“If we’re going to get married, there are a few things about you I think I should know.” The next day I stood in Eduardo’s office negotiating his marriage offer. I paced the floor, while he leaned back against his desk wearing an amused look.

“Sounds wise,” he agreed. “Shoot.”

“Are you a virgin?”

He shook his head, and I laughed. “The plot thickens. You want to tell me about that?”

He didn’t even blush. “I wasn’t always a priest, Chloe. In fact, I think, as my wife, you will appreciate how skilled I am at pleasing a woman.”

I swallowed hard. It was obvious he wanted to unnerve me, and it was working. The way he talked about pleasing a woman, looking directly into my eyes, letting me know that he knew exactly how to fuck, and fuck well—it made me wet and I completely lost my train of thought.

There was something about having a priest discuss sex with me that turned me on ten times as much as it would have had he been any other man. Or maybe it was just him that got me so worked up. Either way, he wrecked me.

“How do you know so much, about it?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m quite interested in sex,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Isn’t that kinda weird for someone in your line of work?”

“I don’t believe so. The Lord created sex. I doubt he would have done that if he didn’t intend for us to enjoy it.”

“But there’s sex, and there’s sex.”

Not very articulate but he seemed to get my point, because he leaned in and whispered devilishly in my ear, “I’m aware.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I forced my gaping mouth closed. Then I cleared my throat. “You’re not expecting children right away though, are you?”

“No,” he said in a patronizing tone. “I know you want to focus on your career.”

He was making this too easy. There was a catch somewhere, and I was going to find it. Frustrated, I asked, “So you’re fine not having children? I find that hard to believe.”

“I do like the idea of being a father one day, but I see no reason to rush things.”

“What if I never want to have children?”

“Is that how you feel? Like you’re sure you never want to have children?”

I stomped my foot. “That’s not my point.”

“Chloe, we can’t just plan out our life in every detail for the next twenty or thirty years. God has a way of leading us in the direction we are meant to go.”

“But, I don’t know if I believe that.”

“Have you ever heard people say life is what happens when you are making other plans?”

I nodded.

He shrugged. “It’s kind of like that. We don’t have to know the answers to every question. All you have to know is that I love you and I want to be your husband. I know you don’t love me . . . yet. But I like to think that there’s a chance that you will grow to.”

A sharp pang of guilt stabbed me in the gut. How could I take advantage of this man? He was so pure, so good, so kind, and here I was just wanting a marriage certificate and his credit so I can get a loan. He deserved someone with more character than me.

“I don’t know. I feel bad . . .”

“I understand I’m taking a risk. But that’s my decision, Chloe. I want someone to share my life with, someone I can care for, someone who will be my partner, and I want that person to be you. If you don’t like spending time with me, if you can’t imagine living with me, sleeping with me, then say no. But if you want to give us a chance, I hope you will. I think we’ll be happy together.”

All this talk of intimacy was making me uncomfortable. So, I decided to change the subject back to something I could deal with. “So, the sex is in?”

“Oh, it’s definitely in. But so is me helping you get a loan for your bake shop.”

The way he lumped me having sex with him into the same utterance as me getting money from him made our agreement sound like prostitution. I considered mentioning it, but I’d heard too many men over the years say that when they got married they definitely paid for it.

In many ways, sex was just a kind of currency in relationships, and I was too worldly to pretend it wasn’t.

“And if I say yes, what’s the next step?”

“I will have my secretary Kay make some arrangements, and we will have a wedding.”

“Wait, actually have a wedding? Not just go to the justice of peace at the courthouse?”

“Chloe, I am the Rector of a church. I can’t see that my congregation would be very happy if I ran off and got married without them being a part of it.”

I gulped. “So not just a wedding, but a church wedding?”

He started to roll his eyes but stopped himself. Taking a deep breath, he reminded me, “Chloe, I’m a priest. We should be married in a church.” He took my hands in his. “This is just going to take some getting used to.”

That was the understatement of my life.

He smiled. “I get that. It will be an adjustment for all of us.”

And I got the feeling he meant not only he and I, but also his congregation.

“I’m not sure how good of a reverend’s wife I’m going to be.” I couldn’t picture myself leading Bible study and heading up church projects and such.

“You’ve already got the bake sale thing mastered,” he teased.

I made a face.

“That’s okay. Just be yourself, and everything will be fine. The church is tolerant of women and the various roles they play. I’ve met several priests whose wives have high-powered careers and are not very involved in their congregation.”

“Yes, but I’ll bet some people don’t like that.”

He squeezed my hand. “You can’t please all the people all the time. In fact, there is not a woman out there I could marry that everyone would love, but this is my choice—not theirs.”

I searched his face for some indicator that this was all too good to be true. But Eduardo was as earnest a man as I’d ever met and what he was describing sounded perfectly reasonable to me.

Who knows? Maybe our marriage would last.

But I wasn’t sure if I could grow to love someone.

I’d closed off my heart so firmly it might never open up, but if anyone stood a chance, why not Eduardo?

I squeezed his hand back, hoping some of his confidence would transfer to me.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

His eyes lit up as he picked me up and twirled me around. “Whoo hoo!”

When he set me down he said, “You won’t regret this, Chloe. I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making your dreams come true.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he said. And then he kissed me.