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"And why now?" I needed to know what his motives were before I fully agreed.

Adrian studied me like a book he was trying to translate into his first language. "People like love. Marriage. And babies are cute."

I let out a short breath of laughter. "Oh, so we're already at marriage and children, then?"

Adrian smirked, just one twitch of the corner of his lip. "If you'd let me. But no, let's start with dating."

"And you didn't want to wait for someone you actually care for?"

Adrian scoffed, like that was ridiculous. "No. Especially since that is likely not going to occur. Ever."

It was my term to scoff. "Yeah, and why's that?"

Adrian's nose scrunched up. "Attachments of that nature are messy." Well, that was one way to think about it. "I'd rather have you. You're perfect."

Again, with that word.

For all Adrian’s objective perfectness, he could do something about that cold, emotions-are-messy attitude of his.

Adrian continued on, not stopping for a second to consider that I might disagree with him. “Everyone loves you. You are beautiful and kind—which, trustme, is a rare combination. You seem to have quite an interesting personality on you, too.”

Something funny stirred in my chest at the barest ounce of praise from his lips. I forced myself to speak instead of dissecting it. “So I’m the perfect remedy to your already pristine reputation?”

“See?” Adrian nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning like a victor. “You agree with me.”

I didn’t answer that, because I was pretty sure I was about to agree and upend my entire life. I just looked out at the water again, tracking a fish as it swam by.

Adrian seemed content to let me sit and think—something I was all too grateful for. Silence wasn’t something I was used to.

In my family, even a moment of peace was snatched up, another question slung my way.

I ran through the pros and cons of Adrian’s—admittedly still insane—plan in my head.

Pros—my father would absolutely hate it. Enough that he would surely beg me to break up with him. Or think that I was brilliant for associating myself with someone so powerful, ultimately benefiting our family. Both options equated to a valuable bargaining chip.

My mother would love it and would probably be content for life that I dated Adrian.

It would make it very clear tocertainpeople in my past that I was no longer interested.

Cons—Adrian.

We were too different. He was all cold methodology and clean lines. I felt things deeply, seeing life in the purest, most radiant shades of color. I’d spent too many years feeling numb and listless to do anything but. It helped me weather the days where that numbnesstrickled back in better.

I wasn’t even sure we could convince anyone that we had anything in common, let alonelovedeach other.

And if we did this, I would need to steel my spine and resist the attraction. I wasn’t stupid.

Adrian was gorgeous. As inone touch is enough to obsess overgorgeous. So long as I kept it as a more objective appreciation of his rather ridiculous face, I would be fine.

Adrian inched closer to me and I addedignore how much bigger he is than meto the list. I was in some serious heels, eclipsing most of the human men in the room, and Adrian was still half a head taller than me. Let alone the breadth of his shoulders.

IGNORE, I reminded myself, practically shouting the word into the depths of my mind.

This plan still made me nervous. But, I could finally get my father off my back.

That, it seemed, was the deciding factor. What had me facing Adrian again, in all his gorgeous, godly glory and saying, “Okay.”

If Adrian was capable of shock, he was showing it now. His eyebrows pulled back the slightest inch, his confident expression wavering ever so slightly. “One more chance, Reyna. Are you sure?”