“Before our marriage?”

“Yes.”

“Would you have believed me?” He glanced at her over his shoulder.

With a small shake of the head, she said, “No. Probably not.”

“Then you have your answer.” The lack of friends and loyalty kept him from opening up and expecting people to do the right thing. He returned his stare to the skyline.

“You’re a very impatient man . . . do you know that?”

“I don’t like to waste time.”

“Which makes you impulsive, makes you force marriage on unsuspecting women.”

How could he respond to that? Luckily, she continued talking and kept him from having to.

“Do you have any idea how you’re going to bring this child into your life? What it takes to be a father?”

Up until Gabriella had landed in his life, he’d thought of nothing but that. “No more than any man who’s been told they have a child.”

“You’re really going to do this. Take on your brother’s child as your own.”

“Hayden doesn’t deserve a life with parents that only had him to make money off his DNA. I’m not delusional, I know it won’t be easy.”

“And you’re willing . . .”

The image, the one he had of the boy, swam in his head. Hunter turned to look at Gabi. She was sitting forward in her chair, her feet planted on the floor as if she were ready to bolt from the room. “He isn’t yet ten months old. The babysitter, day care . . . whatever you wanna call it, doesn’t differ much from an orphanage. Sheila retrieves him on occasion, but she’s been spending most of her time with Noah, and Noah isn’t father material. He can’t care for himself, let alone another human being.”

“So how do I fit into this picture?”

“I have a team of lawyers, as well as private investigators, working on deeming Sheila incompetent as a parent. As a stable, married man, it’s not only easy to avoid Sheila claiming I agreed to marry her, but the court will use the evidence, and my current stable state, to grant me custody. My guess is, she will vacate the scene with a little money and time.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Hunter was betting she would. “I’ll cross that road when I come to it.”

“And Noah?” she asked.

“He will get nothing. If I caved to any of his demands now, what is to stop him from doing it again?”

“Nothing.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you have a picture . . . of Hayden?”

Hunter removed his wallet from his pocket as Gabi walked toward him.

A mop of dark hair sat on top of a chubby face, the child’s fist was in his mouth, drool ran down his chin.

Gabi lifted her hand to the picture and placed a fingertip to the image. “He’s adorable.”

Yeah . . . the thought hit Hunter the first time he’d seen the kid. “Innocent.”

On a sigh, Hunter returned the picture to his wallet and tucked it into his pocket.

“What am I going to do with you?” Gabi whispered.

Hunter looked into her eyes, saw a hint of moisture hiding behind the dark depths of them.

“You’d be wise to keep your distance.”

Instead of distance, she closed the minimal space between them and placed a hand on his chest. “One minute you’re impersonating the greatest bastard out there . . . the next you’re rescuing babies from bad parents.”

“I’m not a hero, Gabi. Nowhere close.”

“No,” she agreed. “You’re not a saint. Your tactics are ruthless, tasteless, and seemingly without conscience. You’re impatient, greedy, and egotistical.”

He frowned.

“You’re cynical, downright nasty—”

He placed a hand to his chest. “You’re killing me.”

“I’m not done!” She batted his hand away from his chest and smiled. “You’re driven, which isn’t a bad thing. You’re influential and a little brilliant. I mean, c’mon . . . how many men at thirty-six make the Forbes billionaire bachelor list without family money?”

Some of his frown lifted.

“You fear honesty, but who doesn’t? It’s hard to reveal truths about yourself when you don’t know if the person you’re talking to is going to use it against you. It’s hard to trust when your own twin is screwing you over.”

He lifted a hand to her shoulder and held on. “I’m not—”

“I’m not finished.”

He sighed with a smile.

“You’re sexy, and the women in your life would have been fools to not try and capture whatever attention they could from you.”

Yeah, he was working out the muscles in his face with his grin.

“You’ve probably broken hearts from LA to New York to Europe. God help you if more than one woman arrives with a child in their hands that you can’t avoid.”

“I’ve always been safe.”

Gabi placed a finger over his lips, silencing him.

“And while you’re impatient with many mergers and acquisitions . . . and marriages . . . you’ve shown amazing restraint with your nephew and your wife.” She paused, her smile faded. “And that . . . Hunter Hayden Blackwell . . . is what is placing your feet on the road to hero.”

His hand gripped her shoulder. The trust in her eyes too powerful for words. “My restraint for you is a tightly strung string on a violin. One stroke and it’s going to snap.”

Her delicate fingers rode up his chest and wove around his neck. “God, I hope so.” She brought his head closer to hers, and kissed him.