Page 54 of Enticing

“Fuck, wife...” I breathe out and press my forehead against hers. “You’re not making this easy.”

Her laugh is sultry as she wraps a hand around my neck and digs it into my hair.

“Nothing about my life will ever be easy, Leo.” She runs her teeth over her lip and shakes her head the slightest bit. “And I’m not your wife.”

“Not yet.” I step back and pick up the bags I left by the front door earlier. “You hungry? I brought food.”

“Does this mean you guys are done making out? Because I’m starving.” Coraline sticks her head out of the kitchen and stares at us, waiting.

“Guess I should have mentioned there’d be three of us for our Christmas movie date.” Addie flushes, and I swear to all that’s fucking holy, I can’t wait to taste that damn flush with my tongue one day.

“What do you mean you’ve never seenA Christmas Story?” Addie asks as the movie closes with Ralphie, now a grown man, sitting at the dinner table. She tosses a piece of popcorn at me, I think, but it doesn’t make it anywhere close to my body.

“We were always more of a National Lampoon family. Give me Clarke Griswold, and I can recite every line. It lives on repeat at my parents’ house during the holidays.” Such good memories around that old movie.

Coraline grabs her empty wine glass and eyes the bottle sitting on the coffee table. “I’m going to bed. You want me to take that away?”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny,” Addie mocks her. “Thanks for coming with me today, sissy.”

“Where else would I be? Where you go, I go. Love you, Addie.” She picks up the bottle of wine and turns to me. “Merry Christmas, Leo. You joining us for breakfast tomorrow?”

“Not sure. That’s Addie’s call. But I did want to invite you both to my parents’ tomorrow for a late Christmas dinner. The holidays tend to revolve around the football and hockeyschedules in my family. Everyone but Hendrix will be there, so it’ll kinda be baptism by fire. But really, you’ve met my sisters and future sister-in-law.”

“You should go, Addie.” Coraline moves around the couch, but Addie spins on her knees, and grabs her sister’s arm.

“Without you?” she asks, clearly hating the idea.

“Crown up, buttercup. You’re going to marry the man, Adelaide. Time to meet the family. Besides, I could use a littlemetime.”

Slowly, Addie turns back, looking less than thrilled. “Are you sure about this, Leo?”

“We’ve got this, sweetheart.” I pull her over to me and throw her legs over my lap. “I’ve got something for you too, you know.”

I pull the ring box out of my pocket and hold it in front of her.

“Leo,” she sighs. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

“Oh, baby... You’re going to have to get used to medoing—because I usually do.”

I crack the red-velvet box open, and Addie gasps, “Leo.”

The brilliant-cut, flawless three-carat diamond solitaire sparkles, picking up the white lights from the Christmas tree, and I slide it on her ring finger. Fits like a glove. Guess I better thank Coraline for that. “Gorgeous and understated, just like the woman who wears it.” I press a kiss to her temple. “Marry me, Adelaide.” I choose my next words carefully, not wanting to scare her, and knowing she’s not ready for everything I want to say. Not yet. “Let me make you safe.”

“How can I do this, knowing that I’m going to ruin your life, Leo?” Her words are meant to put space between us, but even as she says them, she presses her hand against my chest and leans closer.

“You’re not ruining my life, Addie,” I reassure her. “I told you?—”

“Leo.” She covers my mouth with her fingers. “This is the last time I’m going to ask you. Are you sure? Because if you back out now, it doesn’t hurt anyone. But if you back out in a month, I’m not even sure what the consequences are on the estate, but the consequences on that little girl sleeping upstairs... the one who already thinks you hung the moon... those will be huge.”

The fear rolling off her in waves is palpable, and I hate that it’s even there.

Never again.

She’s never going to fear anything ever again, if I have anything to say about it.

“Marry me, Addie. Let’s go to the courthouse tomorrow morning.”

“Leo—”

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