“Clara, if you don’t mind, I’ll describe this one.” Clara bowed her head to me like I was her king, and I was reminded of her flair for the dramatic. “The Eternity is a six-carat cushion-cut center diamond with perfectly aligned internal facets, set on an inlaid platinum with four high prongs. The slender band of micro-pavé-set diamonds gives this ring a sparkle quite unlike anything we’ve ever offered. It’s a stunning ring that unites modern sensibilities with the soul of a romantic.”

  I turned to Felicity. Every eye was on us, including Lucy’s unblinking phone.

  “May I?” I asked, holding the ring toward her.

  It was at that moment Dominick, glued to his phone as usual, opted to take a step toward me but tripped instead, careening against my back. The jostle sent the ring flying from my hands, and I immediately dropped to the floor to snag it.

  I wound up on my knees in front of Felicity as I grabbed it. She had her hands clutched over her mouth because she knew tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of diamonds had just clattered across the marble.

  “Ohmygosh, please don’t move you two! This is gold.” Lucy’s desperate voice rang out. “I’m taking a gazillion photos! Now put it on her!”

  Felicity giggled at the influencer’s insistence, which got a smile out of me in spite of myself. How ridiculous was it that we looked like I was doing a real proposal?

  “What Lucy wants, Lucy gets,” Felicity said. She flipped her hand out to me, and I slipped the ring on her finger as quickly as I could, then stood up. I was about to make a joke about what had happened, but I glanced at Felicity and discovered her staring at the ring with round eyes.

  “Oh,” she breathed as she examined it. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

  “It’s my favorite,” I admitted.

  I gently grasped her fingertips to pull her hand closer, so I could examine how the ring looked on her. It was no surprise that it was perfectly at home on her finger, like it was made for her.

  “Okay you guys, call me crazy but I have the best idea,” Lucy said as she skittered over to us. “Celebrity couples are totally my thing, but what if for this campaign we brought things a little closer to home?”

  Sandrine drifted over to listen.

  “And how would you do that?” I asked, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach as her gaze danced from me to Felicity over and over.

  “I’m so freaking brilliant for coming up with this,” she squealed. “You two are ridiculously adorable together, so we could follow your love story, from the design table, to the ring selection, to the proposal, to the wedding rings…your romance could be so perfectly integrated into what I normally do! You’re obviously not celebrities, but given what you do for a living, you guys would totally get a pass. And you’re both gorgeous, so…” she scrolled through her phone and showed the photo of me on my knees in front of Felicity. “You look incredible in pictures.”

  Felicity and I leaned closer to look at the image, and in that moment we did indeed look like two people utterly besotted with one another—which just went to prove that photos lie. Felicity wasn’t caught up in a romance, she was smiling at me because I had to crawl around on the floor to find the ring.

  “We’re not a couple,” Felicity said quickly. “We barely tolerate one another.”

  I tried to hide my frown. I was now tolerating her just fine. Did she not feel the same? Whatever—I didn’t need her to like me. I just needed her to do her job. “Exactly. It’s a working relationship, nothing more.”

  “What?” Lucy shrieked. “No way, that’s unbelievable, you two have crazy chemistry! You totally fooled me.” She paused for a moment, and a smile cracked her face. “And maybe that’s what we could do! If you could make me believe you’re the real deal without even trying, then I’m sure you could fool the world!”

  “Oh, now hold on,” Felicity said quickly. “That was for like three minutes. There’s no way we could do that long term.”

  Did the woman actually shudder at the thought of it?

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Sandrine offered hesitantly. “There are so many ways to commodify a fake relationship. We could totally control the arc of your love story.”

  “And I’d make it seamless for you,” Lucy added. “You’d leave all the planning to me and just show up looking gorgeous.”

  I didn’t like where things were headed. I could barely handle a real relationship, so trying to muster up emotions for a fake one was off the table. Sandrine and Lucy were already discussing churn metrics and watch times while Felicity listened with a shocked expression.

