Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)(71)

With one last glance in the mirror, I head outside. My mom, who is also attending tonight’s event, brings out her camera and snaps a photo of me like I’m going to my high school prom.

“Mami,” I say with a groan, blinking away the black spots in my vision.

“Eres tan preciosa,”I my mom says, her eyes glistening like the stars sparkling outside.

The doorbell rings, and she rushes to go hide in the kitchen so Lorenzo and I can have some privacy.

I’m too nervous to open the door right away, so I stall in front of it, wondering what Lorenzo will think when he sees me.

The bell rings again, and with a grounding breath, I open the door. Our gazes connect like two sets of magnets. His eyes darken, the color turning from brown to obsidian as they travel down my body.

The dress isn’t sexy, at least not outright, with the colors and floral patterns giving off a fairy-tale princess vibe rather than that of a confident seductress. But with the way Lorenzo stares at me, I feel like I’m the sexiest woman of all. And with how hot he looks in a tux, it’s impossible not to feel that way, knowing I’m the one who will be on his arm tonight.

Eventually, and dare I say reluctantly, his eyes return to my face.

“You look…” He wipes his stubbled jaw. “Bellissima.”I

Hopefully my layer of foundation conceals my flushed cheeks. “Thank you.”

“Ready?” He holds out his elbow, and I take it once I grab my clutch off the coffee table inside.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Turns out, I wasn’t ready at all because Lorenzo is full of surprises tonight, starting with the one I wasn’t aware of, hidden inside the inner pocket of his dinner jacket.




By the time we arrive at the fundraiser dinner, most of the guests have arrived and the cocktail hour is officially underway. The casino night theme I suggested is a hit, and all the money spent at the different tables will go directly toward Lorenzo’s Healing Hearts charity.

He hasn’t talked about his personal connection to it, but I can tell it matters a lot to him, so I wanted to help in whatever way I could, including securing a few more silent-auction donations.

Julian and Dahlia arrived thirty minutes before us, so I hang out with them backstage while Lorenzo is busy checking in with Willow about some issue at the blackjack tables.

Julian paces behind the black curtain blocking us from the room full of people, looking like a caged beast as he mutters incoherent phrases under his breath.

“Is he okay?” I whisper to my sister.

“Not exactly.” She smiles, but it looks strained.

“Why did I ever agree to help Rafa?” Julian groans.

“Because you’re a good guy,” I offer.

He scrubs his face. “Maybe I should be more like Lorenzo.”

I stiffen. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s annoyingly confident,” Julian replies.

“Right.”

“Did you expect me to insult him?” He shoots me a look.

“Yes,” I answer honestly.

Dahlia laughs. “Likewise.”

“I’ll have to learn to like him eventually, especially after tonight—” Julian cuts himself off rather abruptly.

“What’s happening tonight?” Dahlia looks over at him.

Julian glances away, which only feeds my sister’s curiosity.

“Julian,” she says while grabbing his chin. “What is it?”

His gaze flickers over me before dipping down to her. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

Dahlia gasps. “Why not tell me now?”

He tilts his head in my direction, and my sister’s eyes go wide.

Dread settles in my gut now that the jewelry Lorenzo bought me makes sense. He must’ve picked it out while choosing my ring.

My heart takes up permanent residence in my throat, and my skin threatens to break out into hives at the idea of nearly two hundred people witnessing a proposal tonight.

I don’t think I could’ve thought up a worse proposal if I tried.

Did you expect a romantic declaration of love for a fake relationship?

It seems silly to get upset about it, especially given our original agreement, but I can’t help it.

Are you upset about the type of proposal or the fact that it’s a fake one?

This kind of reality check would’ve been useful weeks ago, because how the hell am I supposed to tell Lorenzo we need to hold off on the entire fake proposal plan? Am I supposed to say that up until now I was fine with it, but now I’m having second thoughts because I like him?

Can I really tell Lorenzo that Hey, maybe we should put everything on pause because there is a slight chance I might want him to propose for real one day?

I’d laugh if I didn’t feel like throwing up at the idea.

Take a deep breath.

There is no need to panic yet. When I see him, I’ll pull him aside and tell him to prolong the original plan. Maybe even extend it by two more months—that way we can continue monitoring the polling numbers and see whether they continue to improve without going the extra step.

I abandon Dahlia and Julian so I can talk to Lorenzo about it. Willow points me in his direction, and I’m relieved to find him standing by himself out on the balcony, hiding from the two hundred people milling about the ballroom inside.