Page 98 of Code of Heart

Aurelia twirled back to Levi, pressing against him in a fierce embrace, her lips brushing his ear.

“Charles submitted the paperwork. It’s official—He feels that I’ve met the terms of Eleanor’s inheritance!”

Levi held her tighter, his lips brushing her hair in a quiet confession of everything he couldn’t say aloud. He marveled at the quiet satisfaction on Charles’s face—a satisfaction that told him Aurelia had gone above and beyond to make this marriage work, that she had earned every penny of that inheritance with real effort and commitment.

His heart skipped a beat as he internalized what that meant.

Before he could add his thoughts, Owen ruined the moment by waggling his eyebrows suggestively, and Levi sighed. He really couldn’t take him anywhere.

Charles cleared his throat. “I have to steal Aurelia for a bit to go over final details with the charity reps.”

Before Aurelia could respond, a high, sugary voice cut through the air.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Aurelia turned as Selene approached, her pale blue eyes assessing every detail of Aurelia’s gown. She wore a simple bronze taffeta dress and smiled tightly. Charles’s jaw visibly tightened.

“We just arrived,” Aurelia explained.

“The representatives have been asking when we’ll start,” Selene said, before turning to the men. “Oh! I didn’t see you there.”

Owen, ever the opportunist, stepped forward with a dazzling smile. “And who might you be?”

“This is Selene,” Aurelia introduced quickly. “Chief of Staff…and my best friend.”

Selene’s eyes barely flicked over Levi and Owen, her polite smile not quite reaching her eyes.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you both,” she said sweetly before turning her attention back to Aurelia and Charles. “We need to begin now if we’re going to stay on schedule.”

Levi pressed his lips to Aurelia’s temple. “Go show them what the Greaves heir is made of,” he whispered.

She smiled at him, gave him one last kiss, and turned to follow Charles and Selene, gliding through the ballroom like she had owned it her whole life.

It had only been an hour, and already Aurelia was exhausted. She wasn’t accustomed to this much small talk or being the center of attention for so long. With a smile plastered on her face, she managed to work her way through the charity representatives, the last of whom was Martin Strasburg, chair of The National Dyslexia Foundation.

Martin was a tall, heavyset man with curly copper hair and pale blue eyes magnified behind silver frames. His thick beard held streaks of gray, and a scattering of freckles crossed the bridge of his nose. Despite his imposing appearance, his easy laugh was loud and infectious, putting her instantly at ease.

“Thank you so much for including us,” Martin said warmly. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I know what a big deal it is to be part of this event.”

Aurelia beamed. “The pleasure’s mine. It’s a cause very close to my heart, and frankly, we should have included you sooner.”

“I’d also like to offer my congratulations on your marriage,” he added with a knowing smile. “Levi’s one of the finest men I’ve ever worked for.”

That caught her off guard, her surprise unmistakable. “You work for Levi?”

Martin chuckled. “I’m a Senior Director at Neuronix. Levi personally hired me when the company was starting to take off. I was hoping to catch him tonight.”

Aurelia couldn’t resist a teasing smile. “So…exactly how bossy is he as a boss? Asking for a friend.”

Martin let out a hearty laugh but quickly sobered. “Honestly? Levi built something remarkable. As someone who also has dyslexia, I can say there’s no better place to work. He made sure those of us with disabilities have the tools we need to succeed without stigma. He even let us keep partial rights to the technologies we helped create. That kind of leadership is rare. If Levi ever left Neuronix, I think half the company would walk out the door with him.”

Aurelia’s pride swelled at the sincerity of his words, a fresh wave of emotion building in her chest. She had fallen for Levi before she really understood how deeply his kindness and integrity ran.

“You and Levi are changing lives,” she whispered, blinking fast to fight back the tears threatening again.

Martin smiled kindly before excusing himself to find Levi.

Aurelia barely had a chance to gather her composure before she spotted Darcy Newman, her old case worker from District Child Welfare Services. It felt surreal seeing her again underthese circumstances—so much better than the difficult meetings of her youth.