Enticing by Bella Mathews Summary, Characters and Themes

Enticing by Bella Matthews is a deeply emotional contemporary romance that centers on healing, resilience, and the courage it takes to let love in.  The novel follows Adelaide “Addie” James, a single mother with a traumatic past, and Leo Sinclair, a professional hockey player who unexpectedly becomes a source of strength and compassion in her life.

What begins as a reluctant encounter turns into an unconventional relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and quiet acts of care.  Through slow-burn attraction and steady emotional growth, Enticing explores how two people scarred by life find comfort and belonging in each other and redefine what it means to be a family.

Summary

Adelaide James, a 25-year-old single mother, is doing her best to raise her two daughters—Izzy and Lennox—in the dilapidated Victorian home she inherited from her grandmother.  Life is a daily struggle, burdened with bills, repairs, and the aftermath of escaping an abusive relationship with Gavin, her ex and the girls’ father.

Fiercely protective, Addie keeps Gavin away entirely, rejecting even financial support, determined to build a life on her own terms.  Her sister Coraline, pragmatic and supportive, urges her to consider accessing their late parents’ trust, which is bound by strict conditions—marriage or reaching the age of thirty.

But Addie, emotionally scarred and desperate to maintain control over her life, resists the idea.

Leo Sinclair, a professional hockey player with the Philadelphia Revolution, is coerced by his agent into volunteering for “Hockey Tots,” a youth outreach program.  Though reluctant at first, Leo becomes unexpectedly drawn to one of his young players, Izzy—Addie’s daughter—whose confidence and charm win him over.

His encounter with Addie occurs when her car breaks down in the rink parking lot.  She’s wary and defensive, but Leo’s calm demeanor and natural ease with her daughters begin to soften her.

He helps them home, joins them for a chaotic dinner, and leaves a lasting impression on both mother and daughters.

From that point, Leo finds himself increasingly invested in Addie’s world.  He sees in her not just a woman fighting to stay afloat but someone who embodies resilience, love, and authenticity.

Addie, meanwhile, tries to brush off his interest.  She’s not ready to trust again, especially someone like Leo who seems too good to be true.

But Leo’s quiet persistence—his habit of showing up without demanding anything in return—starts breaking down her walls.

Set during the Thanksgiving holiday, Leo’s internal conflict becomes clearer.  He spends the holiday with his brothers but can’t stop thinking about Addie.

He sends her a holiday message, prompting a cautious but flirtatious exchange.  Addie, struggling with writing deadlines, parenting pressures, and financial stress, finds herself both terrified and comforted by Leo’s attention.

She’s especially moved by how easily he fits into her daughters’ lives, a stark contrast to the chaos and neglect of her past relationships.

The tension builds when Coraline reveals the family trust’s marriage clause to Leo during a casual conversation.  Moved by both compassion and budding love, Leo proposes a marriage of convenience.

His offer is sincere—he wants to help, not save, and is willing to take the emotional risk.  Addie resists initially, questioning whether she can afford to rely on anyone again.

But Leo remains steady, patient, and respectful of her boundaries.

As the days unfold, Leo becomes a regular part of their lives.  He helps with parenting tasks, shares light-hearted moments, and brings a sense of peace that Addie hasn’t known in years.

Eventually, she agrees to his proposal.  Their marriage is quick and quiet, but it draws public attention when they make an appearance at a hockey game together.

Gossip columns pick up the story, thrusting Addie—who has kept her family legacy a secret—into the spotlight.

Despite the increasing scrutiny, Addie begins to see Leo not as a means to access her trust, but as someone she genuinely wants beside her.  Their emotional intimacy deepens.

Leo shows unwavering devotion not just to Addie but to her daughters as well, especially in small but meaningful gestures—like reading to Izzy, comforting Lennox, or buying thoughtful gifts.  Their physical connection, when it finally happens, is tender and healing, marking a turning point in their emotional closeness.

But just as Addie starts to feel safe, a tabloid exposé threatens her fragile sense of security by revealing her identity and painful past.  Around the same time, Gavin, her abusive ex, resurfaces.

A phone call from him shatters her composure, and the fear of being found and hurt again becomes consuming.  Coraline supports her through the emotional fallout, but Leo’s reaction changes everything.

Upon learning the full extent of Gavin’s abuse, Leo goes into protection mode—upgrading their home security, buying her a safer vehicle, and promising unwavering support.

Even as Addie struggles with accepting help, Leo remains firm in reminding her that independence does not mean facing everything alone.  When legal hurdles around the trust continue to delay access to her inheritance, Addie considers relinquishing her claim just to buy safety.

Coraline vehemently objects.  Meanwhile, Leo brings in his own legal connections, ready to stand by her through the coming storm.

The crisis hits when Gavin assaults Addie at a public hockey game.  The attack is brutal, and Leo responds with instinctive rage, nearly killing Gavin before being restrained and arrested.

