Page 48 of Return of the Outback Billionaire

‘I do need more to go on.’ They locked glances and she raised an elegant eyebrow in silent question. ‘Your move.’

‘Rest assured I’ll be making one.’

‘When?’

‘Tonight.’

She changed the subject after that. Spoke about the latest set of plans for the eco cabins and how the indoor-outdoor spaces could become one with the help of sliding walls of glass that could swing out over a deck and either stay there to block the wind or slide seamlessly into the adjacent wall and disappear completely. Both the north-east and south-west walls had been tagged as slide-away. It’d be like living in a box without ends, but there were a few interior walls for privacy when needed, and a roof overhead...

The entire thing could be built in Brisbane, loaded in a container and trucked to the site and then put together in a day, by four labourers. If the cabins didn’t stack up as promised, Judah figured the takeaway could be just as speedy.

The oysters were fresh and the caviar topped them off to perfection.

He helped her carry their empty plates to the kitchen once they’d devoured them. Two snappers sat ready for baking, covered in herbs and spices. ‘What happens with these?’

‘They’re for the oven and I’m supposed to spoon the sauce over them every now and again while they’re cooking. Easy as.’

She’d gone to a lot of trouble for him. ‘Thank you for the wonderful meal.’

‘Sometimes I want to try and impress you.’

‘You always do.’

She got the food started and he wondered what she’d do if he leaned against the bench and held out his hand. Would she hesitate? Did she really understand what she would be getting into if she took him on for good?

‘I have a question for you,’ he began. ‘It’s about travel, English aristocracy and an ancestral home in the UK that needs a lot of work. On the upside, the money’s now there to do all the work. If you marry me there’ll be travel. Society connections to strengthen, or not, depending what kind of reception a murdering, ex-convict lord from the colonies is given.’

‘Sounds horrific.’

‘Yes. And you don’t like to travel. I’m asking you to think hard about what marriage to me would mean. What would be required of you in order for me to fulfil my ancestral responsibilities. And I do plan to fulfil them.’

Her lips tightened. ‘I’m not saying you couldn’t find someone better for that role, because you definitely could. But it also sounds like someone should be there to guard your back, and who better than some scrappy little nobody that people will underestimate?’

‘Not for long.’ At a guess.

‘What would your wife even be called?’

‘You’d be Lady Bridie Blake, or Lady Blake, but it’s only a prefix. A courtesy title. The barony would pass to our firstborn son. The only courtesy titles any of our other children could claim would be minor ones. Reid, for example, is The Honourable Reid Blake.’

‘That’s...pretty brutal on the younger kids in a family,’ she murmured. ‘And women.’

‘Welcome to the peerage.’

‘So, uh, children. Do you want to be a father?’ she asked next.

‘Yes.’

She made a small hum of approval. ‘Daughters or sons?’

‘Both. It’d help if they were legitimate.’

‘Well, yes. I can see that.’

He held out his hand and her smile warmed his soul as she came to him willingly. He brushed her hair away from her face as gently as he could, marvelling at its softness and the warmth of her skin. ‘Did you just agree to marry me and have my babies?’

‘Our babies,’ she corrected. ‘And no, I haven’t agreed to marry you yet, because you haven’t asked me yet. Not properly.’

‘Marry me.’ He brushed his lips against hers and her eyes fluttered closed. An invitation to delve deeper and he took it. Salt on his tongue from the caviar, the sweetness of wine, and the innocent generosity of her every action. ‘Say yes.’

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