Chapter 7 - The Horizon We BuiltThe reception reception in the grand ballroom was a masterclass in polite claustrophobia. People drank champagne as if it were cough syrup, avoiding eye contact with my grandfather, who sat in the corner like an aging king surveying a burning castle.
I stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a glass of sparkling water, watching the guests drift away before the dinner service even concluded.
A pair of warm, familiar arms slid around my waist from behind.
“You survived,” Matteo murmured against my hair, his breath warm against my neck.
“I didn't just survive,” I whispered, leaning back against his chest, letting the solid, immovable strength of him anchor me. “I think I actually enjoyed it.”
“Good,” he said, turning me gently in his arms so I was facing him. His gray eyes were intense, brilliant, and completely unguarded. “Because the real work starts on Monday.”
I tilted my head, smiling. “Oh? What’s on Monday?”
“A hostile merger,” Matteo said smoothly. “Between Cole-Sterling Developments and a new boutique architectural firm owned by a very brilliant, very stubborn woman named Serena Bennett.”
My breath caught. “You’re buying out Ethan’s firm?”
“I’m handing it to you,” Matteo corrected softly. “As a wedding present. Though, to be fair, we still need to figure out the actual wedding part. The agency contract only covered forty-eight hours, and I have no intention of letting my favorite client cancel my services.”
I laughed, reaching up to rest my hands against the lapels of his suit jacket, feeling the steady, powerful beat of his heart beneath my palms.
“And what about the fake fiancé part?” I asked, my voice dropping to a teasing whisper. “Does the agency provide a refund if the client decides to make it permanent?”
Matteo’s smile vanished, replaced by a look of fierce, undeniable devotion. He captured my hand, lifting it to his lips and pressing a warm, lingering kiss against my knuckles, right over the space where a ring was undoubtedly going to sit very soon.
“There was never anything fake about it, Serena,” he murmured against my skin. “From the second you walked into that hotel lounge... you were mine.”
Across the ballroom, my grandfather watched us from his shadowy corner, his empire crumbling around him, while outside, the Chicago skyline stretched out endlessly beneath a clear, brilliant autumn sky.
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I looked up at the man who had walked into my life as a hired distraction and stayed to rewrite my entire world.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't running from my family’s legacy. I was standing beside the man who had helped me burn it to the ground—so we could build something infinitely better in its place.
