Enticing: Chapter 23

Once upon a time . . .

She made it the fuck through . . .

The end.

—Addie’s Secret Thoughts

“Idon’t want to leave you, Addie,” Coraline tells me as I hug her in front of the airport.

“You have to, sissy. One semester left. Then you take the bar, and you can decide your next move. You’ve come too far to not finish now.” I hold back my tears, refusing to let Cori see how much it hurts to send her back to Boston. “We love you.”

She looks back at Lennox, who’s sleeping obliviously in the car, and her lip trembles. “Fine. I finish school on one condition . . .”

I tilt my head and wait for it.

“Cut the man a break, Adelaide. Let him take care of you. He means well, even if it pisses you off. He’s trying, and that’s more than most people would do.” I shake my head, and she laughs. “It’s a nice car.”

“Go before you miss your plane.” I push her away, smiling. “Call me when you get there.”

“Love you, Addie.” She waves at me, then blows a kiss to Lennox before disappearing into the crowd, and I stand, watching her and feeling like a piece of my heart just walked away.

Just a few more months.

I slide behind the steering wheel and glance back through the mirror showcasing Lennox’s beautiful sleeping face. “Okay, baby girl. Your sissy has school for a few more hours, and Leo’s at practice. How about Mommy and Lennox get some coffee and cookies, then sign sissy up for dance classes?”

I turned my book in yesterday and thankfully, love the way it ended up working out.

Even with the complete chaos that is my life right now, Leo certainly knows how to inspire all the words. Each touch . . . every kiss. The way he says my wife. They give me ideas and open up so many things I want to write that I never considered before. They may also give me ideas about other things I’ve never tried before. Tub sex was a lot of fun.

I laugh at myself and my dirty mind.

There’s a reason I’m a romance author, and it’s not just that I like the happily ever afters. The spice is one of my favorite things to write. Maybe I need to do a little research with my husband.

It doesn’t take me long to park behind Hart & Soul Academy of Dance, the ballet studio Leo’s mom owns. It’s one of the biggest buildings on Main Street, taking up a full corner lot with white brick and big picture windows tinted so we can’t see inside. Izzy’s been talking about this place since we went to Belle and Declan’s house after Christmas. Molly takes classes here, so now Izzy wants to too.

The bells over the door chime as I walk in, carrying Lennox with me.

The studio is quiet, but the lights are on, and Belle rushes out from the back of the building. “Adelaide. Hi.” She masks her surprise at seeing me with a forced smile. “How are you?”

Her eyes dance from me to Lennox, and her smile looks a little less forced when she looks at my daughter.

“Well, Molly has Izzy convinced ballet is the absolute coolest thing in the world, so I thought I’d stop by and get information on classes. I’m not sure how this works. Could she even start in the middle of the year?” I ask, genuinely confused.

Belle reaches behind the front desk and pulls out a flyer. “Of course she could. Here’s a list of the classes for our baby ballerinas. The age groups are listed on there too. I’d love to have her here.”

She reaches out to touch Lennox, then pulls back. “May I?”

I nod, and Belle unbuckles her from the baby carrier and snuggles her against her chest. “I’d love to have Lennox too, when she’s a little older.”

“She just started army crawling yesterday. All arms pulling with no legs pushing. It’s too funny. Leo got down on his hands and knees and tried showing her how to crawl. It was hilarious.”

The smile that pulls from her lips is beautiful.

“That sounds like Leo. He’s been fantastic with his sisters’ kids. Of course he’d be great with his own.” As if realizing her mistake, she rolls her lips together. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean . . .”

“No, it’s fine. Really. Leo has been more of a father to both girls in the time he’s been in their life than their father ever was. You raised an incredible man.” I warm at the thought. “I’m sorry you weren’t there for the wedding. I know that must have hurt your feelings, and I didn’t mean for that to happen. Your son speaks so highly of you and your family. I’m not sure I’ve ever met another man so well adjusted and grateful for his family.”

“We’re your family now too, Addie. If you’ll let us be. I know what it’s like to not have a big family, and coming in to this one can be a little overwhelming. But take it from someone who’s done it, let us in. Family comes in all shapes and sizes, and ours is something special.”

Lennox opens her eyes, then her mouth, and wails when she realizes she doesn’t know the person holding her. But that doesn’t phase Belle in the least. “Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay.” She bounces and sways and shows Lennox the lights reflecting off the pretty chandelier hanging from the ceiling until my girl is babbling in her arms.

“Just think about it, okay?”

“I appreciate it. Thank you. I’m not sure how much you know about the drama going on right now. But I never had the closest family, even when they were alive, so this whole big family thing doesn’t exactly come naturally to me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it.” I debate what I want to say next. I really didn’t come here today to have this conversation. Not with Leo’s mom. Not with everything else going on.

“I only know what my son has discussed with his father. And I was really sorry to hear about what you’re going through.”

“Thank you. I guess I wanted to make sure you knew I didn’t marry Leo for his money. I may have heard Everly mention something to you at Christmas.” It hurts even to bring it up. Not just because I’d never want someone to think that about me, but because in a way, she’s right. I didn’t marry him for love.

But, I don’t know . . . maybe I did.

Maybe deep down, I knew where this was going.

Maybe I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t know it.

Belle stares at me, mortified. “Oh, Addie. Everly said it’s not even like you married him for his money because she knows you’re a glamorous author. She assumed with the level of success you’ve already had, you wouldn’t need anything from Leo. I think she was joking and said something about always assuming if Leo got married, it would be to someone who liked his money as much as him because she likes to tease her brothers. You’ll get used to her. My kids speak sarcasm as their first language.”

“Oh . . .” I think back to that night, relief washing over me. “Well, thank you. But if you saw me writing in sweats that are three days past due for a wash and crazy hair, you’d know it’s anything but glamorous.”

Her eyes narrow. “Do you know Leo’s aunt is a romance author too?”

“No. Really? He never mentioned it.” I wonder why he didn’t.

It’s not exactly a common thing.

“We should all do lunch one day. I’m sure Natty would love that.”

I smile, and something Caitlin said on Christmas clicks. “Wait . . . Natalie Ryan? Lilah and Noah’s mom?”

Belles nods. “You met Lilah and Noah?”

“I did. I’m good friends with Caitlin Beneventi, and we volunteered at the soup kitchen on Christmas. At the time, I hadn’t even realized how everyone was related. Your family is pretty big.” My head hurts, just thinking about all the connections.

“Well it’s your family now too, Addie.”

And damn, if that realization doesn’t blow my mind.

Holy Hat Trick, Revolution fans! Leo Sinclair is one of only a handful of Revolution players to score hat tricks in two separate games during one season, and both just so happen to have come after he put a ring on it. Am I spotting a trend? Is this something the rest of our favorite puck pack members should consider to help improve their games? Because Number Ten is on FIRE.

#KroydonKronicles #HolyHatTrick #PutARingOnIt