Page 13 of His Curvy Obsession

“That’s easy for you to say,” I murmur. “You don’t even care about dating. You don’t know how hard it is, finding someone.”

“I’m sure I don’t,” he replies. “But this is why I want to make you an offer.”

My hands drop from my face, and I open my eyes to look at him. He’s staring back at me, his gaze hard and unwavering.

“An offer,” I repeat flatly.

“Yes,” he says. “Last night, you spoke to me a lot. I doubt you remember.”

“What did I speak to you about?” I ask, although I’m not sure I can handle the humiliating answer.

“You talked a lot about your mother and her expectations of you,” he says. “About your younger sister recently getting engaged. About your job, working for me these last seven years. Your dreams of doing something else, of writing novels instead. And finally, you spoke to me about wanting to be a mother.”

I hold my breath.

“I can’t solve all these problems for you,” he continues. “Your mother, for instance. She is who she is, Rebecca, and you shouldn’t listen to the advice of a woman who is so personally miserable. She doesn’t know the first thing about happiness.”

“What did I tell you about my mother last night?” I ask in horror.

“It doesn’t matter,” Eric says. “My point is, some of your problems aren’t things I can do something about. But I can do something about a couple of them. Specifically two: your dream of being a writer, and your desire to be a mother.”

What the hell is he talking about?

“You have a need,” he continues. “So do I. I think we can help one another.”

“Eric,” I shake my head, and then quickly regret doing so when it begins to pound again. “I need you to get to the point. I don’t understand what you’re saying. I mean, it sounds like you want me to have your baby.”

I laugh at the ridiculousness of this, feeling embarrassed for even saying it aloud. But then I realize that Eric isn’t laughing.

“Wait…” I begin.

“If you want a child, I can make that happen for you,” he says. “Even better, I can provide for you both, and be a good father. You can quit your job. Stay at home with the baby as much as you like. We can hire some help, too. You would have time to write novels, to do whatever it is you want to do.”

“This is insane,” I breathe, hardly believing the words I’m hearing from my boss right now.

“It’s unconventional,” he replies. “But then again, maybe not. Arranged marriages are normal in many cultures.”

“What? You didn’t mention marriage,” I say, sitting up straighter. “I thought you were only talking about a baby.”

“Children need their mother and father,” he says. “A stable home, a unified family. It’s what's best for their development. This is a proven fact. I intend to give my children the best.”

“Children,” I repeat. “Childrenmeans more than one, Eric. Plural.”

“Yes. I’m aware,” he says. “Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. How many children do you want to have? I have always imagined having four.”

“Four,” I sputter, rising from the bed and pacing towards the door. “Four children? We’re not even…this isn’t…”

I trail off, turning on my heel to look at Eric. He looks at me impassively from the chair, his fingers still interlaced. If he’s joking—and Eric never jokes–I can’t tell.

“You’re serious,” I say faintly. “You’re seriously proposing that we get married and have children.”

“And you’d switch careers,” he reminds me. “You’d be able to write.”

“Right. I’d be able to write. That’s probably theleastcrazy part of this proposal,” I laugh. “Eric, I don’t know if you realize what you’re saying.”

“I do,” he says. “I thought about it all night. It’s the best way to resolve things. Both of us get what we need.”

“Right. You said you have a need, but you didn’t say what that need is,” I reply. “What do you get out of this proposal?”

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