Sweet Fortune

But I do know I don't like it. Not one damn bit of it.”
    “This is getting a tad complicated, isn't it?” Jessie mused.
    “A tad.”
    “But it's kind of exciting in a way too. This is a heck of a lot more interesting than my last job.”
    “What was your last…? Uh, right. You were working for Benedict Fasteners, weren't you?”
    “Don't look so glum, Hatch. Things could be worse. If circumstances had been slightly different, I'd still be working for you.”
    “I know I should look on the bright side, but somehow it's hard to do that at the moment.”
    Jessie eyed him cautiously. “Was that supposed to be humorous by any chance?”
    “You think I lack a sense of humor, among other fun-loving attributes, don't you?”
    “Let's just say the subject is open to question.”
    “Would it make things simpler if I told you I am extremely serious about taking you to bed tonight?”
    Jessie jumped to her feet and in the process accidentally knocked over a small candy dish that was sitting on the table beside the bed. It fell to the floor with a crash.
    “Oh, hell,” she muttered, bending down to pick it up. At least it hadn't broken. She knew she should be grateful for small favors. Setting the heavy glass dish back down on the table, she stalked to the window.
    “Why do I make you nervous, Jessie?”
    “I don't know.” She took a handful of the curtain and crushed it between her fingers as she studied the rainy darkness outside the window.
    “Why are you so sure you and I could have some kind of genuinely meaningful long-term committed relationship?”
    “I never thought about having a genuinely meaningful long-term committed relationship. I was thinking more along the lines of a marriage.”
    “See? That's exactly what I mean when I say I can never tell if you're making a joke or if you're serious. It's very disconcerting. Why don't you just answer my question? What makes you think you and I could make a go of it?”
    Hatch appeared to turn that question over in his mind for a long moment before he said, “Things feel right with you.”
    “Right? What do you mean, ‘right’?”
    He shrugged. “I think it would work out. The two of us, I mean.”
    She crushed the curtain more tightly in her clenched fist. “But what do you want from a…a relationship, Hatch?” She simply could not bring herself to say the word “marriage.”
    “The usual things. A loyal wife. Kids. I'm thirty-seven years old, Jessie. I want to have children. Put down some roots. I grew up on a ranch, remember? Part of me still wants to feel like I belong to a place. I know I won't have that feeling until I've established a home and family of my own. It's time.”
    “You sound as if you're listening to some sort of biological clock.”
    His mouth curved briefly. “Did you think only women had internal clocks?”
    “I guess I hadn't thought much about biological clocks at all. Even my own.” She sighed. “I would definitely not make you a good, supportive, corporate president's wife. You know that, don't you? I would nag you if you didn't come home on time in the evenings. I would yell at you if you took too many business trips. I would show up at the office and cause a scene if you canceled an outing with one of the children because of a business appointment.”
    “I know.”
    She spun around. “Then why in heaven's name do you want to marry me? Are you that eager to get your hands on Benedict Fasteners?”
    “No.”
    “Then give me one good reason,” she challenged, feeling oddly desperate. “Why me instead of someone else? Someone who wouldn't give you a hard time about your work?”
    Hatch got slowly, deliberately to his feet, his eyes never leaving hers. He moved toward her until he was standing directly in front of her. Then he caught her face between rough palms and brushed his mouth lightly, possessively across hers. “Because I know I can trust you.”
    Her eyes widened. “Trust me?”
    “You might yell at me, nag me, annoy me, infuriate me. But I am almost certain you would never lie to me. And I know I'll have your loyalty because I'll always be tied to Benedict Fasteners and therefore to your family. I'm going to make myself a part of your world, Jessie. You're very loyal to the people in your world, aren't you?”
    She stared up at him. “Is loyalty so important to you?”
    “I do not think you would have an affair with my best friend. I do not think you would run off with him and leave me a goddamned