Page 40 of Enticing

God, yes, is what I want to say. But that’s not the answer I give.

“Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Sinclair. Nobody said sexy.” I take a step back teasingly, and he drops his hold. “When did you get here?”

“You had me worried last night, Addie. Something was wrong, but you wouldn’t tell me what.” He studies me in a way that makes me feel so damn vulnerable. “How am I supposed to help you if I don’t know what you’re up against?”

“Why would you want to help me? You barely know me,” I ask him, stunned by his admission. “I’m a mess. This old house is falling apart around me, and there’s no money to fix it. My girls are my world, which leaves very little time for anything else. What time I can find has to go to my job. My parents are dead, and Coraline is the only family I have. Like I said... I’m a mess.”

Relief washes over me as I finally say everything I’ve been thinking, but it’s momentary and followed by a heavy dose of shame for laying that all at his feet. Him, of all people. What was I thinking?

This giant of a man takes one step closer, getting right into my space and removing any distance I’d tried to put between us to help me think straight. “I don’t see a mess. I see a woman who’s holding her family together. Fighting to give her girls the world. There’s more to your story, Adelaide James, and one day, you’re going to trust me enough to tell it to me.”

“Tell him, Addie,” Coraline lectures as she moves back into the room.

“Coraline—” I bite out, hating the vulnerability that’s bubbling to the surface.

“No,” she cuts me off and crosses the room until she’s in front of me. “You don’t want to admit there’s another option. But there is, and I’m pretty sure he’s standing right here, offering,” she argues. “You can’t keep going on like this, Adelaide. I’m worried about you and the girls. You don’t even have a car. And the repairman said the heater is on its last leg.”

“If you need money—” Leo starts, but Cori cuts him off, much to my chagrin.

“She doesn’t actuallyneedmoney. She has money. She justneedsaccess to it.”

“Coraline,” I practically yell. “Shut up.”

“What she needs is a husband, so she can access her billion-dollar trust fund.”

“Bitch,” I hiss, shaking with anger. “That wasn’t your secret to tell.”

Tears cloud my vision as I suck in a breath.

“I have the same secret, Addie. And if I could access mine to save you, I would. But I can’t. Not until I finish law school and find my own husband.” She casts a glance toward Leo and softens. “He wants to help you, sissy. Let him. You can’t keep living like this.”

I turn toward Leo, absolutely mortified. “I’m so sorry she dumped this all on you. She shouldn’t?—”

“I’ll do it,” he interrupts and my entire world tilts. “I’ll marry you.”

Leo

Adelaide’s mouth opens and closes nearly as wide as her eyes as both she and Coraline stare at me in shock.

“Are you insane?” Coraline asks, and Addie’s head spins her way so fast, I’d swear it was going to snap off her delicate neck.

“Him?” Addie screeches. “What about you? You just laid it all bare for him. My business, Coraline. That wasn’t yours to share, and now you think he’s insane? What does that make you?”

When Coraline doesn’t answer fast enough for the furious beauty in front of me, she plants her hands on her hips and turns her ire my way. “And you... are you actually insane?”

Fuck. This is definitely a trick question, and I’m not sure there’s any good answer.

“Not so quick to speak now, are you? So how about I do the talking for a minute, since the two of you have this all figuredout. You can’t marry me, Leo. You don’t even know me, and even if you did, it’s not your job to save me.”

“I don’t want to save you, Addie. I want to help you. There’s a difference. You need access to your inheritance, and I can help you get it. What’s wrong with that?” In no universe is any of this going to be as simple as that, and I know it. Yet somehow, the thought of marrying this woman excites me.

What the fuck does that say about me?

I’m willing to marry her to get her to date me?

Fuck me.

Yup. That’s it.

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