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And I’m falling, hard.

I take a breath and look away.

This isn’t news for me, but I know that I would have never seen this side of her had we not gotten into this entire thing.

“Tell me, Preston, what plans do you have if you get to take over for your father?” Marcus asks, because, of course, he has to ruin a completely nice dinner with the topic of work. Not to mention, a topic he seems overly obsessed with.

“I have quite a few things in mind if that happens, Marcus.”

“By all means, tell us,” he encourages.

I sigh and glance around the table. All eyes seem to be on me. I know that when a company changes hands, it’s common for staff to worry about their jobs, and by the looks on all the faces I see right now, it’s on theirs. Even a few of the wives look eager to hear my answer.

A hand brushes mine; Grace’s small, soft fingers link with my own and squeeze.

I glance to my side to find her smiling at me. It’s like no matter what comes out of my mouth, I have support in this room.

I know I do.

But I don’t have to have the correct answer right now, because Bash cuts in before I speak.

“Let’s not turn the conversation to work at this hour. It’s getting late, and if we start talking about this now, it’ll be a late night—and if I’m going to be up late, it’s not going to be for work. Not on this trip.”

There is a jumble of voices agreeing, but Marcus just keeps staring at me.

No one wants to see me fail more than that man.

Is it all because I dated and dumped his daughter, or is it something else?

His eyes narrow.

It’s got to be something else.

When it’s clear he isn’t going to break this staring contest first, I nod and then grin.

“Ask me again when we are back in the office,” I tell him and then look at Bash. “And I quite agree. If we keep going at this rate, we will be here all night.”

I scoot my chair back to stand. “Grace and I are going to call it a night. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Grace grins up at me as she stands.

I kiss her softly, my finger under her chin to keep her lips on mine.

When I pull away, the rest of the table is slowly getting up and saying their goodbyes for the evening.

With Grace’s hand in mine, I start the walk back to the cottage. I’m eager to get her back, but it’s beautiful out tonight, and the path is filled with colorful flowers and plants, and birds and other animals of the night make soft noise among the lights that lead the way. It’s all so perfect.

“Preston, a word,” Marcus calls out behind me.

Jesus, fuck this man. He never stops, does he?

With a deep breath and another reassuring squeeze of Grace’s hand, I turn to him.

“Marcus.”

“At some point, you’re going to have to learn to speak up when spoken to. All your friends and your father’s friends can’t speak for you at every dinner and every meeting. A CEO speaks up. If you’re going to take over, you better start.”

With that, he spins and walks off.