Page 48 of Lavish

“You know I’d fight the world for you, right?”he’d whispered, low and raw.

I remembered thinking I could fall in love with him right there.

His mouth met mine, and the heat of it—the familiarity—shook something loose inside me. It was something between hunger and heartbreak, like he didn’t know if he wanted to like it or destroy me. I told myself to be still. I hated the instinctive way my hands shot up, my fingers digging into the rough wool of his jacket lapels to keep myself from falling.

The scent of him—oakmoss, citrus, and something distinctlyhim—pulled me under.

His palm against my spine, dragging me closer like he didn’t care who saw. Like he had never stopped wanting this.

When he pulled back, the loss was immediate.

Dante smirked. “Congratulations. A new heavenlymatch for this town.”

“You have the weekend to get acclimated to one another before your sister’s art exhibit, which you will attend together,” Mama told us. “I say we get the shock over with and announce this union immediately.”

“We need more time than that,” Miles said.

Audrey’s face was a mask of diplomacy. “Miles, we don’t have much time.”

Omar nodded curtly. “Yvonne is…right.”

“A weekend isn’t enough time to really adjust to…this.” Miles looked at me. “We don’t get a honeymoon? Hell, a chance to say goodbye to our old normal?”

“Honeymoon?” Mama laughed cruelly. “There won’t be a honeymoon. What we need is to fix our companies, which is all hands on deck starting now.”

“We need more time,” he insisted.

“Makethe weekend enough,” Mama said to us. “You need to decide where you’ll live. Your place or Serena’s?”

Miles’s shoulders slumped slightly, his frustration giving way to resignation. “Serena can decide.”

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to me.

“We’ll stay at my place,” I said finally, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. “It’s more practical.”

What?

“And you.” Mama looked at me, ignoring Miles entirely. “I assume you’ve sorted out the Harrington estate.”

I inhaled, Jenese flashing in my mind.

“Yes.”

Mama smiled. “That can be the first property King Developments and Whitmore Ventures partner on to show everyone that our companies are fine. No unsafe work conditions, no environmental disasters.” She glared at Dante. “That satisfy you?”

“Immensely,” he said.

Mama nodded and turned back to me and Miles. “First, there will be no personal discussions regarding your marriage outside of this room. Whatever you feel or have felt, it stays between you two. Be at the gallery with big fucking smiles on.Everyone elsehere will keep the nature of this marriage to themselves.”

I felt my chest tighten.

“Second,” my mother continued, “you’ll need to start thinking about your future together—not just as a couple, but as business partners. You need to have a plan by Monday. We’re merging the companies whether you’re ready or not. Miles, withyour failing track record, I’m sure you can learn a lot from Serena.”

He glared at Mama but didn’t say anything.

“Good,” Mama said, her voice clipped but satisfied. “Now, let’s move forward, and have some lunch.”

The room began to clear, the air heavy with the weight of decisions made and the unspoken tension between us as Miles and I looked at each other.