Poppy sat in her favorite chair, watching a massive thunderstorm light up the sky. She had nothing on her mind for the second day in a row but Isaac's proposal. Was she crazy to even consider it? She barely knew the man or any of them. When someone in her family married, it was for keeps. It wasn't a business deal.

Something deep in her gut was telling her it was the right thing to do, and it was where her future lay, but did it? Was it just her tender heart wanting to help? She was 27 years old and had never had a serious relationship, and she didn't see one in her foreseeable future.

Of course, if she did agree to marry Isaac, she would have to tell her family she had married for love. The thought of being in love with Isaac gave her butterflies in her stomach. Did that mean she was in love with him? She couldn't be; she barely knew the man, and he didn't like her.

She wished she had someone to talk to and confide in about it. She didn't like the idea of lying to her family either.

What would she tell her parents when they divorced? She would be the only one in her family to divorce.

Poppy missed the first knock on her door because of the thunder, but she heard the second. Who would come to visit on a night like this one?

Isaac, that's who, she thought as she moved to open the door.

"Aren't you even going to ask who it is?" He grumbled at her as he moved past her into the dry house.

"You're the only one crazy enough to visit on a night like this one," Poppy said as she handed him a kitchen towel to dry his beard and face. Then she watched as he took off his jacket and boots, parking them by the door. "Would you like some coffee or tea?" she asked.

"No, thank you." He shook his head. "I thought I would come and talk with you. I thought you might have concerns or questions and might not have anyone to discuss them with."

It was very sensitive of him, and Poppy wasn't expecting it.

She led the way into her living room and offered to turn on a light.

"It's not necessary," he said as she sat in a large chair across from her. "How old are you, Poppy?"

"I'm 27," she informed him as she watched his shoulders relax. His face never gave much away, but his body language was easy to read. "Were you worried that I was younger than that and you were taking advantage of my youth?"

"Yes, you look so young." Poppy watched a muscle jump in his jaw.

"How old are you?" she asked in return.

"I'm 41. Is that too old for you? Would your family object, do you think?" He leaned back into his seat, doing his best to appear relaxed, but Poppy could tell he was far from it.

"No, there are quite a few marriages with large age differences in my family. It's not uncommon for us. However, marrying for convenience is a new one, and not something that I think they would approve of, and I'm not keen on being the only one in my family to divorce." Poppy curled her feet under her and rested her chin on her hand as she studied him. He was so very handsome, and not for the first time she wondered about his past. His relationships.

"What! Has no one in your family been divorced? Didn't you say you had six aunts?" Poppy smiled at his shock.

"Yes, my grandparents were married until death and had seven children, all still married. There are six cousins, and only three of us are unmarried, but the married ones are happy." Poppy took a deep breath. "What about sex?" she asked.

She had worried about it but hadn't had the guts to face and think about it.

"What about it?" he asked slowly.

"Would we have it?" Poppy wished it was lighter in the room so she could see his reaction.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I hadn't planned for us to have an intimate relationship."

His words upset her greatly. More than she thought they would. Didn't most men think of sex, and wouldn't he want to have sex with the woman he married. Was he that particular, and if he was, did that mean she didn't make the cut?

"All marriages are intimate on some level, even without sex." Poppy picked up a throw pillow and held it against her as if for protection, trying to hide her hurt. "I just don't know." She shook her head as she looked out the window at the rain. "If I'm going to do this, I want to be part of your life, part of Mary and Peter's life, even Boyd's. I want to be part of the family, not cast aside and thrown in a tower to be paraded out when the in-laws visit. I can't live like that. I have a lot of love to share, and I want to share it. It's part of who I am."

"Putting aside your very dramatic fairy tale reference, I realize you have a giving nature. This village has already taken you in as one of their own. I've never seen anything like it. You're sunshine and light." He leaned forward, changing direction. "I problem solve. That's what I do-"

"Do you, how?"

"After a short time in the Army, I've made my career in search and rescue. I go into dangerous situations that seem impossible and make them possible. I enjoyed it." He sounded sad.