Addie, concussed and emotionally shattered, is taken to the hospital.  But this time, she refuses to stay silent.

With Coraline’s legal help, she compiles hospital reports, police records, and audio evidence to confront not just Gavin, but their manipulative uncle Jerry who has also tried to control her inheritance.

In a final act of defiance and empowerment, Addie blackmails Jerry into transferring her inheritance and ensures Gavin signs away all parental rights.  Leo is released from custody, and Addie’s daughters are officially adopted by him.

What began as a legal arrangement ends in a fully realized family, bound not by necessity but by unconditional love, mutual respect, and shared healing.

By the end, Addie is no longer a woman defined by trauma but a survivor who has rewritten her story.  Leo, once a man unsure of his emotional purpose, finds it in the family they build together.

The novel closes not with grand declarations but with the quiet, profound truth that love is not about fixing broken people, but standing beside them as they heal.

Characters

Adelaide “Addie” James Sinclair

Adelaide, known throughout Enticing as Addie, is a portrait of maternal strength, emotional vulnerability, and guarded resilience.  A twenty-five-year-old single mother of two daughters—five-year-old Izzy and infant Lennox—Addie is defined by the tension between her fierce independence and her deeply ingrained trauma.

Once a carefree child spending summers by the lake, Addie is now shaped by the crushing demands of solo parenting, financial hardship, and the lingering scars from an abusive relationship with Gavin, her ex and the children’s father.  Addie’s refusal to accept even child support is a declaration of autonomy, a symbolic and literal severing from the toxicity of her past.

As a romance author with writer’s block and looming deadlines, she exists in a state of exhausted perseverance, using humor and grit to mask her desperation.  Her protective instincts make her cautious of men, particularly those who offer help too readily, which initially puts her at odds with Leo Sinclair.

Yet over time, her carefully constructed walls begin to falter under the quiet, persistent care Leo offers.  Addie’s arc is one of survival blossoming into self-empowerment; as the novel progresses, she learns to accept love not as a threat but as a sanctuary.

Her transformation—from a woman bracing for betrayal to one who embraces vulnerability without sacrificing strength—cements her as the emotional core of the story.

Leo Sinclair

Leo is the emotional counterweight to Addie—where she is wary, he is patient; where she retreats, he leans in.  A professional hockey player for the Philadelphia Revolution, Leo begins his journey in Enticing as someone searching for more than fleeting pleasure or career accolades.

His initial involvement in “Hockey Tots,” a PR initiative, seems superficial, but his connection with Addie’s daughter Izzy and the eventual pull toward Addie herself awaken something deeper within him: a longing for rootedness, for family, for emotional intimacy.  Leo’s strength lies in his gentleness.

He steps into the chaotic space of Addie’s life with humility, compassion, and steadiness, never demanding her trust but earning it through action.  From fixing her car to soothing her teething baby, Leo integrates himself not as a savior but as a steady companion.

His willingness to propose a marriage of convenience—though strategic—is motivated by genuine care, and his actions consistently reinforce his reliability.  Even in the face of danger, particularly during the violent confrontation with Gavin, Leo’s protective instincts do not override his emotional intelligence.

He is not just a romantic lead but a figure of emotional restoration, offering Addie and her daughters not just love but safety, stability, and belonging.  Leo’s growth, from a man driven by instinct to one who builds a life with careful intention, makes him an anchoring presence in the novel.

Coraline James

Coraline, Addie’s younger sister, is a force of intellect and fierce loyalty.  A law student with a sharp tongue and a sharper mind, she is the moral and emotional compass for Addie, constantly urging her sister to reclaim the power denied by their parents and manipulated by their uncle, Jerry.

Coraline’s discovery of the marriage loophole in their late father’s will reveals both her legal acumen and her deep devotion to her sister’s well-being.  Though she is pragmatic and driven, Coraline is never cold—she balances her legal brilliance with heartfelt support, wine-fueled confessions, and moments of sisterly intimacy that underscore the emotional scaffolding she provides.

She often acts as Addie’s voice of reason, the one who reminds her that accepting help doesn’t mean surrendering autonomy.  Coraline’s confrontations with Mason and Jerry, as well as her refusal to let Addie sacrifice her inheritance, display not only her tenacity but her unwavering belief in justice and familial loyalty.

She is not a mere side character; she is a foundational pillar in Addie’s journey toward healing and empowerment.

Izzy Dryson

Izzy, Addie’s precocious five-year-old daughter, is a spark of light in Enticing.  Her fiery personality, boundless curiosity, and unfiltered observations offer both comedic relief and emotional depth to the narrative.

Izzy’s initial interactions with Leo, especially during hockey practice, reveal her blend of boldness and vulnerability.  She is fiercely protective of her mother, instinctively wary of strangers, yet surprisingly open to Leo’s gentle persistence.

