“Good.”
Raymond hesitated at the door. “Amai?—”
“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off.
“I’m just going to say, be careful. This one’s different.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I met his eyes. “She asked me if I wanted a child or just an heir. Nobody’s ever asked me that before.”
Raymond’s expression softened slightly. “And what did you tell her?”
“The truth.”
He nodded slowly. “Then I hope you’re ready for what comes next.”
“I’m not,” I admitted. “But I’m doing it anyway.”
Raymond left, closing the door quietly behind him.
I walked back to my desk and sat down, staring at the empty chair where Truth had been sitting just minutes ago.
The contract was supposed to be simple.
Biology and money. Nine months and a check.
But Truth Renois had just walked into my life and asked me questions that made me tell the truth—about my condition, about my vulnerability, about what I really wanted.
And I’d answered.
Every single one.
That wasn’t simple.
That was dangerous.
And I’d just chosen it anyway.
Chapter 4
TRUTH
The three blocks back to the bus stop didn’t feel as long as they had on the way there. Maybe because my mind was somewhere else entirely. Somewhere back in that office with a man who looked at me like he could see straight through every wall I’d ever built and decided to let me keep them standing anyway.
Amai Landry.
Even his name felt dangerous in my mouth.
I kept replaying the moment he’d leaned forward—close enough that I could see the gold undertones in his brown skin, close enough to count the precise lines of near his eyes, close enough to feel the heat coming off his body. He was maybe thirty-eight, built like an athlete who’d never stopped training—broad shoulders filling out that expensive suit, muscular arms that I could see the definition of even through the fabric, hands that looked like they could break bones or hold something precious with equal precision.
But it wasn’t his body that had my heart still racing three blocks later.
It was thewayhe’d looked at me.
Like I was the only person in the world who’d ever asked him a real question.