  She kept touching her thumb to the diamond on her hand, like she was checking that the precious ring was still there.

  “Excuse me, can I get a word in here?” I finally interrupted. “This brainstorming session is supposed to focus on the rings, remember? Then we need to determine whether a partnership between Dubois Enterprises and Veritique is even in the cards.”

  I felt like an asshole for dangling the contract over Lucy’s head, but I needed her to know that I steered the ship. I didn’t like it when things spiraled out of my control. I turned to Felicity.

  “Ring, please,” I said, holding my hand out in front of her.

  Her mouth turned pouty for an instant, then she wrenched the thing off and slapped it into my palm.

  “Clara? Let’s move on to the Soleste, please.”

  I needed to focus on something other than the way Felicity’s hand had felt in mine.

  7

  CAMERON

  “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

  My younger brother Aiden glowered at me, nostrils flaring. We were in the narrow hallway near the bathrooms in Eleven Madison Park, our already awkward dinner now made that much worse by what he’d just admitted to me.

  We’d agreed to meet so I could finally check out the mystery woman he’d been with for a few months. Aiden liked to play the field, so the fact that a woman had made it beyond three dates made her something of a novelty. He wasn’t eager for me to meet her—I’d had to force the dinner—so I went into it concerned that something was up. The moment he’d walked in with his date, my worst fears were confirmed.

  He’d been secretly dating none other than Megan Bartholomew, eldest daughter of our biggest competitor, Barth & Co. And he’d just admitted to me that he was thinking about proposing to her.

  “You heard me,” he fumed back. “I want to marry her. I love her.”

  “You love her? You barely know her!” I growled at him. “Aiden, this is wrong on so many levels. How can you not see that? A Bartholomew? She could be a corporate spy for all you know!”

  “First of all, what kind of intel could she get from me? I’m on the board, sure, but I only show up to the office twice a year. I’m a part of Veritique in name only, you know that. And Meg has her own interior design business; she’s not a Barth employee.” He paused. “I’m in love with her, Cameron, why the hell can’t you understand that?”

  Aiden’s expression shifted to wounded, and for an instant I felt bad for him. He’d always lived in my shadow, he even looked like my dark-haired evil twin, and his response was to try to be the exact opposite of me. That meant it had taken him a while to find his own path, but for the past few years, I’d thought he’d finally settled into something good. Well, good for him, that is. He was an art dealer who loved hanging with the creative types I just couldn’t understand, but whatever—as long as he was happy, I’d support him. In most things, that is. Not in this. I sighed and tried to dig up some grace for him about the predicament, but I only felt fury over the mistake he was about to make.

  “Listen, I know firsthand that rushing into things always ends in disaster,” I said, struggling to keep my voice even. “Why can’t you learn from my mistakes?”

  “Just because you had shitty luck in the romance department doesn’t mean I will,” Aiden shot back at me. “I was hoping you’d be supportive, but since I’m not reading from your script, you obviously don’t approve. Typical.”

  A woman squeezed between us on her way to the restroom, so Aiden and I paced away from each other. A tension headache was forming in the back of my neck.

  “All I’m saying is take your time,” I replied quietly, even though it was a lie. I didn’t want him doing anything with Megan Bartholomew. “Don’t rush into things. Especially with her.”

  My hope was that slowing the relationship might help him realize getting married was a terrible idea. And if I had my way, I’d be beside him as he worked through it, pointing out all the landmines in front of him until he saw I was right.

  “Look, there’s nothing you can say or do that’ll make me change my mind. Meg is an incredible woman, and if you’d give her a chance, you’d see it too. But no, you had to stare her down like she was a trespasser at our table.”

  “She’s the literal enemy of our family business,” I hissed, pointing back toward the dining room. “Don’t you remember how Barth & Co. tried to get traction on that hashtag that made it sound like we like committing human rights violations? Huh?”

