Page 69 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

Her eyes narrowed slightly. I could see the battle going on in her gorgeous head. She wanted to turn me away, to tell me to leave. But another part of her wanted to hear me out. I really hoped that part won.

With a resigned sigh, she acquiesced, “Fine.”

As she walked past me, her unique, fruity, fresh scent wafted through the air, and I closed my eyes as I breathed it in. She opened the door, and as we walked inside, a tabby cat met us with a loud meow. It did a figure eight between my legs, and its tail wrapped around my calf.

I bent down. “Hello, what’s your name?”

“Mr. Purrfect.”

“Hello, Mr. Purrfect.”

“He’s the only man who has never disappointed me,” Ashley stated pointedly.

Mr. Purrfect nuzzled his head into my palm, and I scratched him behind his ears before I stood back up and grabbed the sanitizer from my pocket. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Her shoulders lifted in a slight shrug before she crossed her arms in a defensive stance. “You said you wanted to talk.”

“You said you looked at the terms?”

“I did.”

“And?”

She shook her head. “This is crazy.”

“You were going to marry a total stranger on television.” I knew it was a touchy subject, but it was the best argument for my case.

“That’s different.”

“Why?”

“Because in that scenario, the person I would be marrying would be chosen by a professional matchmaker. We would be paired by compatible values, lifestyles, communication skills, and what we are looking for in a life partner.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you would marry someone who was good at lying and only going on television to get fifteen minutes of fame and boost their social media following. A person whose intentions you would always have to question. At least in this arrangement, you would always know the truth. I need a wife. I will pay off your student loans and credit cards. You can walk away from this in a much better position than you entered it. Can you say that for Married by a Matchmaker?”

I could see that she was entertaining the idea.

“Also, I’m going to fund your grant proposal.”

“What?” she breathed.

“I saw your grant proposal today when Gran was looking it over, and I’m going to fund it.”

Her eyes stared up at me with disbelief. “If I marry you, you are going to fund my program?”

This was it. I could see it in her eyes. This was my golden ticket. I knew all I had to do to get her to say yes was to say yes, and I could close the deal. But I couldn’t do that. I wasn’t going to hold her program hostage.

I’d inherited a sizable trust fund from my father. It made me a very wealthy man. Every year, I dedicated a generous amount of that money to charities. From what I’d read, her program would help many young people create a better futurefor themselves. If that wasn’t a worthy investment, I wasn’t sure what was.

“I’ll fund it either way.”

She blinked at me in total silence before her brow furrowed. “What? I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“Even if you don’t marry me, I’m still going to fund it,” I clarified.

“Why?”

“Because I want to.”

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