Page 30 of Forever Fake

“Whoever hurt you, I’llkill him.”

I lean forward, resting my forehead against Blake’s solid chest. Exhaustion threatens to pull me under. His arms wrap around me like a cocoon and for the first time in my life I feel safe in a man’s embrace. It’s the most odd, unfamiliar sensation, but with him it feels right. I don’t know why. There’s no logic behind it.

But that sense of safety lowers my defenses. For the first time in many years, I allow myself to vaguely acknowledge the past instead of denying its existence.

Softly, I murmur, “You can’t kill a ghost.”

CHAPTER 13

Blake

Yve waltzes right past my secretary at Titan Enterprises and straight into my private office. “I’ve waited long enough, Blake, the wedding date has been set.”

“Oh?” I arch a brow. “Whose wedding is that?”

“Yours. You’re marrying Lexa.” She folds her spray-tanned arms. “You’ll never find a woman to marry you before your birthday. That’s a fact. Rumor has it you’re not even trying to find a wife, you’re just keeping to yourself like always. So here’s the deal: You marry Lexa and then you get your inheritance. We’ll both be happy.”

I doubt this woman’s beenhappya day in her life.

“No.” My tone’s flat. I’m done humoring her on this subject.

A cold smile curves her lips. “The date and location are set. On June 11th you’ll be wed.”

I lean back in my chair and meet her gaze. I don’t want to miss a moment of her reaction to what I’m about to say. “I’m not marrying Lexa. I have a girlfriend and we’ll be engaged soon.”

Her jaw drops, before she catches herself, snapping it shut like a Venus flytrap. Fury sparks in her eyes. “Who?” she demands in a low, frigid voice.

“You’ll find out with everyone else when we publicly announce our engagement.” I tap my keyboard to wake the computer screen. “Now if there’s nothing else, you may go.”

Her jaw’s clenched so hard she’s likely to crack a tooth. “There is something else.” Much to my chagrin she takes a seat in front of my desk. “We have a new project. It’s prime real estate right on the Hudson river. We want it, but we’re not the only ones. The seller’s from an old money family who’s finally willing to part with the property after having it in the estate for several generations.”

“Send me his information and I’ll make sure the deal goes through.” Why does she think it’s necessary to tell me this face-to-face when an email would suffice?

That cold, calculating expression returns to her face. “Good. Because if this deal doesn’t go through, then I’m giving Titan Enterprises to my daughter. Poor Liam won’t have an inheritance any more. He won’t see a dime of this company’s money, nor will he ever get a position on the board.”

This fucking bitch sets my teeth on edge. I should be used to all the game playing by now, but she still manages to throw me off at times. She’s always changing not only the rules, but the stakes. There’s no way in hell I’m letting Liam’s inheritance go to anyone but him. Titan Enterprises is his, end of story. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

“Fine,” I easily agree. She likes to get a rise out of me, but this time I’m not going to give her the satisfaction. “Who’s our competition?”

Her grin’s pure evil. “Eion Bane.”

Finally, I glower.

Fuck the fucking Banes. They’ve been a thorn in my side since college. If they weren’t the most powerful billionaire family in New York City—practically royalty—I’d have figured out a way to wipe them out. But the Bane family is just as dangerous as Iam, and there’s a fuck ton of them too. Six Bane brothers and a sister.

Eion Bane’s going to be tough competition for this property. He owns his own development company and we’re often pitted against each other. But losing to him before never had stakes this high. My brother’s inheritance wasn’t on the line then.

“I’ll get it done. Now get out,” I bark.

“You’d better.” Yve prances out of my office with a victorious smile. She knows I’m riled up, she succeeded in her mission.

The next few months I need to be on top of my game—across the board. To beat Eion Bane and convince the seller my company’s the better option, I’m going to have to go above and beyond.

I’m also going to have to be careful with Ginevra and our upcoming fake engagement. It needs to be perfect. As does the wedding.

I can’t let anything slip. Yve must be convinced that Gin and I are a real couple, committed for life.

Thinking of marrying Gin turns my thoughts to last night and her panic attack. One moment we were kissing—she kissed me back—and the next she’s having a full blown meltdown in my foyer. I know someone hurt her, even if I don’t know the details. She seemed fine with the kissing, but when I touched her…

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