Chapter 36

'Jasmine, we can have other children,' he pressed, as though that was the ultimate persuasion.

She instantly recoiled from it—mentally, emotionally and physically— her stomach cramping over the empty space that had been left by the miscarriage. This wasn't right. His mind was somehow stuck on their lost child. This proposal could be nothing more than an aberrational moment that would be regretted within hours or days.

'No...' She had to choke the word out. Her throat had tightened up. Her chest, too. She shook her head vehemently to get the message across.

'You wanted a baby,' he argued. 'You wanted me to be the father. So let's do it properly. Get married. Set up a home...'

'Stop! Please... stop!' she said. Her mind was spinning. He was offering the biggest temptation of all. Her heart was thumping a wild yes to it, not caring why it was being offered, responding instinctively to the things she'd yearned to hear—married to Collins Templeton , having a family