Page 31 of Reckless Love

He’d made three million dollars in college. Who did that?

“How much did you invest?” I asked, knowing money didn’t just fall from the sky.

Though if it did, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now.

“Half a million,” he replied, watching me closely.

My brows pulled together. “How?—”

“I’m good with numbers,” he said softly, “and I have an eidetic memory. Atlantic City wasn’t that far of a drive from Princeton.”

“You made that much money gambling?” I was sure my eyes were going to pop out of my head.

He grinned, looking like a proud little kid who’d just hit a homerun. “It’s not gambling if you know what you’re doing. From there I started investing the money in stocks and companies until I quadrupled.”

“And you used that kind of thinking to get me to turn to Wife for Hire?” I scoffed. “Sounds like a gamble to me.”

“Gambling would’ve implied there was room for error, and I made certain every step I took was perfect to get what I wanted, and what I want is you, Sia.” He held my gaze, pinning me in place with an intensity that rivaled a hurricane.

“How?” I needed to know.

Wick let out a heavy sigh, his fingertip drawing slow circles on my arm, his other arm stretched across my lap to hold my hip. “I considered asking you out?—”

“Gee, what a novel idea,” I drawled, rolling my eyes.

“But I knew you’d say no,” he finished.

I huffed. “You don’t know that.”

“Sia, I looked into every part of your past that I could,” he answered bluntly. “I learned about every boyfriend you had and how long each relationship lasted.”

“There’s no way you could know?—”

“You started your period the month before you turned twelve,” he cut in without hesitation. “You slept with a stuffed rabbit named Mr. Hops until you were sixteen, and you only stopped because the one friend you had—Enid Smythe—made fun of you for it being on your bed. You wear a size seven shoe, but it’s slightly too big while a six-and-a-half is too tight. You sprained your right ankle as a kid during gymnastics. It took eight weeks to heal.”

With each fact he rattled off, the space around us seemed to collapse until we were trapped inside an intimate bubble that was just us.

“How can you know those things?” I whispered, stunned.

“Because once I met you, I needed to know everything,” he admitted. “And trust me, baby, there isn’t a single price tag I would put on knowing everything there is about you. I would drain every account I owned, max out every credit card, just to know your favorite color of nail polish. Call it obsession, but the night I met you, my life became forever tangled with yours.”

“That’s…” I tried to find a word to describe what he’d just professed.

He gave a sardonic chuckle. “Creepy?” His tone was laced with bitter poison.

I touched his cheek, drawing his attention. “Incredible.” My nose wrinkled. “And maybe a little crazy.”

His chest vibrated with a deep laugh. “Have I terrified you yet, baby?”

I slowly shook my head. “No. But I want to know more.”

He nodded. “Once I found out as much as I could about you, I dug into your grandparents. Specifically, your grandfather. In the wake of your grandmother’s death, he’d made several mistakes that left his company vulnerable. When I went to the party, I truly was only there to speak with your grandfather and get a feel for how he’d handle me approaching him about investing.”

“He was a mess that night. That party was always Nana’s favorite, even when she was sick.” Emotion wedged in my throat until I could barely breathe. “It was our first one without her. We both were trying to pretend everything was okay, but we were both so lost without her.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss the corner of my mouth. “I wish I could have known her.”

I sniffled. “Me, too. I think she would’ve liked you.”

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