Neal Patchett shook his head. “You’re wrong. There was only one thing Tess wanted and I got it for her.” he said. 

Understanding came slowly to him. “Me.” Dash replied. 

Neal turned and looked at Dash, his expression almost harsh. “You. She wanted you and I was damned determined she was going to have you.”

Had she known all along then? Dash wondered. Had she told her father she wanted to marry him and then waited for the old man to procure her a husband?

Remembering how difficult she had been to catch, he dismissed the idea.

He remembered too how Tess’s gaze used to follow him at business dinners...