Page 14 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
If it had been anyone else, he might have been more open to exploring things, but… André confused him too damn much. Ian didn’t know how to trust him, and that meant dating was a hard no.
But luckily for now, André had a distraction.
André conferred with the kids, picked up the rest of the lists, and then was back at Ian’s side again with a smug expression boding trouble. For Ian.
“I’ve got a list of what the kids want and a credit card with no limit. Do you trust me to shop unsupervised in a mall?”
“Hell no,” Ian answered, the words instinctive.
“Probably wise. Come with me, then.”
Did he want to spend hours in this man’s company? Ian was a bit torn. They’d have to drive back into the city to get to a mall, which meant a lot of time alone with André. On the one hand, he felt like he was walking into the lion’s den. On the other, André’s current actions were so different from his reputation,Ian’s curiosity prompted him to figure out which persona was accurate. The playboy, or this sincere man he saw in front of him?
Or were both an act?
Ian gave Mary a wave. “I better go with him. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
Mary still seemed dazed in the wake of Hurricane André. Ian sympathized. “What? Oh. No?”
More sensibly, Emma tacked on, “We’ll text you if we think of something.”
“Okay.”
André had a distinct bounce in his step as he headed toward the front door. He pulled out his phone as he walked, dialing a number. “Secretary Kim? Hi, do you have a minute? Okay, good. I need a few things. First, I’ve got my new charity sorted out. Second Sun. I’ll scan and email you the paperwork later tonight. It’s a group home, yeah. Ha, no, my parents have no idea. I’ll catch them up at dinner. For now, though, can you send a contractor over here? I think we have one, don’t we? Oh good, I did remember correctly.”
Ian followed, listening in on this with growing incredulity. They had a contractor on tap? Why? No, truly, why? Ian couldn’t imagine a world where he’d need one on speed dial.
“The group home has some serious repairs that need to happen, and they needed to happen yesterday. I’ll text you the address. Can you request he come out here ASAP? Warn him there are bad plumbing issues, the roof is shot, and a lot of the appliances in the kitchen need to be replaced. Well, really, I think the whole kitchen needs to be renovated, but I can discuss this with him when he gets here.”
All while André spoke, he unlocked an expensive looking SUV, opened the passenger door, and ushered Ian into it like he was some grand lady. Ian felt flustered enough by the action tojust follow his lead, but seriously? Did André do this for people all the time? He’d performed the action so smoothly, Ian felt silly trying to refuse the gesture.
He buckled up as André got into the driver’s seat, put the phone into a dash holder, and started the car up. It switched to Bluetooth, and now Ian could hear the call completely.
Secretary Kim had a smooth voice, with a slight catch of age to it. He sounded educated and eloquent; no surprise there.
“—should I tell him to bring supplies with him for immediate repairs, Master André?”
“If he can. They’re not in a good situation over here.”
“I’ll do so and send him out immediately with a team. What else can I do for you?”
André put the SUV into Reverse and backed up as he answered. “Let me think. Hmm. Yeah, I think I better plan ahead here. Can you send Mateo and Liam with an empty cargo van to meet me at the mall?”
The full implications of this dawned. Ian’s head snapped around to stare at him incredulously. This SUV was luxurious, no doubt about it, and huge. It had three rows of seats. André honestly thought he’d buy too much to fit inside a vehicle this big?
“André!” Ian protested, voice rising. “A cargo van? Seriously?”
André paused before sliding the vehicle into Drive, looking at him. Lips pursed, he nodded in agreement.
Oh good, he was going to be sensible about this. Ian let out a relieved breath.
“No, Ian’s right; one won’t be enough. Secretary Kim, send two vans, please. I’ve got a lot of shopping to do for the kids.”
Ian groaned, headthunking against the passenger window. That had not at all been what he’d meant. Two vans? Seriously?
André ignored him. “That’s all I need for now. Thanks!”
“Of course, Master André. Just let me know if you need anything else.”
