Roxanne’s eyes widened. She sharply pulled her hand away from his warm grip, her chest heaving as the weight of his question pressed down on her.

"Do you even know what you are talking about, Richard?" she asked, her voice shaking in the quiet room. "How can I be your woman when I am still married and living under the same roof as Christian?"

Richard smiled. He left his palm open on the white tablecloth, entirely unbothered. "Is that what is worrying you?" he asked, his tone deathly calm.

Roxanne stared at him, her face twisting with a mix of frustration and disbelief. The soft candlelight flickered across his sharp cheekbones, making him look completely detached from reality. "Why are you so calm about this?"

"Because I see no reason to be rattled," Richard replied. He didn’t move his hand, keeping it right there on the table as an open invitation.

"No, Richard," she said, shaking her head as the sheer impossibility of the situation settled into her bones. "It’s impossible. It can’t happen. Maybe we have just been building castles in the air, and this is the harsh eye-opener we actually need."

Richard’s jaw hardened instantly at those words. He closed his open hand into a firm fist against the table, but he didn’t pull it away, nor did his dark eyes leave her face for a fraction of a second.

"Is that truly what you think?" he asked, his tone dangerously, annoyingly calm. "You should know by now that I never do a single thing without thinking it through to the end."

Roxanne stared at him, her mind spinning a thousand miles a minute. How could he sit there so peacefully? It was madness. Complete madness.

"I haven’t asked you to pack your bags and leave your husband tonight," Richard murmured, his deep baritone pulling her back to reality. "I simply asked a question. Why don’t you just give me your answer and let me handle the rest of the world?"

Roxanne’s tense shoulders sagged a bit. She leaned forward, her eyes searching his for any sign of hesitation.

"Why do you want to take such a massive risk for me?" she asked, her voice dropping into a softer, vulnerable register. "Are there no single women left in your world, Richard? No eligible elite in your social circle? Why do you want to go through all this trouble and scandal for me?"

"My eyes are fixed on only one woman," Richard said, his hooded gaze locking onto hers with a fierce intensity that made the air in the room turn thick. "You."

The single word felt like a warm, soothing balm straight to her wounded soul. She held his gaze, the steady hum of the restaurant’s background music fading into nothing. "Why?" she managed to whisper, a genuine warmth spreading through her chest.

Richard opened his fist, spreading his palm flat on the table again. Roxanne didn’t fight it this time. She slid her hand back into his effortlessly, a soft sigh escaping her as his large fingers securely wrapped over hers.

"Because nobody else is you, Roxanne," he said, his voice deep and entirely sincere. "You built another man’s entire career while receiving absolutely none of the credit. You stayed kind and brilliant when life gave you every single reason to become bitter."

Richard paused. His grip tightened slightly around her fingers, his thumb tracing a comforting circle over her skin. "You are the only woman who ever made me want to wait. Three years, Roxanne. Three years of watching you from a distance, just waiting for you to finally step into my world, while praying you would want me just as much as I want you."

"Oh, Richard," Roxanne breathed, her pulse suddenly pounding loudly in her ears.

He looked into her eyes, the hard, icy mask completely melting away into something soft and fiercely protective. "You are incredibly brilliant. You are breathtakingly beautiful. You are soft and feminine, yet so strong."

He paused, a small, knowing smile pulling at the corner of his lips as a private thought crossed his mind. "You have every single thing I want in the woman I plan to build an empire with. Only you, Roxanne. Plus, no other woman ever dared to give me a tip."

A small, genuine chuckle escaped Roxanne’s lips, shattering the heavy tension. "I really didn’t know who you were back then," she said, her smile lighting up her face.

Richard smiled back, the warmth between them undeniable.

Then, the reality of her life crashed back in, and her face went dim again. "But I am still legally married to him, Richard. And Christian does not plan to ever give me a divorce. He told me he would rather we just have an open marriage so he can keep up appearances for the board."

Richard’s jaw ticked violently, the warmth in his eyes vanishing into stone. "You won’t be tied to that fool for much longer," he said, his voice dropping into a low rumble. "You are a once-in-a-lifetime kind of woman. If he is too blind and stupid to see what he has, then I will gladly take you from right under his nose."

Roxanne let out a soft, trembling sigh, completely hypnotized by the sheer certainty radiating from him.

"Just give me your answer," Richard murmured, leaning in closer across the candlelit table. His eyes were dark, sexy, and heavy with desire. "Will you be my woman, Roxanne?"

Her heart hammered like a trapped bird against her ribs. Richard didn’t blink, refusing to let her look away.

She knew exactly what this meant. He wasn’t asking for a single night hidden in a hotel room. He wasn’t asking to be her dirty little secret affair. He was asking for her. Entirely. Completely. Publicly.

"You can trust me, Roxanne," Richard whispered, his voice a steady anchor in the dark room. "I am going to show you exactly how a woman like you deserves to be treated. And trust me, Christian is a complete non-factor here."

Roxanne looked at his handsome face, at the raw honesty written in his features. But still doubt crept in. What if Richard disappointed her too? What if this was simply another beautiful cage? What if she was about to lose herself all over again?

"Look at me," Richard said quietly.

"I’m not asking you to save me, Richard," Roxanne said.

"Good," Richard replied. "Because I’m asking you to stand beside me as my woman."

Roxanne looked at him for a moment, and for the very first time in her life, the answer came without a single shred of doubt.

"Yes."

A slow, deeply satisfied smile spread across Richard’s face. "Good," he murmured, his fingers tightening possessively around hers. "Then let me handle the rest."

Roxanne had absolutely no idea what he meant by that. But looking into the cold fire burning in Richard’s eyes, she knew one thing for certain: Christian Westbrook’s world was about to change forever.