Her lips firmed before she replied, a sure sign she was going to be stubborn again. “Because you’ve decided it’s time to start your life and I’m an easy fit?”

“You’re not easy, darling, but I do think you’re going to fit into my life. I think you’re going to make it so much better. You asked when I get to be something other than my name. I hope that’s when I’m alone with you.”

“Damn it, Rene,” she said softly. “I want to be wary of you and then you say something like that. I think you know exactly how to play me.”

He let his forehead drop to hers. “I’m not playing with you. I know you heard a lot about me tonight, but I’ll show you how serious I am. Yes, I want you to help save my company and my home, but I want to share both with you.”

“Rene, are you saying you’re in love with me?”

He couldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know. I know I feel more for you than I’ve ever felt for a woman. I know I want you more than anything.”

“Anything but your company and your house.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. That’s not fair, and I appreciate you not telling me you love me. You’re being honest, and that makes me more comfortable with you.”

“Are you in love with me?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know. I do know I don’t want to be convenient for you. I don’t want to be the woman who was in the right place at the right time so you decided, ‘What the hell, as long as we’re doing this, we might as well have a couple of kids.’ ”

Sylvie didn’t know if she was in love with him? He wasn’t sure if he believed in the concept of love. His parents had been good to each other, but there hadn’t been passion between them. They’d liked each other, done right by the other.

What if it could be something more? The idea that Sylvie might love him . . . He didn’t even know what to think about it.

“I don’t want my marriage to be a convenience, either,” he admitted. “I want what your parents had.”

“Not your parents?”

He shook his head. She hadn’t moved away, and he found her closeness comforting. “They cared about each other, but I don’t think there was passion between them. I want passion, and I feel that for you. I’ve felt it for a long time.”

“But you didn’t act on it until you needed me.”

He stepped back. “How do I fix that?”