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"Belongs to you..." she whispers out in confusion.

"You're a billionaire’s soon-to-be wife. Everyone will expect I spoil you. We need to make that look true. I doubt you own a pair of Louis Vuitton's or an Hermes bag. You'll need both to sell it."

Aria gapes back at me while I see Jeremy's head nod in agreement in the front passenger seat. "I’ll tell her."

The rest of the drive passes under the hum of Jeremy’s typing and the low purr of the engine. Aria grows quieter beside me, and that silence unsettles me more than an argument would have.

I shouldn’t notice the way her dress shifts when she moves. I should not still be thinking about the taste of her.

And I absolutely should not be thinking about the fact that when she kissed me outside, my first coherent thought wasn’t "stop this."

The car rolls to a stop outside her building.

Before my driver can move, I open the door and step out first. "I've got her," I tell him.

Then I turn and offer Aria my hand.

She stares at it for half a second like she doesn’t know what to make of me anymore, then places her fingers in mine and lets me help her out.

The night air is cooler here. Quieter.

For a moment, neither of us says anything.

I should get back in the car.

Instead, I hear myself say, "One last thing."

She pauses on the sidewalk, heels dangling from one hand, the paddle still tucked against her side. "Yes?"

"A year is a long time," I say. "And if this goes forward, we may be spending a lot of it together."

Her face flickers. Nerves, maybe. Or defiance.

"This only works if you remember what this is and what this isn't. The last thing I need is a distraction. I have an empire to manage and a family counting on me as the patriarch. I plan to do all of that better than my father. I have no intentions of getting attached to you, and I suggest that you align with those same intentions. Whatever you do… don't fall in love with me."

Her chin lifts.

"Lucky for you," she says softly, "I don’t think that’ll be a problem, Mr. Kauffman."

She turns toward the building.

"Aria."

She looks back over her shoulder.

"It’s Everett now."

She stills for half a beat, like she feels the shift in that too, then she disappears inside.

I slide back into the car already knowing I stepped into the biggest challenge of my career tonight.

All I know is this… Everyone had better bring their A-game in the morning if we have any shot at convincing the board of trustees this is real.

As my driver pulls away from the curb, I see a text from Damien

That was fast.

I text back: