Page 18 of Daring to Love You (Priestly Family #3)

“You’ve always been well spoken and seem to always be in control,” she said, her breaths still sounding a little uneven.

“I have no doubt you’re going to be great in your new role, but is working in the family business really what you want?

What about your father? If you two don’t get along, how are you going to work together? ”

How could she think straight after that kiss? Lynix was still trying to stop his heart from hammering and get his body back under control. Maybe she hadn’t been as affected as he’d been. Or maybe she was just better at hiding her feelings.

He poured a glass of water from the pitcher that the server had left, and he drank half the glass before he felt steady enough to jump back into the conversation.

“It’s time,” he said. “I get along great with my brothers, and since they are the ones running everything, I shouldn’t have too many dealings with my father. At least I hope I won’t. Besides, he’s on another mission.”

“Which is?”

“Getting me married. He thinks I need to quit screwing around and settle down. So, your mother isn’t the only one trying to marry off her kids.

My father always thought I was put on this earth to work his nerves.

” Lynix laughed, remembering plenty of times his father said as much.

“I guess he thinks marrying me off will help get my head on straight so I can make something of my life.”

Lynix considered telling her about how his dad had tried the whole arranged marriage thing years ago but decided to save that conversation for another time.

Or never. Each time he thought of Marisela and what transpired in college, it felt as if someone had their hands on his neck, cutting off his air supply.

There was no way in hell he’d ever consider marrying the woman, and nothing his father, or anyone else, could say would ever change his mind.

“There’s no way he’s as bad as my mother. The woman has a one-track mind.”

Lynix wanted to tell her she was wrong about Virginia being worse than his dad, but he kept his mouth shut. He had been able to avoid his father for the last few weeks, but he was sure the old man wasn’t done with him yet.

Years ago, when his father and Mr. Baldwin insisted he and Marisela would marry after college, Lynix had gone along with it.

Why not? He and Marisela had grown up together, and he thought she was pretty, and she was easy.

Which had been all he cared about at that age.

It wasn’t until he and Marisela went to college, the same school, did Lynix start thinking for himself.

He also got to know Marisela and what he knew of her, he didn’t like.

Years later, after breaking up with her, he understood why his father and Mr. Baldwin wanted them to get married.

Or at least he was fairly sure he did. Mr. Baldwin’s net worth was in the multimillions, and Marisela was his only child.

Meaning everything would go to her upon his death.

There was no doubt in Lynix’s mind that if her father left her everything, she’d blow it within a year and wipe out her family’s legacy and fortune.

It wouldn’t be intentional, but the woman had no business savvy.

Her father knew his little princess was a spoiled brat who even now, attracted the wrong type of people, especially men.

Mr. Baldwin probably figured that, if he could find her a husband within a reputable family, then he wouldn’t have to worry about her.

So, setting her up with Lynix, and in turn his family, meant she’d be taken care of.

There was no doubt Lynix’s father would go along with the plan. In doing so, it would make the Mathews even wealthier than they already were.

What Lynix didn’t know was why the two old men were conspiring again.

Maybe because he and Marisela were both still single.

The problem with their potential plan was they didn’t know what had happened after he and Marisela broke up in their freshmen year of college.

And if Lynix had his way, they’d never find out.

Even if he could somehow forgive Marisela, it would be a cold day in hell before he’d ever consider marrying her.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do about my mother,” Dorian was saying as she cut into Lynix’s thoughts. “When I tell her to stop fixing me up with these guys, she acts as if I’m joking.”

“What do you mean?” Lynix pushed his plate away and sat back in his chair. The food had been tasty, but he couldn’t eat another bite. “Does she force these guys on you?”

Dorian huffed out a breath and leaned back in her seat with her arms folded across her chest. The move brought his attention to the swells of her breasts peeking out of her low-cut dress.

She might be petite, but she had curves in all the right places, and he looked forward to the day when he could see every delicious inch of her.

“Kinda. It’s not like she doesn’t care what I think, but sometimes, she gets into that mom mode, acting like she knows what’s best. Then she doesn’t listen. She hears me, but she waves my words off as if I’m still a kid incapable of making my own decisions.”

Lynix rubbed his chin as he listened to her, and a hint of an idea swirled through his mind. Yeah, they were both old enough to say no to their parents, but sometimes, it took a little more than words to get the message across.

“ Hmm ,” he said as his thoughts took shape.

Dorian looked at him, her eyebrows downcast and forming a perfect V. “ Hmm , what?”

“I have an idea that might benefit us both.”

The idea wouldn’t be exactly what he was looking to build with Dorian, but it could be a steppingstone to getting what he wanted—a chance to show her how good they could be together.

He understood her wanting to protect her heart, especially after her fiasco date with Glen, and the refreshed memories of her time with Rodney.

However, if she had a chance to spend some quality time with Lynix, without any pressure, she might see that dating him could lead to a happy-ever-after.

Lynix wouldn’t call what they were doing now—having a late lunch and talking—a date, but so far, it was as close as he’d gotten.

“ O-kay ,” Dorian said slowly, looking at him warily. “What’s this idea, and why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like it?”

Lynix chuckled. “Actually, I think you might. It’ll get your mother and my father off our backs, and we can have a little fun in the process.”

“Okay, now you really have my interest piqued. Tell me what you’re thinking,” she said, leaning forward with her forearms on the table. “I’m listening.”

Lynix matched her stance by leaning forward too. “What do you think about us pretending to be a couple?”