It’s so perfect. I’ve been right under his nose this entire time. Maybe he’ll suddenly see what I can give him. Maybe he will realize that he doesn't need to marry someone rich or famous like he thinks his father wants him to. Maybe he just needs to find someone who will love him unconditionally, someone who makes it easy for him to love them back. Isn’t that what the inheritance clause implied? That he has to marry for love, to find a love that will last? I already know that I would never leave his side in a million years.
I’m the perfect woman for him.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Leo says, still pacing up and down the room, shaking his head to himself. “I don’t want to disappoint my father, even now that he’s gone. But I don’t know whether I can meet his demands. I certainly don’t want to marry someone just for the sake of it. And if I’m to fall in love, then it feels like there isn’t enough time.” He stops and looks me directly in the eyes, his gaze boring into my soul. “What would you do in my shoes? How would you handle it?”
“Why would you want my opinion?” I ask earnestly, staring back at him. “I don’t know much of anything. You’re much smarter than me…”
“Don’t talk about yourself that way,” he growls, stepping closer. “You’re so much smarter than you give yourself credit for. You create beautiful, imaginative art. Someone dumb could never do what you do. And I’m asking you because I care what you think. Your thoughts are important to me.”
I blush so much that I know he must be able to see my cheeks turning bright red. I’ve never received such a kind compliment, especially not from someone like Leo. He makes me feel like I deserve to be heard, to have my voice lifted up. It’s overwhelming, but flattering all the same.
I swallow. I want to tell him just to choose me. To marry me and let me prove to him how much love he can have if we’re together. But I’m not bold enough. Besides, I don’t want to have to tell him to love me. I want him to do it all on his own. I want him to pick me, not be forced to be with me because of some inheritance clause. I take a deep breath.
“You’ve got to follow your heart,” I say. “You have to listen to what it’s telling you and see where it leads you. Perhaps you have feelings inside you that you’ve never even considered before, that you’ve pushed away because you’re not sure what to do with them. But now, you’ve got a choice. Explore those feelings and see what you can make of them, or lose your inheritance.”
“You make it sound so simple,” Leo says, a wry smile on his face. “What if the one woman I want is out of bounds?”
I swallow. Does he mean me? Is he worried that I’m not good enough for him because I’m not rich or famous like the other people in his life? Or does he think I’m too young for him? An older business mogul like him dating a woman twenty years younger than him will likely cause a stir. They’ll call me a gold digger, say things about him, too, things that might hurt his reputation.
But I want him so badly. I don’t want to encourage him to move on and find someone else. I want him to pick me. I need him to know that I’m the perfect woman to be his bride. I need him to realize that this is our destiny.
“No woman is off-limits if you want her enough,” I say. “You might think that she is, but if you want her, you have to go after her. There’s no chance she won’t want you back. You’re everything a woman could ever want. Handsome, well-spoken, kind and...and sexy.”
“Sexy?” he growls inquisitively, looking deep into my eyes.
I swallow. “Yes. Sexy. Any woman with eyes can see that,” I say, trying to deflect some of the pressure off me. I’ve already been too bold, spoken out of turn. But he doesn’t seem to have noticed. His eyes are still locked intently on mine.
“So you think that the woman I want already wants me too?” he growls thoughtfully. I nod nervously.
“Of course.”
He falls quiet. He’s standing so close to me that I feel myself holding my breath, waiting for him to kiss me, waiting for him to grab me and show me that he’s made up his mind. I want him to choose me. I want him to want me more than anything in the world…
But just as I’ve convinced myself that I’m finally going to have him, he takes a step back, straightening his jacket.