Page 41 of Sinner's Storm
“On her second pancake now. Baby girl loves to eat.”
I smiled. “Breakfast is her favorite meal of the day.”
“Good to know,” he said, leaning forward, his face all serious. “Look, Delany, I’m just going to lay everything on the line. I want you to know I’m not happy about this situation either, but to ensure that you and Harlow are safe, you and I are going to have to form a united front.”
“Okay?”
“There is a lot you don’t know about me. My life is complicated, but what you need to know is that I will do everything within my power to protect you and Harlow. That being said, to do that we need to get married.”
I couldn’t have heard him correctly.
Married?
Was there alcohol in that coffee? Because there was no way I was marrying a complete stranger. I knew nothing about him, other than that he was the CEO of Calloway Investments. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. I knew of his mother and was best friends with his sister, but that was it. The man barely spoke to me. The only interaction we had was the night we conceived Harlow and the few times we’d talked since.
When I stayed silent, waiting for him to say more, he frowned, then got to his feet and started pacing the room.
He looked agitated, but I couldn’t be sure.
The man was hard to read.
“Look,” he started, running his hand through his hair. “I’m not used to explaining myself to anyone. I’m used to giving orders and people doing them, no questions asked. There is a lot going on and I don’t have the time to explain. I need you to keep trusting me for a little while longer. At least until I can ensure that you and Harlow are safe.”
“Does this have anything to do with why we are here and not in an actual hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Is your club involved?”
“Yes.”
“And this has to do with my father?”
He stopped pacing, looked me dead in the eyes and nodded.
“Jason,” I sighed, looking at my hands. “I’m a simple woman. I just want to live my life, raise Harlow, and maybe find someone who will love me back. I didn’t ask for any of this to happen, and I’m sorry if my father’s past is causing you problems with your friends, but I don’t see how us getting married will fix everything. If my father’s past is as bad as you say, then maybe Harlow and I should just leave. I’ve got friends back in Arizona I can stay with. We can make arrangements for you to visit Harlow anytime you want.”
“That won’t work, Delany. It’s gone way past that now. Information has come forward that has changed everything. Marriage is the only way to ensure your safety.”
I looked up at him and frowned. “But not Harlow’s.”
“Our daughter is safe because of me. She has my blood in her veins, which automatically protects her, but you are different. Harlow needs her mother, and I am man enough to admit that I need you too. I know nothing about raising a child. Hell, I’m still coming to grips with fathering a daughter.”
“Jason, can’t you just tell me what’s going on? I’m good with the truth. Just tell me.”
“I promise you I will, after we are married.”
“You are asking me to trust you with my life, Jason. That’s a big ask, considering I barely know you.”
“You’ve trusted me this far. All I’m asking is that you trust me a little longer.”
“And when this mess is over, what happens then? We divorce? Go our separate ways?”
Jason slowly shook his head. “No. Once we are married, that’s it. There is no divorce.”
My head whirled with the implications. I wanted to know what he was hiding. I knew whatever he learned was bad. Just how bad was anyone’s guess. Everything I thought of didn’t constitute danger on a scale that I needed to marry the man. Yet, whatever it was, he believed marriage was the only way. And since I didn’t know what was going on, I would either have to trust him or do nothing.
It was the ‘do nothing’ option that worried me the most.