Page 8 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them (Fated Mates #4)

André Castor was a force of nature. Ian didn’t understand this until he watched the man in action.

He waltzed right back into the group home, sat and discussed money with Mary and Emma—an insane amount, a figure Ian couldn’t even wrap his head around—and then cheerfully plopped himself right back in with the kids.

The ease with which he sat on the floor, accepting Kit into his lap, all the while talking to Luna—it spoke volumes.

He’d done this before, Ian realized with a start.

André was entirely too comfortable to be a stranger to situations like this.

He’d clearly been around kids. When he said his parents encouraged him to donate to charities, he hadn’t just meant money.

Or maybe he had, but André didn’t write a check and leave.

He invested himself in the process as well.

Honestly, Ian didn’t know how to feel about any of this.

He had several points he was confused about, starting with why André was so fixated on him.

He’d explained, sure, but it didn’t mean his explanation made any sense!

André was constantly surrounded by people who were better looking—and much better connected—and he could pick any of them with ease.

So he went for a broke orphan instead? Make it make sense.

He’d seemed sincere when he’d spilled his plan in the woods, which was the hardest part for Ian to wrap his head around. The playboy from a rich family was sincere about wanting to date him? Ian believed it as much as someone offering him a spaceship ticket to go visit Jesus.

When he’d first asked Ian out, he’d assumed maybe André had meant it as kind of like a thank-you date?

Flirting seemed to be the man’s main mode of communication.

Now, though, Ian couldn’t brush off his actions.

André had gone through considerable effort to find something important to Ian, and to show up like he did here, he was serious.

At least, right now he was serious. Come next week, who knew?

The man wasn’t known for his attention span when it came to fuck buddies.

Plus, it was weird being pursued by a man.

Ian had been questioning his own sexuality for years.

He knew he wasn’t completely straight per se, but he’d never been pursued or had tried to pursue a same-sex relationship.

It was just another thing he wasn’t comfortable with tacked on top of everything else.

If it had been anyone else, he might have been more open to exploring things, but… André confused him too damn much. Ian didn’t know how to trust him, and that meant dating was a hard no.

But luckily for now, André had a distraction.

André conferred with the kids, picked up the rest of the lists, and then was back at Ian’s side again with a smug expression boding trouble. For Ian.

“I’ve got a list of what the kids want and a credit card with no limit. Do you trust me to shop unsupervised in a mall?”

“Hell no,” Ian answered, the words instinctive.

“Probably wise. Come with me, then.”

Did he want to spend hours in this man’s company?

Ian was a bit torn. They’d have to drive back into the city to get to a mall, which meant a lot of time alone with André.

On the one hand, he felt like he was walking into the lion’s den.

On the other, André’s current actions were so different from his reputation, Ian’s curiosity prompted him to figure out which persona was accurate.

The playboy, or this sincere man he saw in front of him?

Or were both an act?

Ian gave Mary a wave. “I better go with him. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

Mary still seemed dazed in the wake of Hurricane André. Ian sympathized. “What? Oh. No?”

More sensibly, Emma tacked on, “We’ll text you if we think of something.”

“Okay.”

André had a distinct bounce in his step as he headed toward the front door.

He pulled out his phone as he walked, dialing a number.

“Secretary Kim? Hi, do you have a minute? Okay, good. I need a few things. First, I’ve got my new charity sorted out.

Second Sun. I’ll scan and email you the paperwork later tonight.

It’s a group home, yeah. Ha, no, my parents have no idea.

I’ll catch them up at dinner. For now, though, can you send a contractor over here?

I think we have one, don’t we? Oh good, I did remember correctly. ”

Ian followed, listening in on this with growing incredulity. They had a contractor on tap? Why? No, truly, why? Ian couldn’t imagine a world where he’d need one on speed dial.

“The group home has some serious repairs that need to happen, and they needed to happen yesterday. I’ll text you the address.

Can you request he come out here ASAP? Warn him there are bad plumbing issues, the roof is shot, and a lot of the appliances in the kitchen need to be replaced.

Well, really, I think the whole kitchen needs to be renovated, but I can discuss this with him when he gets here. ”

All while André spoke, he unlocked an expensive looking SUV, opened the passenger door, and ushered Ian into it like he was some grand lady.