"That's past tense," Poppy said. "You don't do it anymore, and is this a search and rescue?" she mused.

"It is a rescue for Mary and Peter, and no, I don't work anymore. Mary and Peter have lost enough in this life. They don't need me rushing into a dangerous situation and losing me too." Isaac shook his head.

"But you're not happy about it." It was a statement. "If you married me, you could return to it, maybe at a slower pace?" she suggested.

He rubbed his hands together and shrugged. "There are a lot of unknowns, but let's stay on track. Since I am a fairly good problem solver, let's review. You don't want to be the only one in your family with a divorce, you're concerned about sex, and you want to be part of our family. Is that all?"

"My family must never suspect that it's a marriage of convenience. They must think it is one built out of love." Poppy leaned forward.

He nodded. "You also want the folly as payment, and that's all you want?"

Poppy nodded. "I only said that because I felt you wouldn't believe I was doing it to help. You would want me to want something. I don't really need the folly, but I do love it."

"I'm going to throw one more iron in the fire. You're young; you could fall in love with someone and none of this will matter. Have you thought of that?

"I did, but not for myself," Poppy admitted quietly.

He shook his head. "No, I don't have it in me to fall in love. To love, yes, but to fall in love, no."

They sat in silence, listening to the storm.

"Is there anything else?" Isaac asked. He watched her and knew she was holding something back, something Poppy was uncomfortable discussing. "If this is going to work, we must be completely honest with each other," he insisted.

Poppy nodded but didn't say anything.

"I think that friendship between us is a must. You will be part of the family. I don't think Peter and Mary would be happy otherwise. I agree with telling everyone that it is a love match, and as for divorce, who knows? Marriages have been built on less. Maybe a friendship will be strong enough to last a long while, but if either one of us wants out, we have to respect that and not fight it. I think a strong prenup will make that possible." He was silent for a moment, and Poppy waited; he still hadn't discussed sex. "I will be happy to give you the folly, but only for you for your life."

Poppy nodded her agreement, knowing he needed to give her something to keep the emotion out of it.

"As for sex, certainly if there is someone in your life that comes along who interests you in that way, as long as you're discreet, there's no reason you shouldn't have what you want," he suggested. "I don't think sex between us would be a good idea. I think it would muddy things up."

"It would make the marriage real," Poppy realized aloud, unbelievably hurt that he wouldn't even consider it and didn't want her that way because she had only just realized that she did want him that way.

"Something like that."

"You know, you'll have to kiss me at some point, no matter how it might disgust you, right?" Poppy couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." That was all he was going to say on the subject, and his lack of denial confirmed her undesirability to him. Could she enter into such an agreement? Poppy wanted him; she might even be in love with him. If she didn't marry him and try, he would marry Siobhan, and she would get to try instead.

She couldn't stand the thought of it.

"Fine, would you like your lawyer or my lawyer to draw up the prenup?" Poppy asked. She didn't want her lawyer to do it, but if she had to, she knew her cousin's husband Wyatt would keep the terms of their marriage to himself. He was obnoxiously discreet.

"You have a lawyer?" he seemed amused at the thought.

"I have two." She stood, ready for him to leave. She needed to digest what she had just agreed to and how crazy it was on the crazy scale.

Her news gave him pause.

"I have a feeling you will not be what you seem to be," he held out his hand.

"What you see is what you get." She took his hand and felt it to her toes, and she couldn't help but wonder what he felt if he felt anything at the contact.

"Time will tell."

Yes, it would, for both of them.

Even after their discussion, she felt as if nothing had resolved itself, but she still felt in her heart and gut that it was the right move—a move that would alter her life for the better.

"A date tomorrow for appearances?" he asked. "When do you want to tell your family?"

"Sure, and not until we have to," she said, her heart not really on a date or telling her family. She knew there would be no excitement or thrill of a first love for her. Only common sense and paperwork to seal the deal.

Still, she had made her bed and now had to lay in it; cold and alone because she desperately wanted this man she knew nothing about.