Page 61 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

“Dexter believed in legacy. He wanted the business to be handed down for generations. Declan was engaged, and I believe my late husband thought he would be married, and it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Wow. So this was like the royal family or that show Succession. I came from a military family. My parents both died when I was nine, and then my sister got custody of me.This world was completely foreign to me. It made zero sense to just hand over an entire business, a business that employed thousands of people around the globe, to a man who was going to flush it down the toilet or snort it up his nose.

It infuriated me, actually.

“So what happens if they are both married?”

“Then it goes to the eldest heir. I thought that Declan might reconsider his engagement to Serena, but that does not seem to be an option.”

“Serena, the woman he caught…”

“In bed with another man, yes.”

My heart broke for her, but I understood why Declan wouldn’t want to marry that woman after he walked in on that. I actually respected him more for that. I might not be fond of Declan Wolfe, but between Derek and Declan, he was definitely the right man for the job.

“Gran, everything is set up in the media room.”

A deep, familiar voice sounded behind me. A warmth spread through me as my mind was trying to think back to a time when I’d spoken to Mr. Stick Up His Ass on the phone, but I couldn’t remember one. I must have, though, because I definitely knew that voice.

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck and on my arms stood up as I rose from the chair and turned around. When I did, it took my brain a second to catch up to what my eyes were seeing. My body, however, reacted instantly to the sight. Tingles spread through me from head to toe. My pulse raced. My palms dampened.

It was Xavier, aka Mr. Big, standing in the doorway. The same man I’d seen at the bar. His same dreamy, whisky-colored eyes. Eyes that had locked with mine as he sat beside me. His same full lips. Lips that had touched mine, the ones on my face and the ones between my legs. His same stubble-covered, strongjaw. Stubble that had tickled my inner thighs. His same large hands. Hands that had held mine captive above my head as he drove into my body. His same broad, muscular shoulders and sculpted arms. Shoulders and arms that had held me all night when I’d slept in them.

He was even wearing the same thing he’d worn that day. A white button-up men’s shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his chiseled forearms and black slacks that looked tailored to his athletic, tall frame.

It had been six months since I’d seen him, and in that time, he’d gotten even sexier. For a while, I’d worried that I’d built him up in my head, made him into something that no man could ever actually live up to, but I was wrong. He wasbetterthan I remembered. Even sexier.

“Ashley, this is my grandson Declan.” I could hear Stella’s voice, but she sounded far away. Or like I was underwater. The predominant sound was the pounding of my heart and the whooshing of my labored breaths. “I can’t believe it’s taken so long for you two to meet face to face.”

I have no idea how long we stood staring at one another before Stella spoke again.

“Declan, dear? Are you going to say hello to Ashley?”

“Sorry.” He blinked and shook his head. “I need to go make a phone call. Everything is set up and ready for the countdown to the launch.”

With that, he abruptly turned and walked away.

“I’m so sorry about that, dear. You have to forgive him; he’s had a very upsetting morning.”

All I could do was nod. I couldn’t find my voice to speak.

The last few minutes felt like I’d been dreaming. Like I’d made the entire thing up in my head. Like I’d imagined it.

How could the man who I’d shared the hottest, sexiest, best night of my life with be the man who I spent months dislikingand coming up with creative ways to insult over email? How could he be the man who drove me crazy and made me want to pull my hair out my hair in frustration, but also be the man who had pulled my hair and made me scream with pleasure? How was it possible that I’d pined for Big for six months and been in contact with him every single day?

22

DECLAN

My entire worldwas spinning on its axis as I sat behind the desk in my grandfather’s study. Everything I knew was turned upside down the moment I walked into that sunroom. I stared down at my hands, flat on the walnut surface of the desk, and tried to control the chaos swirling in my mind. Nothing made sense as I attempted to reconcile what I’d just discovered. How was it possible that Carrie was Ashley? Ashley was Carrie. It didn’t make any sense.

Yes, I’d told her that my name was Xavier. But I had a good reason for that. I didn’t want her to know that it was my name on the front of the hotel.

Why had she lied to me about her name?

Had she known who I was this entire time?

She must have.

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