  “Cam, again, she doesn’t work for the company.” Aiden slapped his hand in his palm and enunciated like he was talking to a child, and I wanted to haul off and punch him for it. “And that was ages ago, when Dad was still in charge.”

  We scowled at one another in silence.

  “Are you coming back to the table or not?” Aiden asked.

  I pictured myself sitting down across from that woman and couldn’t envision even pretending to enjoy myself. I shook my head.

  “Sorry, Aiden. I’m not going to pretend I’m on board with this. You’re making a mistake. I don’t support this relationship.”

  I braced for a blowup, but my brother shocked me instead.

  “Fine,” he replied in a measured voice. “But I’m going to prove you wrong. We’re going to prove you wrong.”

  I wanted to laugh in his face. I couldn’t believe that after witnessing me going through my own personal relationship hell, he still believed it couldn’t happen to him.

  “Fine, you do that,” I said. “I’m going to excuse myself, and you two can have a wonderful dinner without me. I’ll even pick up the check.”

  I strode back to the table and said goodbye to a resigned Megan Bartholomew, then walked out into the night air. I needed to clear my head, so I told Jimmy to take off and headed home on foot. I hoped by the time I got there I’d be in a better mood.

  I realized I was speed walking when my tie started strangling me. I loosened it and forced myself to slow down. I couldn’t stop grappling with how powerless I felt with the Aiden situation. How could he not see he was making a life-changing mistake that could impact not only him but our business as well? Was my failed attempt at forever not enough to prove to him that jumping into marriage was an insane idea?

  I didn’t even bother looking up as I navigated the crowded sidewalk, which was fine until it wasn’t. I collided with someone striding out of Trader Joe’s, knocking into her so forcefully that the grocery bag toppled out of her arms, spilling tangerines down the block.

  “I’m sorry, that was my⁠—”

  “Yeah, it was your fault, Romeo.”

  I finally looked at who I’d run into and sighed deeply. “Fagin. Of course it’s you. Just what I need tonight.”

  Felicity scrunched her face, clearly taking that as an insult. I started collecting tangerines so I didn’t have to look at her because damn it, she was stunning even with the messy ponytail and no makeup.

  “Where were you stomping off to?” she asked as I handed her the final piece of runaway fruit. She juggled the three bags she was trying to carry. “Wherever it is, I pity the people on the other end.”

  “Not tonight, Fagin,” I sighed, rubbing my eyes. “I’m going home, okay? Been a rough couple of hours.”

  She took me in for a moment. I must’ve looked as bad as I felt, because her tone was a little gentler when she spoke again. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m going home too. Why don’t you walk with me and tell me all about it? Getting it off your chest might help.”

  It was a surprisingly kind offer coming from someone who normally acted like she couldn’t stand me. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about my family problems with my employee, but now that she knew we were both going in the same direction, I was stuck with her.

  “Fine,” I sighed. “Hand me one of your bags, I’ll help you.”

  Felicity paused. “You, chivalrous? Now that’s a shocking twist from the cab thief I thought I knew.”

  “You have no idea what I’m really like,” I groused at her as she gave me a bag filled with what felt like bowling balls.

  “Fair point,” she said as we set off. “Now, talk. Tell me what happened.”

  For a moment, I considered spilling the mess with my brother and that woman, but I realized it would be better to keep the professional boundaries in place. There was something about Felicity Rhodes that destabilized me, and I wasn’t used to the sensation. It was almost like I needed a reason to keep my distance from her. She was beautiful, that much was obvious, but she was also fearless. And smart. And not afraid to speak her mind, even to me. She kept me on my toes, something few people were capable of. It would be too easy for a woman like that to mess with my head, and I couldn’t let that happen.

  “Wow, it must be bad if you’re actually keeping your mouth shut.”

  I whipped around to respond and saw a little smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

  “I’m kidding. You don’t have to say a word. We can just walk in silence, like you’re my personal assistant helping me cart my groceries home.”

  I snorted. “Sure, that works.”

  We walked another block and Felicity stopped abruptly.

