His eyes widen for a split second. He wasn’t expecting that. I’m a Corsi—I’m expected to have heirs. It’s my sole purpose in life as a woman in this world.
“If I seduce you, if I convince you to want me—a kiss, a touch, a fuck,anything—I win,” he growls.
“And when I easily resist, then we don’t have heirs, and I keep fucking Kit. If we must have kids, it will behisblood.”
Lennox’s throat tightens. “One year. If I can’t seduce you by then, I’ll give up.”
“Deal.”
I hold out my hand, and he takes it. Shaking my hand sends tiny jolts between us, almost forcing me to let go, but I just squeeze tighter, pushing through the shocking feeling.
Still holding my hand, he kneels down on one knee. Retrieving a box from his pocket, he pops it open and shoves it into my hands. “I don’t lose, Rialta. If I were you, I’d give him up now before you break his heart even more.”
I look down at the box in my hand to find an engagement ring. I expected something extravagant, something expensive meant to woo me.
Staring at it, my lips part involuntarily, and my heart thumps rapidly in my chest. It’s a simple oval opal ring set in a rose gold band. It’s elegant and unique and something I would have picked out for myself.
How would he know I hate diamonds?How would he know I prefer the creativity of a stone that seems to change colors depending on how you look at it?
“Opal represents a leap of faith, confidence in a relationship, and creativity. I thought you might like it more than a traditional diamond since you’re an artist, and this relationship is going to take a leap of faith from both of us. But if you’d prefer a diamond, I’ll exchange it for whatever you want.”
I’m touched that he thinks I’m an artist. I assume Ri told him I liked to draw, and he’s seen the tattoo I did on Beckett, but that’s far from an artist.
“No…it’s perfect,” I murmur, stunned. My eyelids float up to Lennox.
He hesitates for a moment. I expect a simple, ‘Rialta, will you marry me?’ But Lennox is full of surprises.
Taking the ring box and my hands in his. He removes the ring and holds it out to me.
“Rialta, I know I’m not who you would choose. You’re not in love with me. In fact, you’re in love with another man. I doubt you will ever love me, and I can’t promise I’ll ever love you. I’m a cynical, overly protective grump who drives you crazy with my controlling nature and inability to relax and have fun. I rarely smile or laugh. I’m far too serious for my own good. But it makes me disciplined, a good fighter, and honorable.
“I don’t know you that well—but I do know that life hasn’t dealt you a fair hand. You drive me crazy with your childish antics and your impulsive, rebellious nature. I know you’re creative, loyal, and protective of your family. I don’t know if our marriage will last forever or if there will ever be love between us, but I do hope that someday we can grow to respect each other. I hope we can be loyal in the sense of not hurting each other intentionally. And I hope we can maybe learn to like each other through our shared interests.” He takes a deep breath. “Rialta Corsi, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Lennox looks serious, as he almost always does, but there’s a softness in his gaze. His eyes hold a hope that we can make this work for us. He truly believes we can get married without killing each other and that it can be a mutual benefit to both of us.
He’s right that he’s not who I’d choose for myself. I’ll never love him or ever think of him in the way a wife should think of her husband. But running away from him is not getting me anywhere. And fighting him, my father, and everyone else at every turn is childish and going to get someone killed.
I swallow hard and say the word that surprises us both, “Yes.”
Chapter6
Lennox
My eyebrows raisein shock at her answer, but I quickly lower them. It won’t help our relationship to be surprised when she does what I want instead of the snarky comment I expect.
Slipping it onto her finger, the ring fits perfectly.
“River knows?” she asks.
“I asked her opinion when I picked out the ring. She was also helpful with sizing.”
She nods, staring down at it again. “I should be going now that the most important parts of our arrangement are settled.”
I frown as I stand up. “Go? We barely have an agreement. We don’t have anything in writing. We—”
“I just agreed to marry you. That’s more than enough for tonight.”
I snap my mouth shut. She’s right—I should pick my battles, and tonight I won. Although, I would marry her tonight if she would allow it. Now that she’s agreed, I don’t want to give her a chance to back out.