Undeniably His(25)

“I understand. It sounds crazy…when you say it like that,” Kalin snorts.

“You’re impossible,” I pout, banging my fists on his broad shoulders. I turn away, wondering if this was all part of some conniving plan. “So all the romance, all the amazing sex—all of this was to coax me into marrying you to pull a fast one on the board?”

“You know I don’t do anything fast.” Kalin flashes me his sexy smile. I feel my heart beat, but I resist his lure.

“This is not funny, Kalin. This is my life.” My brows knit.

“Baby, you don’t think I’ve thought about this…about us? Do you think I would marry you just to get control of the company?”

“I don’t know anymore.”

Kalin rubs his face and rests his finger over his eyebrow, glancing down. “It’s true that I had a plan to find a spouse to transfer the shares.” Kalin picks his head up to look me in the eyes. “But I would not hire an employee that I would not hesitate to fire if they did not meet my standards. How much more diligent would I be looking for a wife? When I saw you in that office, Annabelle, I knew I’d found her. You looked so beautiful, and all I needed to do was spend time with you to confirm what I was feeling.”

“How would you know that? You don’t know me that well.”

“Is love supposed to take a long time?”

“Longer than three weeks,” I pout.

“According to whom? Who determines that?”

“Don’t give me that psychobabble, Kalin. There could be things about me you don’t like. I get impatient, I eat when I’m stressed, and I’ll give you the silent treatment when I’m mad.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“What if you find something about me you don’t like?”

“Don’t worry. HR is running a background check.” He snickers. “Even then, I don’t much care. I know who you are, Annabelle.”

“This is a two-way street, Kalin. What if there’s something about you I don’t like? You’re assuming I would just marry you? Are you assuming I love you? How does that work?”

“You can’t tell me what we’ve shared is something less.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been in love. Certainly I had no deadline to find out.”

Kalin exhales. “You can walk away and never see me again. But I don’t want you to. Is that really so hard to believe, with or without the money?”

“I don’t know, Kalin. I feel something between us too, but this is really heavy. I need to think. I need to talk to Lia. My life has gone from not being able to pay the rent, and never being in love, to being swept up by you, with a few hundred million dollars thrown in. My head is spinning.”

“I am sorry for springing this all on you, Annabelle. I know it’s a lot to take in. Please try and put the money aside for now, and think about us.”

Kalin clasps my hand. “In all honesty, I was not expecting to find you, Annabelle. I was expecting to lose the company. When you walked into my life, all of that changed. The company is secondary to that. It’s important…yes. I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t. But it’s not as important as you.”

My eyes moisten at his words, and I turn my head to hide my eyes from him. “I don’t know if I can believe you, Kalin. I don’t know what’s real anymore. It all seems so convenient.”

Kalin lifts my chin, and searches my eyes. “What’s real is in your heart, Annabelle. Sometimes it’s right in front of you.” He moves his mouth over mine. I’m immediately aware of how my body responds to him with desire and want and certainty, clashing with the clouds of doubt and fear in my mind. The familiar surges move through my body as he pulls me into the warmth of his embrace. I’m in a prison of his hold, my body wanting him, but my mind confused and untrusting.

I take a deep breath and break away from him. “No. I have to clear my head, Kalin. I have to get away from here and have some time to think…to get back to my normal life.”

“Don’t let this get in the way of what we have, Annabelle. Please tell me that I can see you again.”

“I want to see you, Kalin.” I glance away, wondering if I am about to lose him. “But not with deadlines and marriage contracts and shareholder agreements and rights and all this other stuff. Just us. The way it was.” I fight back tears as I gaze up at him.

“I know, Annabelle. But this is my life right now.”

“Then I can’t promise anything. I have to go,” I murmur.

I walk toward the door and Kalin steps beside me and covers my hand with his.