Ian felt flustered enough by the action to just follow his lead, but seriously?

Did André do this for people all the time?

He’d performed the action so smoothly, Ian felt silly trying to refuse the gesture.

He buckled up as André got into the driver’s seat, put the phone into a dash holder, and started the car up. It switched to Bluetooth, and now Ian could hear the call completely.

Secretary Kim had a smooth voice, with a slight catch of age to it. He sounded educated and eloquent; no surprise there.

“— should I tell him to bring supplies with him for immediate repairs, Master André ?”

“If he can. They’re not in a good situation over here.”

“ I’ll do so and send him out immediately with a team. What else can I do for you ?”

André put the SUV into Reverse and backed up as he answered. “Let me think. Hmm. Yeah, I think I better plan ahead here. Can you send Mateo and Liam with an empty cargo van to meet me at the mall?”

The full implications of this dawned. Ian’s head snapped around to stare at him incredulously. This SUV was luxurious, no doubt about it, and huge. It had three rows of seats. André honestly thought he’d buy too much to fit inside a vehicle this big?

“André!” Ian protested, voice rising. “A cargo van? Seriously?”

André paused before sliding the vehicle into Drive, looking at him. Lips pursed, he nodded in agreement.

Oh good, he was going to be sensible about this. Ian let out a relieved breath.

“No, Ian’s right; one won’t be enough. Secretary Kim, send two vans, please. I’ve got a lot of shopping to do for the kids.”

Ian groaned, head thunk ing against the passenger window. That had not at all been what he’d meant. Two vans? Seriously?

André ignored him. “That’s all I need for now. Thanks!”

“ Of course, Master André. Just let me know if you need anything else .”

“You’ll be the first I call, I promise.” André hit a button on the steering wheel to end the call. “One of these days, my mother will stop being stingy and let me have Secretary Kim instead of just sharing him.”

Ian ignored this nonsense and focused on the important bit. He tried hard to sound patient. He mostly failed. “André. You cannot possibly buy so many things that you’ll fill three vehicles.”

André snorted, then laughed outright. “I can do that without even the excuse of shopping for someone else. I am my mother’s child. But think about it. Thirty-six kids means a lot of stuff. With all the toys, bedding, clothes, and—”

“Wait, wait,” Ian sputtered, “why are you buying them clothes and bedding? I thought you were just buying toys.”

“But they need new clothes, and the bedding is likely past its prime.”

Ian couldn’t argue with him. The bedding had been well worn even when he’d lived there almost a decade ago.

André absently gestured to the briefcase in the back seat with one hand. “While I drive, why don’t you pull their lists out and compile them all into one master list? Then we can shop more efficiently.”

If Ian compiled the list, then he might be able to curtail André’s more extravagant whims while shopping.

Yes, he realized this was wishful thinking, but dammit, he clung to the hope anyway.

Just thinking of spending so much gave Ian hives.

He might have a stroke watching it play out in front of his eyes.

Ian had never in his life had money to just spend .

Even after being adopted, he didn’t carelessly spend.

His father had donated a lot of the money he’d made into group homes and outreach programs, so he and Ian had lived well but modestly.

Ian still carried this attitude with him.

Even thinking of buying something expensive and frivolous gave him panic attacks sometimes because he was used to keeping money close.

Part of the reason why he couldn’t take André seriously was because this man likely burned through cash without thinking about it. They had entirely different values. Ian didn’t even know how to relate to him.

He reached back and grabbed the briefcase anyway—a designer brand, of course—and pulled the sheets out. It contained a notepad as well, which he chose to use for the master list.

Ian began with an efficient mindset, but his heart started breaking three lists in. Some of what the kids asked for tugged at his heartstrings. Kimmie had asked for shoes instead of toys, for fuck’s sake. No ten-year-old should have to do that.

“Talk to me about the group home,” André encouraged. “How did it get started? Why doesn’t it have any real budget?”

“The group home was born out of necessity because there wasn’t one in this area before Second Sun. A retired principal and his wife were the original founders, and Mary is their daughter.”

“Ahhh. Okay, the vision is coming together. And she’s running it with, what? A wing and a prayer?”