LEAD ME ON Julie Ortolon (mind reading books .TXT) 📖

but if you marry Allison, you’ll be part of this family whether you like it or not. You might have noticed we’re a tad closer than your family seems to be.”

“I noticed.” An unexpected longing, hot and sweet, rose up inside him. To be part of what he’d seen from the outside, the open affection and unquestioning support. Would Allison’s family really accept him?

“So,” Adrian said, looking entirely too smug for Scott’s comfort, “if you want to make Allison happy, and make a marriage between the two of you work, you do need my blessing. And that’s what you’re going to ask for. Right after you tell me why I should give it.”

Scott blew out a breath, thinking a physical fight would be so much easier. And less painful. Summoning his courage, he met Adrian’s gaze head-on. “I love her. I think I have right from the beginning. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I thought I could control things, but when it comes to Allison, I can’t control anything. Gawd.” He scraped both hands through his hair. “Do you have any idea how frightening that is?”

“Not a clue.” Adrian’s mouth quirked with suppressed laughter. Scott’s whole life hung in the balance, he felt nauseous, dizzy, and the bands of tension around his chest made it hard to breathe—and Adrian found it funny.

Scott narrowed his eyes, dearly wanting to hurt the man. Just one quick jab to the face. “I know I lied to her, and that hurt her. I never meant to, though. She said she can’t trust me, but if she’ll give me a chance, I’ll try to be what she wants, even if it includes being more open about things.” He rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Look, if you’ll just let me talk to her so I can tell her all this, then she can tell me once and for all if I have any hope that someday she’ll feel half of what I feel for her.”

“Scott?” Allison’s voice drifted down to him. He looked up and found her standing on the balcony with the turret beside her, like a vision from a fairy tale. The breeze ruffled her dark curls adorned with a circlet of flowers. “You don’t have to wait for someday. Because I already love you.”

“Oh, thank God.” He bowed his head as relief rushed through him in one big, drowning wave. When he looked up again, she was gone. For a split second, he thought he’d imagined the whole scene, then he saw Adrian holding the front door open, like a butler welcoming him inside.

He headed up the steps, one at a time, picking up speed as he passed through the door, until he was running across the hall and up the stairs. She met him on the landing before the stained-glass window and flew into his arms. He crushed her to him, lifting her off her feet before he set her down and cupped her face. “Tell me again, so I know I heard right.”

“I love you.” She gazed intently into his eyes. “I’m so sorry for what both our fears have put us through. I never should have pushed you that day—”

“No, I shouldn’t have been such a coward.”

“You didn’t have to be afraid. I don’t care about any of the things you mentioned in the interview, except that your past makes you a better person in my eyes, not a lesser one. I still want to know you, though. And love you. For as long as you’ll let me.”

“Forever, I hope. If you can forgive me for being stupid.”

“Only if you forgive me.”

He kissed her hard, then pressed his forehead to hers. “I have missed you so much. Every day, I told myself it would get better, that I’d get over you. But it was a lie. I’ll never get over you. Never!”

“I’ve been the same way. But I thought you didn’t want to try.”

“You have no idea...” He gave a shaky laugh. “I wanted to try, but I was sure you wouldn’t want me once you got to know me. I’m still not sure.”

“Oh, Scott.” She rested her hand on the side of his face, smiling into his eyes. “You are so worth loving.”

He kissed her again, softly this time. Then he raised his head and steeled himself. “Okay, here’s the deal. We bungled the no-strings-attached, no-emotions-involved concept pretty badly, so I think this time, we should try the opposite. Marriage and the whole nine yards. The next time you get hurt or scared, I don’t want it to be so easy for you to walk away or kick me out.”

She opened her mouth, but he pressed a finger to her lips.

“Before you answer, though, I have to warn you up front, when I do something, I do it all the way or not at all. I don’t believe in giving up once I set my sights on something, otherwise, I never could have gotten published. So, if we get married, there’ll be no quickie divorce a year or two later. I’m not like my sister, I don’t believe in changing spouses as often as I change shoes. I’m talking total commitment, or nothing.” He removed his finger. “Okay. Now, you can answer.”

“Yes.” She laughed, then held up her hand when he started to pull her to him. “Wait! I have a warning of my own. I want what my sister has, I want you to be part of my family and I want a family of our own.”

“As in a baby?” His eyes widened.

“Not right away, but yes, I want children.” She saw the fear flash across his face, and smiled at him. “I’ve watched you with Chloe. You’ll make a wonderful father.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “But you have to promise to help me out on the finer points of being a father.”

“You’ll have all of us to help you out.”

He nodded, looking nearly as dazed as Chance had been when Lauren was born. “Then let’s do