Page 18 of Falling for You Again

“No, I’m not.”

I frown. “Then why did Fallon introduce herself as your fiancée?”

He sighed. “We broke off our engagement a couple weeks ago. For our parents’ sake, we agreed to wait until after the gala to announce it. Does it bother you I was engaged?”

“Only that it makes me wonder if anything you told me about yourself is true. You said marriage wasn’t your thing.”

“I didn’t lie to you, Meli. I had no reason to.”

“Then why get engaged only to break it off?”

“She wasn’t my choice.”

His remark sweeps at the dusty corners of my memories. We stopped at the Bellagio to watch the fountains, and I asked him why he’d accepted my dare. What had compelled a single man with an aversion to marriage to wed on a whim only hours after meeting his bride?

He stayed quiet for a long while, watching the fountains dance to “Fly Me to the Moon.” The song finished and I thought he’d forgotten my question. But then he quietly spoke. “You were my choice.” His parents had wanted him to marry for a variety of reasons—familylegacy, upholding the family’s image, continuing their dynasty. And they’d pressured him to propose to his mom’s friend’s daughter. That was the second time he’d mentioned Fallon to me.

“Your parents finally talked you into marrying her?”

He taps a finger on the table. “It’s more complicated than that.”

Our server interrupts us with our drink orders, and before I can ask Aaron to elaborate, he lifts his beer. “A toast to second chances.”

My mouth twists to the side. He knows I’m not interested in relationships. I was quite clear about my choice not to marry when I told him why I’d left Paul. Artisant Designs would always come first. “What happened to never seeing each other again?” I figured we’d go our separate ways once I convince him to retract Savant’s interest in my uncle’s shop.

“Fate. That’s what happened. It’s brought us together again.”

I doubt fate is at play here. My frustration over my situation has been mounting since yesterday morning, and I unwittingly unleash it on him. “I think you’re part of the reason I could lose Artisant, and that has nothing to do with fate. My uncle came to you with an offer you didn’t refuse. I told you about his shop, how it’s been in my family for decades. You knew how important my work is to me. It’s the whole reason why I broke off my engagement to Paul. You should have said no when Uncle Bear approached you.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Aaron leans back, palms in the air. “It wasn’t like that at all.”

“Explain, then. Tell me how the letter of intent I read yesterday isn’t you ripping my future right out from under me.” He might as well rip out my heart along with it.

He sets down his beer before drinking any of it. “When we met, I was the director of acquisitions. My job was to discover top-notch artisans and bring them aboard. Or strike up a deal that gave us exclusive rights to distribute their work. I was on my way to Vegas to meet with one such artisan, but she canceled on me.”

“I remember, but what does that have to do with Artisant Designs?”

“Nothing directly but hear me out. After we got back, I might have obsessed over you.” He ducks his head and starts picking at a spot of dried food on the table. “I searched you online, a lot. I saw your work, what you did. I stalked your Instagram feed. And yes, it crossed my mind more than once to approach you with an offer. But our company has a strict nonfraternization policy, and I selfishly didn’t want you to come work for us. I remember how passionate you are about your uncle’s shop. I remember you telling me you looked forward to inheriting it. You’d be the third generation to own Artisant, and I admired that about you, especially since our situations were similar and I wasn’t enjoying the path my parents had put me on. I didn’t want to be the one to convince you to come work for us and not pursue your dream. I didn’t want to take that from you.”

“Then why are you taking it from me now?”

“It isn’t me. I left the acquisitions department three years ago. Yes, as acting COO, the department reports to me. But when Artisant came up during a strategy meeting, I asked about you. I was told Bernard approached us and that you were on board and eager to start with us if we moved forward.”

“The only way your director would have thought that was if—”

“Your uncle told her you were,” Aaron finished.

“He lied.” I slump on the bench, feeling a renewed wave of betrayal and violation as the utter disappointment in my uncle weighs me down. He taught me everything I know about woodworking with the intent of giving me the shop upon his retirement. Why would he go back on his word? Why are my parents going along with him? And why have they been negotiating in secret?

Because they knew I wouldn’t go along with it. They probably thought they could finalize the sale and package up my new role at the Savant House like a gift on Christmas morning. An offer I wouldn’t refuse because they’d gaslight me into believing they had my best interests at heart. For once.

What would Grandpa Walt think of this?

He wouldn’t because selling Artisant Designs would have never crossed his mind.

I must stop the sale.

“Your company needs to back off,” I demand. “I can’t convince my uncle to change his mind, so you need to order your team not to pursue. Tell them I’m not part of the deal. That should dissuade them.” Without my talent, Artisant Designs is a less attractive acquisition.

---