“Yes. My time at your home is limited. I don’t want to jeopardize my welcome.” She could have sworn she’d seen something flash in his eyes but couldn’t be certain.

“You’d never jeopardize your welcome and no, there are no do’s and don’ts that will apply to you, unless…”

Now it was her turn to raise a brow. “Unless what?”

“You take a notion to paint my bedroom pink or some thing.”

She couldn’t help bursting out in laughter. She calmed down enough to ask, “What about yellow? Will that do?”

“Not one of my favorite colors but I guess it will work.”

She smiled as she snuggled even closer to him. She was looking forward to living under the same roof with Jason.

“Bella?”

She glanced up. “Yes?”

“The last time we made love, I didn’t use a condom.”

She’d been aware of it but hadn’t expected him to talk about it. “Yes, I know.”

“It wasn’t intentional.”

“I know that, too,” she said softly. There was no reason he would want to get her pregnant. That would only throw a monkey wrench in their agreement.

They didn’t say anything for a long moment and then he asked, “Do you like children?”

She wondered why he was asking such a thing. Surely he had seen her interactions with Susan and Denver enough to know that she did. “Yes, I like children.”

“Do you think you’d want any of your own one day?”

Was he asking because he was worried that she would use that as a trap to stay with him beyond the one year? But he’d asked and she needed to be honest. “Yes, I’d love children, although I haven’t had the best of childhoods. Don’t get me wrong, my parents weren’t monsters or anything like that but they just weren’t affectionate…at least not like your family.”

She paused for a moment. “I love my parents, Jason, although I doubt my relationship with them will ever be what I’ve always wished for. They aren’t that kind of people. Displaying affection isn’t one of their strong points. If I become a mother I want to do just the opposite. There will never be a day my child will not know he or she is loved.” She hadn’t meant to say all of that and now she couldn’t help wondering if doing so would ruin things between them.

“I think you would make a wonderful mother.”

His words touched her. “Thank you for saying that.”

“You’re welcome, and I meant it.”