Through Izzy, readers see the innocence that Addie is so desperate to protect and the emotional intelligence that often surpasses her years.  Her relationship with Leo is a barometer of his sincerity—her growing trust in him signals to the reader that his place in their lives is more than performative.

Izzy’s illness serves as a narrative turning point, deepening the bond between Addie and Leo, and highlighting just how much Leo has become an emotional fixture in her young life.

Lennox Dryson

Though still an infant, Lennox plays a crucial symbolic role in the story.  She embodies both the vulnerability and hope that permeate Addie’s life.

Her teething pain, late-night wakeups, and utter dependence reflect the full weight of Addie’s responsibilities.  Yet Lennox also becomes a quiet connector—her immediate ease around Leo foreshadows the trust he will earn from Addie.

Leo’s ability to care for her, especially in intimate moments when Addie is asleep or overwhelmed, showcases his instinctive gentleness and further cements his position within this nascent family.  Lennox may not have dialogue, but she is a living metaphor for the future Addie yearns to protect and the love she’s slowly learning to accept.

Gavin Dryson

Gavin is the antagonist of Enticing, a shadowy specter of past abuse and ongoing threat.  As Addie’s ex and the biological father of Izzy and Lennox, Gavin’s absence is initially marked by emotional trauma and financial abandonment.

His reappearance introduces escalating tension, culminating in physical violence at a hockey game.  Gavin is the embodiment of toxic control—emotionally manipulative, physically abusive, and legally cunning.

His ability to instill fear even from a distance speaks to the depth of his past harm.  Yet his role is not one-dimensional; he represents the very real, lingering effects of domestic abuse on survivors.

Through Gavin, the novel doesn’t just present a villain, but a system of fear and manipulation that Addie must break free from.  His final relinquishment of parental rights, spurred by Addie’s tenacity and Leo’s defense, marks a symbolic victory—Addie claiming her narrative from the grip of her abuser.

Jerry Dryson

Jerry, Addie and Coraline’s uncle, operates as a more covert antagonist.  As the would-be executor of the family trust and manipulative force vying for control of the Boston Bay Hawks, Jerry’s role is legalistic and insidious.

He represents corporate greed and patriarchal entitlement, weaponizing bureaucracy to keep Addie and Coraline disempowered.  Unlike Gavin, whose menace is visceral and direct, Jerry’s threat lies in legal maneuvering and psychological manipulation.

His dismissiveness toward Addie and Mason’s hesitations about releasing the trust funds underscore the systemic obstacles women face, even with legal rights on their side.  Jerry’s eventual downfall, orchestrated by Addie’s strategic use of police reports and damning recordings, becomes a powerful moment of justice—not just against him, but against the institutional forces he represents.

Mason

Mason, the family lawyer, exists in a gray area between ally and obstacle.  While he is bound by the legal structures surrounding Addie’s inheritance, his hesitations and questions about prenups hint at an underlying caution that borders on condescension.

His role highlights the complexities of navigating legal institutions when power dynamics are skewed.  Though not malicious, Mason’s reluctance to act swiftly becomes a source of frustration for Addie and Coraline, underscoring the theme of women having to fight even for what they are rightfully owed.

Ultimately, Mason functions as a reminder that neutrality in the face of injustice is a form of complicity.

Themes

Motherhood and Sacrifice

Adelaide’s journey in Enticing is anchored by her unwavering devotion to her daughters, Izzy and Lennox.  Her sense of identity is deeply fused with her role as a mother, to the point where her decisions—whether emotional, financial, or even romantic—are weighed against the impact on her children.

Having escaped an abusive relationship with Gavin, she intentionally isolates herself from any potential support that could compromise their safety, even if it means living in near-poverty or refusing legally entitled child support.  She shields her daughters with ferocity, believing that love alone must carry the burden of provision and protection.

Every burned mac and cheese dinner, every sleepless night is a quiet testament to this sacrifice.  Yet the novel doesn’t frame her struggle as tragic—it portrays it as resilient and determined, even when fueled by exhaustion and doubt.

Adelaide is not searching for a savior; she’s crafting survival from scratch, out of maternal instinct and stubborn self-reliance.  The narrative honors the emotional labor of single motherhood not as a side note, but as its central driving force, highlighting the kind of quiet heroism that often goes unacknowledged.

Leo’s arrival doesn’t replace her maternal strength but supports and validates it, offering a mirror to her sacrifices by demonstrating what fatherhood and partnership can look like when grounded in gentleness and consistency.  In this way, the theme of motherhood becomes not just about protection, but also about the right to receive care without compromising autonomy.

Trust and Emotional Healing

Trust is not freely given in Enticing; it is earned over time, often in silence rather than declarations.  For Adelaide, the trauma from her past relationship has rewired her perception of love, turning intimacy into risk.