  “Um…” she looked down a side street nervously. “I need to go this way.”

  I frowned at her. “We’re literally a block away from the building. Why would you go that way? It’s three blocks longer. Did you forget where you live?”

  “Um…” she shifted her weight a few times, glancing in both directions. “There’s a little park down there that I love. Hanwell Park? Do you know it? It has a bunch of places to sit and enjoy nature, and it’s really charming⁠—”

  “Yeah, of course I know the park,” I interrupted. “But it’s dark and cold now. Why the hell do you want to go there at night, with all of your groceries?”

  “It’s uh, it’s one of my favorite places in the city and I…never mind. It’s fine.”

  “You’re an enigma, Fagin,” I said as we picked up the pace again. “I don’t get you.”

  “The feeling is mutual,” she fired back at me.

  We passed by the indie bookshop I always wished I had the time to visit. I glanced at the window display, and when I saw the book featured in it, it was my turn to stop in my tracks.

  “Hey, that’s the book Glen was talking about at the brainstorming meeting.”

  By the size of the poster in the window and stacks of hardcover books piled around it, it was clear that Glen knew what he was talking about. Unhinged Heart looked like a blockbuster.

  “Have you read it?” I glanced at Felicity.

  Her body was angled so that she was staring straight ahead, like the bookshop was a monster she couldn’t bear to acknowledge.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. “What’s going on with you?”

  She sniffled and shook her head, still not looking at the window.

  This was dipping past “odd” and into “worrying.” What could possibly have her so rattled? Whatever it was, I didn’t like the way it made her hunch in on herself, like she was hurt or scared. “You’re acting strange. Talk to me, Fagin.”

  “Let’s walk,” she said, jutting her chin forward. “I don’t like standing here.”

  We continued with Felicity staring ahead and me staring at her. She finally glanced at me and made an exasperated noise.

  “Fine! I’ll tell you,” she said. Felicity took a deep breath. “Steven Brudny is my ex. Unhinged Heart is about me.”

  Her voice cracked at the confession.

  I couldn’t have come up with a more off-the-wall theory about what was wrong with her. She was the crazy ex in the story everyone was talking about? I didn’t know Felicity well, but she didn’t strike me as the scary ex-girlfriend type. I mean, sure she could get intense, but her reactions weren’t unbalanced or dangerous. And what was it Glen had said about the author trading up with his current girlfriend? What could possibly be up from Felicity?

  “How is that even possible?” I asked, still incredulous. “Did he talk to you about it? Ask your permission?”

  She let out a harsh laugh and shook her head. “He absolutely did not. I never would’ve signed off on the garbage he put in that book. But I don’t have a leg to stand on lawsuit-wise, since he changed details about me. His girlfriend in the book is called ‘Felicia Raines.’”

  I frowned. “And what sort of stuff does he accuse you of in the book? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

  Felicity stared at the sidewalk, like she was trying to find the courage to talk about it.

  “You don’t have to—” I began.

  “He said I was obsessed with him,” Felicity said through gritted teeth. “He claims that I pursued him, almost like a stalker, until I wore him down. That’s not even close to the truth! He totally pursued me. He kept showing up at the coffee shop where I used to hang out, and he’d always find a reason to stop at my table and talk. Or should I say, he’d stop by and monologue, because I could never get a word in edgewise.”

  “I hate people like that,” I muttered.

  “I do too, so I have no idea why I agreed to go out with him. I mean, yeah, he’s a decent-looking guy I guess, but holy shit he’s boring! All he talks about is himself. I have no clue how I put up with it for so long.”

  I chuckled at her intensity.

  “There are so many lies in that book,” she continued. “He actually has a line in it where Felicia says, ‘You’re the best lover I’ve ever had. I wish you could fuck me every day for the rest of my life.’” Felicity made a gagging noise. “First of all, ew, and second, it’s not even true! He was selfish as hell in bed. He’s not even on the list of my top five lovers.”