Finding Perfect (Fool's Gold #3)(51)

The Keith part made sense, she thought. But marriage? “You barely know me.” Although she had to admit his assessment of her character had been very flattering.

“I know enough. Is it that you don’t know me? Ask me anything. What do you want to know?”

She felt as if she’d stepped into an alternate universe. “I don’t know enough to figure out what to ask.”

“Then I’ll tell you.” This time when he reached for her hand, she let him. “You know about parts of my past. I told you I had a serious girlfriend in high school. I was crazy about her. I never even looked at another girl while I was with her. I never cheated. Once we broke up, I had my wild times, but after Hawk got me on the right track, I calmed down. I dated a lot of women, but one at a time. When Caro and I started dating, that was it. I was all in.”

He shifted in his seat, as if trying to get closer to her. As if his words weren’t enough to convince her and that he would use the magnetism of his presence to tip the scale in his favor.

“When I commit, I give a hundred percent. It doesn’t matter if it’s football or marriage or my business. I’ll be there for you.”

She felt overwhelmed. Everything was happening too fast. Worse—she was tempted. Hearing that a guy was “all in” was a leap-without-bothering-to-look-first moment if there ever was one.

It wasn’t love. She understood that. Raoul wanted a family without the trauma of giving his heart. He wanted to help her and Keith, and in return he got all the trappings of family without a whole lot of risk.

“I have my flaws,” he continued. “I can be impatient. I’m not a morning person and can push back to try to get my way. But I can be reasoned with.” He touched her cheek with his free hand. “I’d never hurt you.”

She had a feeling he meant what he said. But no one could promise not to hurt another. It didn’t work that way.

“Raoul, you’re being really nice, but this isn’t going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Marriage? It’s a huge step and we barely know each other.”

“I want you.”

As much as she wanted to bask in the words, she couldn’t. “No, you want a cause.”

“So you get to be someone who loves your friend, but I’m just a guy doing a good deed? You’re not the biological mother to these babies, but you’re giving up your life to take care of them. Why can’t I want to do the same? That’s what I’m offering. You need support and a partner. I want a wife and kids. I want to be their dad. Permanently. Yes, getting married is a practical solution for both of us, but that doesn’t make it any less real.”

She stared into his eyes, wishing she could see down to his heart. Did he mean it?

“Define real,” she said softly.

“The whole thing. A ring, a judge, a piece of paper. We’ll live together, raise the kids together. I’d like it if you’d take my name, but I’ll pretend it’s okay if you don’t. We’ll be listed as the parents on the birth certificates. We’ll buy a house, make love, argue, make up, raise kids, get a dog and grow old together. I’m not talking temporary, Pia. I’m offering you everything I have. I’ll be a husband to you and a full-time father to those kids. And if you decide to leave me, you can take me to the cleaners in court.”

He was saying all the right things, but more than that, he seemed to believe them. Which made her want to believe him.

She would admit to being tempted. On a practical level, having someone to depend on while raising triplets would be amazing. Raoul had already shown he was responsible and supportive. On a personal level, she did like him—probably more than she should. The thought of sharing a bed with him for the next fifty years was kind of exciting.

He wasn’t offering her love. At least he was honest about it. She’d always expected to fall madly in love at some point, but it hadn’t happened yet. And once she had kids, what were the odds? Was a practical marriage based on mutual need such a bad thing?

“What about kids of your own?” she asked.

“I’m hoping you’ll agree in a couple of years. Wouldn’t you like a baby of your own, too?”

She nodded slowly. That, too, had been part of her fantasy. And Raoul offered an enticing gene pool.

“I meant what I said,” he told her. “I’m all in, Pia. I’ll be there for you, no matter what. I’ll be your husband and partner in every way possible. I give you my word. You’ll be able to count on me until the day I die.”

She knew enough to recognize he was the kind of man whose word meant something. He was offering her all he had—except his heart. She believed he would take care of her and after all she’d been through, that was nearly impossible to resist. Compared with security, love came in a very distant second.

But this wasn’t just about her. “It’s one thing to marry me without being in love,” she said. “But the babies are different. You can’t be any different with them because they’re not biologically yours.”

“I know. They have my word, too. Marry me, Pia. Say yes.”

She looked into his dark eyes and knew that he would be with her every step of the way. That for reasons she couldn’t explain, this man wanted to take on her and three unborn children that were no relation to him.