She shakes her head immediately.“I have no right to ask you for anything.”
But her eyes—those big, soft, brown eyes—they tell the truth.
She’s scared.
She’s overwhelmed.
She’s desperate for someone to stand beside her for once instead of expecting her to shoulder everything alone.
But she’s also Ad, so she has a plan.She’s thought of something and if I can do it, I will.
“Ad,” I whisper, stepping closer, “you’re the one person in this world who does have the right to ask me for anything.No questions asked.Just tell me what you need.”
She swallows—once, hard—and looks up at me with a mixture of fear and determination that twists my heart into a knot.
“Well,” she says softly, “I think, that is maybe, I kinda need a husband.”
The words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.
A husband.
A HUSBAND.
My pulse stutters.
The room tilts.
And for a moment—one wild, reckless moment—I swear I feel the universe shift beneath my feet because I already know what I’m gonna say.
There’s only one man for Adrianna, and whether or not she’s ready to admit it, it’s me.I’m the only man for her.
If she needs a husband, then I am it.So, no, I don’t hesitate.
I dive right in and nod my head.
“Done.”
ChapterFifteen
Adrianna
My heart is hammeringlike a wild thing trapped in a cage.
I cannot believe what I just said.
“I think maybe I need a husband.”
I meant it as a theory.A desperate half-thought.A terrified calculation shouted into the void.
Not a plan.
Not a command.
Not a literal action item.
But Nathan?
Nathan hears it and doesn’t even blink.
