Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)(25)

I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about Lavender Lane or the NDA yet since she’s been busy and out of town, and because I can’t exactly open up about it in the middle of a crowded bar, I’ll have to pretend nothing is wrong.

How very on-brand for me lately.

Once Julian returns with our mocktails and takes a seat next to Dahlia, she starts talking about the gallery idea for the Pressed Petal.

“I’m thinking sleek, modern frames with some good backlighting to showcase the art.” She pulls out her phone so Julian can see the mock-up.

“Looks easy enough,” he replies before taking a pull from his beer bottle. “Although I think the art should be suspended from the ceiling rather than hung on the wall. That way people will have a three-sixty view of the piece.”

Her face lights up. “Good idea! But wouldn’t it weigh too much?”

He scratches his jaw while considering it. “We can add some extra support beams and drill into them.”

I hear the faint sound of a cash register in the distance, getting louder with every one of Dahlia and Julian’s expensive ideas.

“Maybe we should stick to hanging them from the walls,” I offer.

“Do you not like Julian’s suggestion?” she asks without any judgment.

“Depends on if it fits within my budget.”

Julian leans back in his chair with a smile. “We told you not to worry about that.”

“And I told you that I wanted to do this on my own.”

To some, it might seem silly to reject a billionaire’s offer, but I’ve spent my life watching Julian, Rafa, Dahlia, and my mom become successful, self-made entrepreneurs. I’ve witnessed firsthand how much time and energy they put into achieving their goals, and I want to do the same, even if it takes me longer to accomplish mine.

Dahlia swallows a sip of her drink. “We’ll run the numbers and make sure to stick to the budget you gave us.” She turns to look at Julian. “How long would it take you to do all the lighting?”

He is cut off by the last person I expect to show up. “Julian.”

No.

Julian twists his torso in the direction of the smooth voice I’d recognize anywhere. “Lorenzo.”

“Dahlia.” Lorenzo dips his head before tilting it in my direction. “Lily.” He says my name with a hint of a sexy rasp.

I nod before taking a sip of my water. When I look up from the table, I find a few people glancing in our direction.

Great.

Julian gets right to the point. “What do you want?”

“I was hoping we could talk about the endorsement you promised.”

“I’m a little busy right now,” he replies.

“What endorsement is he talking about?” Dahlia asks with a furrow between her brows.

“An unimportant one,” Julian mutters under his breath.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Lorenzo taunts before looking over at Dahlia. “Julian is speaking at a fundraiser event for my charity.”

“I wasn’t aware you had one,” Dahlia replies.

Lorenzo steps closer to my chair, so his arm ends up brushing against mine. “It’s still pretty new. I started Healing Hearts over two years ago.”

“What’s it for?”

“Supporting families affected by drunk drivers.”

My sister’s eyes soften. “That’s a great cause.”

Our town hasn’t faced many tragedies, so everyone knows about how Lorenzo’s parents died in a hit-and-run accident. While the other driver was never found, could they have been drinking? If so, how did they get away?

Lorenzo’s next comment snaps me out of the thought. “I’m surprised Julian didn’t mention anything since he’s a guest of honor.”

A few days ago, Julian was giving me a hard time about Lorenzo fixing my car, only to become his guest of honor?

“Since when do you support Lorenzo?” My tone reeks of annoyance. I should be happy because a Lopez endorsement could go a long way for Lorenzo’s campaign, but I’m too irritated to think about the bigger picture right now.

Especially after Lorenzo’s confession the other night about the Eros app.

“Rafa asked me for a favor, so I had no choice but to agree to Lorenzo’s endorsement request,” Julian answers.

I pause at his phrasing. “Must’ve been one hell of a favor since you’re deathly afraid of public speaking.”

Julian sinks deeper into his chair, giving me nothing but anxiety to go off.

Lorenzo takes a seat on the empty barstool next to mine and casually wraps his arm around the back of my chair like we do this all the time—a move Julian takes note of immediately.

Before anyone can comment on it, Lorenzo states, “Rafa came to me for help, and I delivered, so that’s all that matters.”

“Couldn’t you have helped him for free?” I ask, somewhat snippy.

“That would require a conscience, and Lorenzo was born without one.” Julian smirks.

“I’m sure Lily would disagree with you.” Lorenzo turns to hit me with an incriminating smile. “Especially after what happened the other night?” He teases the end of my ponytail as he winds a strand around his finger.

What is going on here? Speaking at the adoption event is one thing, but touching me like this in front of everyone?