Page 7 of Dex

“It’s certainly worth considering.Why don’t you come over, and we’ll set something up?I’m sure both our families can benefit greatly from a short alliance, especially with a family whose business is as prestigious and as successful as AO Eletronica’s.”

My heart sank a little at that.I wasn’t going to correct him, but I also don’t fully share my father’s pessimistic view that our business is failing.But a man like Paul Knight would have done his due diligence and gone through everything with a fine-tooth comb.He’s obviously happy with the company.I sense he needs us as much as we need him.

Naturally, my parents were shocked when I told them I was going to New York to meet Paul Knight.My father insisted that he come along, but I told him all I needed was for him to get well again.

And to believe in me.

His reply?

Always, filha.

***

I’m sitting in the VIP lounge at the airport, a bottle of still water in my hand, though I haven’t taken a sip.

My flight to New York boards in less than an hour.I should be going over my talking points for my meeting with Paul Knight.I should be reminding myself why I’m doing this; why I’m about to step into the lion’s den of one of the most ruthless business families in the world.

Instead, I’m staring at my phone, Raquel’s name glowing on the screen.

I should call my best friend.

Iwantto call her.

But what would I even say?That I’m flying to New York to discuss a potential businessalliancethat could help my father’s company.An alliance that involves me marrying a man I’ve never met?That I might walk into that meeting and have my future decided by cold negotiations between men who see me as leverage rather than a person?

That won’t go over well.

Raquel would murder me.

A wry smile tugs at my lips.My best friend from childhood, the person I went to Georgetown University with and lived with while in the US—she wouldn’t just murder me—she’d stage a full-scale intervention, drag me to a law office, and have me signing restraining orders against every single Knight before sundown.She isn’t just protective; she’s relentless.Brilliant.A force of nature wrapped in designer heels and sharp wit.

And I’ve told hernothing.

I never even mentioned anything to her about Jett Knight.

I thumb at the screen, hesitating.Maybe I’ll visit her before I fly back home.She lives and works in Miami.I could say I have a layover, meet for a quick drink, pretend everything is fine.But Raquel isn’t the kind of woman you can lie to, a least, not easily.Sheknowsme.She reads between the lines, catches the hesitations, senses the things I don’t say.

She isn’t an idiot.And now, if I suddenly tell her I’m flying to New York with no clear reason?She’d know something was up.

I exhale sharply and lock my phone.

The worst part is, she’s going to find out eventually.I can’t keep an entiremarriagefrom her.Should things work out for me on this visit.And when shedoesfind out, she’s going toquestionit.Hard.

Because men fall for me.They always have.Raquel has seen it happen too many times.

She’s been my shield against them when I needed her to be, my wing woman when I needed an escape.She knows how they stare, how they follow, how theywant.She’s spent years teasing me about it, rolling her eyes at the way they trip over themselves to impress me, joking that I should be charging ataxfor the privilege of my attention.

So when I have to tell her I’m getting married, to a man she’s never heard me mention, a man sheknowsI haven’t been dating, she’s not just going to accept it at face value.She’s going to suspect.And if she suspects, she’lldig.

Which means if this works out and there is a marriage, we have to beconvincing.

My stomach twists at the thought.I don’t evenknowany of the Knights yet, and somehow, I’m supposed to play the part of an adoring wife to one of them?To hold hands and smile up at a strange man like he’s the center of my world, convince Raquel, and everyone else, that this marriage isreal?

I grip the armrest of my chair, my pulse hammering.

It’s not just about fooling my friends.My father and Paul Knight have been clear:no oneoutside of our families can know this is an arrangement.If the truth gets out, it could ruin everything—the business deal, the fragile alliance, the perception we need to give to the outside world and the investors and shareholders.

This marriage is one that is made in heaven, but it’s also a merger of two powerful families.

---