Her walls are not just emotional defenses—they are survival mechanisms.  The process of healing, therefore, is slow and often subtle.

Leo does not attempt to fix her; instead, he offers presence and patience, creating a safe space where vulnerability is not demanded but gradually emerges.  His interactions with her daughters, particularly the care he shows without fanfare, become the first clues that he might be different from the men Addie has known.

The turning point is not in any grand gesture, but in the small moments: him feeding Lennox in the middle of the night, sending a Thanksgiving text, holding space for Addie’s fears without diminishing them.  Through these moments, the novel emphasizes that healing is not a straight line.

It’s a loop of doubt, hope, backpedaling, and trust that builds only when consistency is proven.  Even when Addie begins to believe in Leo, the emergence of her ex, the threat of exposure in the tabloids, and her lingering fear of dependency test her newfound strength.

It’s only when Leo stands beside her in crisis—both legally and emotionally—that Addie starts to see trust not as surrender, but as partnership.  The novel argues that emotional healing is not a destination, but a journey walked together, step by tentative step.

Power, Control, and Female Autonomy

The power dynamics at play in Enticing go beyond romance and seep into the legal and financial frameworks of Adelaide’s life.  Her inheritance, held hostage by conditions imposed by her late parents, becomes a metaphor for systemic control over women’s independence.

That she must marry to access what is rightfully hers exposes how patriarchal mechanisms continue to police female agency, even from beyond the grave.  Her Uncle Jerry’s scheming to take over the Bay Hawks further underscores this theme—he represents the entitled male authority figure willing to manipulate family legacy for personal gain.

Yet this story is not about Adelaide being rescued from this system, but about her actively resisting it.  Coraline, her sister, becomes an essential ally in this battle—fierce, intelligent, and unafraid to challenge authority.

Together, the sisters confront legal loopholes and oppressive men, asserting their right to control their futures.  The novel treats female autonomy as a collective effort: Adelaide might be the protagonist, but her strength is fortified by the women around her.

Even her eventual decision to accept Leo’s help is framed on her terms.  The book’s most powerful transformation is not just the external defeat of her abuser and greedy uncle, but the internal shift where Addie reclaims the narrative of her own life.

She transitions from being a woman surviving systems built to disempower her to someone rewriting the terms of her existence—not just for herself, but for the daughters watching her every move.

Love as Consistency, Not Performance

What sets Leo apart in Enticing is not his charm, wealth, or status as a professional athlete, but his unwavering reliability.  The story challenges the often glamorized view of love as grand gestures or dramatic confessions.

Instead, love is depicted through the everyday—showing up without being asked, listening without needing to solve, caring without conditions.  Leo’s affection for Addie and her daughters is expressed in how he integrates into their lives quietly and respectfully.

He doesn’t attempt to replace their father, nor does he romanticize their struggle; instead, he adapts himself to the rhythm of their reality.  His proposal of marriage, while initially transactional, evolves into a representation of commitment without strings attached.

Even when Addie pushes him away or questions his motives, he remains steady, allowing her the space to arrive at trust on her own terms.  This portrayal reframes love not as emotional fireworks but as emotional labor—the effort to be present, consistent, and dependable.

The theme reinforces that for someone like Addie, who has lived through manipulation and trauma, love that performs is not enough; only love that stays matters.  It’s in Leo watching the baby sleep, replacing a broken car, or confronting her abuser not out of ownership but protection, that the truest expressions of love emerge.

The novel argues that real love is not loud, but loyal—and that loyalty is what ultimately earns Addie’s heart.

Survival, Identity, and Reinvention

Addie’s evolution from a frightened woman running from her past to a fierce protector of her children and architect of her future forms one of the most compelling arcs in Enticing.  Her identity is initially splintered—defined by her trauma, financial instability, and the restrictions of her family legacy.

She is caught between two versions of herself: the woman who fled abuse and the woman who must now confront her inheritance, her creativity, and her capacity for new love.  This duality creates a tension between survival and selfhood.

Her writing, once a refuge, becomes a symbol of her internal disconnection; only as her relationship with Leo deepens does her creative voice return.  It signals that healing is not just emotional but also existential.

Her survival is not enough—she must rediscover who she is beyond the crisis.  The transformation is not easy.

Even after marrying Leo, she remains hyperaware of her vulnerability, suspicious of motives, and afraid of losing control.  But when Gavin assaults her publicly, and she takes legal action against him and her uncle, the shift is complete.

Addie steps into power, not just as a mother or partner, but as a woman reclaiming her narrative.  Her decisions—from blackmailing Jerry with evidence to adopting Leo as the girls’ father—demonstrate her full embrace of agency.

The novel ends not with escape, but with reinvention, affirming that survival is only the first step in reclaiming one’s life.  Addie’s final stance is not as a woman who endured, but as one who rewrote the ending.