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She entered, saw us sitting at the kitchen table, lifted a perfect eyebrow, and pinned her gaze on Attikus. “Did I miss something? I didn’t know we were expecting guests today.”

Attikus got out of his seat, walked over to his mother, and took the bags of groceries from her hand, placing them onto the marble kitchen island. “I want you to meet my fiancée, Nessa Lambert.”

The shock on his mother’s face was more prominent than Ellen’s. She almost looked pissed. Maybe she was but didn’t want to show her disappointment in front of me.

Awkwardness set in, and I wanted to leave. Guilt nibbled at me as I tried to imagine doing this to my mother. How would she react? It would devastate her.

Wanting to ease the tension, I rose from my seat, walked over to Gigi, and offered my hand.

“We met online, and I couldn’t stay away from his serious and boring self.” I shrugged. “I guess the alias ‘boring as hell’ intrigued me.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Gigi took my hand in hers. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. It’s going to take me some time to adjust.”

“Of course. I understand.”

Attikus looked at me across the counter, but I couldn’t read him. Did he want time alone with his family to inform them of our marriage?

He turned to his sister. “Do you have the spaghetti ready? We have to get going.”

“Already?” Gigi asked. “You can’t just barge in here, inform your mother you’re engaged, andleave.”

He walked over and embraced her. This was a softer side of Attikus I didn’t expect. Not that I knew a lot of billionaires or how they conducted themselves with their families. But I sensed Attikus was close to his family—protective of them.

“I’ll be back to chat with you.” He kissed his mom on the side of her head. “Nessa experienced a horrific event at her grand opening today. I’m sure she’ll need some rest.”

“Oh, I heard about that on the news,” Ellen said as she opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a container.

“What happened?” Gigi looked at me.

“Someone sent her a severed finger to the grand opening,” Attikus replied.

“What?” Concern and disdain flashed over her face. “Who would do something like that? What did the police say?”

“They’re looking into it. Maybe it’s from a competitor gallery. Or another artist.” I shrugged. “People can be cruel.”

“Here you go. I gave you an extra container for Nessa.” Ellen handed him a bag and looked at me. “Come back so we can get to know each other. Do you need help with wedding planning?”

I looked at Attikus. “We haven’t thought about that yet.”

I couldn’t crush his sister’s heart. We’d have to ease her and his mom into our eloping plan. This entire scenario was becoming more complicated.

Gigi and Ellen walked us to the door.

“Go home and rest.” Gigi hugged me. “We’ll make a trip to your gallery soon. Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you.”

My chest constricted as guilt rose in me. These people seemed so genuine, and I didn’t know how they’d react when Attikus and I had to part ways.

Think about that later.

Inside the car, Attikus said, “You should move in with me.”

“What?”

He turned to me. “What kind of married couple lives separately?”

I blew out a breath. “I’ll move a few things to your place to make it believable. But I’m keeping my apartment so I can return to it after six months.”