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"I heard that!" Daphne called from the passenger seat.
"You were meant to!" Mama called back, then blew us all kisses as we pulled out of the driveway.
The flight to London was supposed to be smooth sailing. First-class seats that Edward had insisted on, champagne that I was actually allowed to drink without worrying about paparazzi photos, and hours of uninterrupted time to talk about our plans for the future.
Instead, I spent the first hour of the flight trying not to throw up.
"Darling, are you alright?" Edward asked, his hand cool against my forehead as I leaned back in my seat with my eyes closed. "You've gone quite pale."
"Just feeling a little peaked," I mumbled, though "a little peaked" was putting it mildly. My stomach felt like it was doing barrel rolls, and the thought of the airplane food they'd served was enough to make me break out in a cold sweat.
"Perhaps some ginger ale?" Daphne suggested from across the aisle. "That always helps with motion sickness."
"Maybe," I said, though something told me this wasn't motion sickness. I'd flown plenty of times before without feeling like I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Edward flagged down the flight attendant and got me some ginger ale and crackers, then spent the next twenty minutes rubbing my back while I tried to convince myself that this was just stress, just the overwhelming nature of everything that had happened in the past few days.
Something nagged at the back of my mind—a feeling I couldn't quite grasp.
But Edward's gentle touch was already soothing the worst of it, and I let myself sink into the comfort of his presence.
I closed my eyes and let Edward's gentle touch soothe me, pushing those thoughts away for now.
We'd figure it out when we got home. We'd figure everything out, one step at a time, just like we'd promised each other.
Together.
CHAPTER 23
Edward
The fountain pen felt substantial in my hand as I signed my name to the final page, the scratch of nib against parchment marking the end of one era and the beginning of something entirely unprecedented.
Not an acquisition. Not a hostile takeover. A partnership.
"There," I said, replacing the pen in its stand with deliberate precision. "Lili’s Home Garden is now officially in partnership with Gardens & Home Television, creating the first truly integrated legal-media consultancy in the UK."
Sir Malcolm looked rather like he'd swallowed something unpleasant, his weathered features twisted into what might charitably be called a grimace. "Highly irregular, Edward. The board will have concerns about this unprecedented arrangement."
"Perhaps," I replied, straightening my cufflinks with the sort of casual indifference that had served me well in countless boardrooms. "But also profitable. Exponentially so, if the projections are accurate."
Across the conference table, Lili beamed at me with such radiant pride that I felt something fundamental shift in my chest.
She was wearing a pine green suit that made her eyes sparkle like emeralds, her hair pulled back in a style that was both professional and utterly enchanting.
My girlfriend. My business partner. My future.
"The numbers don't lie," she said, her Texas accent lending warmth to the corporate formality. "Edward's firm provides legal expertise to media companies throughout Europe, while Gardens & Home has distribution networks in markets his clients have never accessed. Lili’s Home Garden provides the social media exposures which is now a hot topic in both UK and US markets. It's symbiotic, not predatory."
James, seated to my right, cleared his throat diplomatically. "The board is cautiously optimistic about this arrangement."
"The board," I said, allowing a hint of steel to enter my voice, "will find their caution replaced by celebration when they see the quarterly returns."
What I didn't say—what I would never say in this room—was that the merger had been Lili's idea entirely.
She'd presented it to me after we'd returned from Texas, laying out a business plan so elegant and comprehensive that I'd found myself wondering how I'd ever considered anything else.
Not acquisition. Partnership. Equals.