Why? Single mothers are so not your type. He shut down the thoughts in his head.

"I'm a medical scientist at one of the big hospitals in Melbourne," she brightened considerably.

His interest in her piqued even further. But, Melbourne? Damn. She lived at the other end of Australia to where he'd be living soon. Cairns was a four hour flight away. But still, it was only four hours, and Melbourne was the location of their head office. He could work from there at least for a while.

Why are you even thinking about that?

He knew why. Because she was an incredibly attractive woman. She was intelligent and interesting. She made him laugh. She was just... lovely.

Would she go for some crazy idea like getting married?

Where the hell had that thought come from?

He knew exactly where that had come from. He needed a wife to get the agreement from his family. Suddenly getting married didn't seem like the end of the world. If it was with someone like her. She might just be the answer to his prayers. Except for the fact she had a child. But that might make her a better candidate. His grandfather might be even more pleased.