Sienna Hart had never spoken about her past to anyone. Not once in her adult life. But now, sitting across from Adrian Kane in the quiet French restaurant, she found herself cornered not by pressure, but by the steady weight of his gaze.
“Your childhood was frightening?” he asked softly, his thumb brushing lightly over the back of her hand.
Her head lifted sharply, eyes flashing with something fierce. “You have no idea.”
Adrian did not flinch. His eyes stayed locked on hers, dark and unwavering. “Oh, I think I do.” His voice was low, deliberate. He had carried his own ghosts, and he was ready to share them if it meant she might trust him. “My father was a drinking, gambling womanizer. He had big dreams but no ambition beyond chasing more women, more alcohol, and more money to waste on b
