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“Can we pause on that? Please?”

“Which part?” His lips quirked and even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I knew amusement was swimming in them.

“Your family has a bank?”

He nodded.

“Whoareyou?” And I realized it was a little late to ask that question after everything I’d already let him do to me, but I needed to know.

“Lorenzo Wyatt Davenport.”

“You’re aWyatt?!” My voice was close to a screech at this point, and he took it all in stride, pulling his glasses away from his eyes so he could stare at me as we talked.

“Technically, yes. Even though I’ve been a Davenport for the past six years.” A proud smile lit his face and my heart soared at how happy he was to have Sincere’s last name.

“I had no idea.” The Wyatts were one of the wealthiest families in the state. Mostly contained between New Hope and King’s Town, they’d been running their Black-owned financial empire for decades.

Private banks. Private equity. Private wealth. Period.

“Most people don’t unless I tell them. I like that.”

Why had he chosen to take Sin’s last name?

Seeming to read my mind, he said, “It’s a long story, but I’ll save you the time and tell you that homophobia had a lot to do with it. At the time, my family didn’t understand why I was marrying a man if I claimed I was bi. Couldn’t I just marry a woman and save face? They didn’t care that I was in love and didn’t want me to tarnish the family name. So I dropped the family name,” he finished with a shrug, his voice indifferent.

Why wasn’t I surprised?

I’d only been around Lorenzo for brief stretches of time in the past week, but everything I’d learned about him backed up the decision he just shared. He was direct and a little bossy, soit came as no surprise that he hadn’t let his family win when it came to how he lived his life.

I was just surprised that it came to that. Six years ago was 2018 and I could admit my naivety at being shocked that families were still against gay marriage at the time.

Then again, wewerein North Carolina. Only small pockets of this state had a semblance of sense and New Hope wasn’t exactly one of those towns. Especially in a traditional, no doubt conservative, family like the Wyatts. But damn, if they hadn’t supported his marriage to Sincere, how the hell would they react to his poly lifestyle?

From the slight tick in his jaw, I knew this conversation was hitting a sore spot and decided to steer it in another direction.

All you need is funding, and now you have me, so funding is what you’re going to get.

The words played on a loop in my head. I wasn’t dense enough to turn down the help, but questions still plagued my mind. “Why are you helping me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because we just met.” I was a virtual stranger. “My mind can’t comprehend someone being this nice and expecting nothing in return.”

“I never said I didn’t want anything in return, Goldyn. I want you happy in return.” Lorenzo winked at me. “You agreed to be mine, and I take care of what’s mine. Why do you think Sin gets whatever the fuck he wants? The thought of you spending my money and it making you happy turns me on. That’s the beginning and end of it.”

He leaned in and kissed me so softly I had to touch my lips after to make sure it was real.

“I have more money and resources than I’ll ever be able to use in my lifetime, and I don’t believe in watching somebody I deal with suffer when I can easily fix it. I know you don’ttechnically need my money, but my name can still help. And I’m not letting you come up off a dime either. Keep whatever you saved up for yourself. Just know your bookstore is taken care of.”

“Lorenzo…” I wanted to protest, but again, I was shocked not dense. I knew my bookstore was just a drop in the bucket compared to how much this man had. And no part of me wanted to turn down his offer, but I still didn’t know how to articulate what I wanted to say.

Keep whatever you saved up for yourself. Just know your bookstore is taken care of.

My nipples budded at the memory of how those words rolled off his tongue. He’d said it like he was giving me the weather report and my senses were in overdrive because of it. What the hell kind of fairytale had I walked into?

“My family might not agree with all my decisions, but I still have my trust fund and access to everything I could ever need to live a life that’s better than most. What’s the point in having all that if I can’t share it?”

I swallowed past the questions trying to claw up my throat.