I feel a deep pang of regret as I head to the office.

The second I saw Lily’s face; I knew I’d done something wrong. I should have stopped her from leaving. This was new for her. She’d needed me to hold her at least, or tell her that last night had meant something.

Instead, I’d treated her like just any woman.

It only occurred to me what an absolutely brutal fucking mistake that was when I was in the limo, heading to the office. I pulled out my phone and thought about texting something, but “Thanks for last night” sounded too flip. Nothing conveyed what I really wanted to say to her.

Nothing short of I love you.

I sure as hell wasn’t saying that. This wasn’t love. Hell, I’d only met her a week ago.

And yet there was no denying she’d turned my world around. Last night hadn’t been like any night I’d ever had. It had been more intimate, more intense. It hadn’t been about chasing an orgasm at all. I hadn’t even thought about myself, in fact. It had been all about her, about making Lily feel good.

I rub my tired face as I look out past a rain-spattered window, into the city. It’s early Sunday, so the traffic is lighter right now. I have to do this, I remind myself, pocketing my phone. This is what it’s all about, isn’t it? Getting Winchester Properties under my control. Who the hell cares about what Lily Brogan thinks or feels?

The limo pulls up at my office building, and I curse myself. You care. Admit it, you do.

No. I refuse to admit that. This whole arrangement was for one reason: To get my company back. Lily wouldn’t even be in my life if it weren’t for that, the main purpose for my existence for the past decade. I’ve always thought as the helm of Winchester as my destiny, and I’m sure as hell not going to let anything derail that.

I stalk into my office with newfound conviction, and drop my briefcase in my father’s office. As I’m writing up the email to the board to convene and emergency meeting, I look up to see Seth, hanging in my doorway.

“Hey,” he says to me.

“Hey.” I pause with my fingers hovering over the keyboard, wondering what day we can meet. It’s Sunday, so since most of the office is out, Monday will be the day. Sunday. I look up, wondering why Seth is even here. “You have some extra work to catch up on?”

He shakes his head. “But I do want to talk to you about something.”

I hold up a hand. “Let me just-“

“It’s important.”

“All right.” I keep typing. This is important. Maybe the single most important email I’ve ever written. And I need to state my case with conviction. Dan is unfit to lead this company. I finish the last paragraph, address it to the correct people, and hit send.

I look up at Seth, and it’s only then I realize that he looks a little sick. “What’s the problem?”

“Your brother,” he says.

I smirk. “You can say that again.”

“No. What I mean is that, you know how he is with the funds,” he says, coming into the office and closing the door. “He’s been going over every record line by line. And . . .”

That’s not surprising. I stare at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “And?”

“And I may have used the corporate credit card to pay for our latest trip to the club,” he says, cringing.

I let out a slow breath. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Well you know, I always pay it off with my own funds. But it’s there. And no, it doesn’t say Suitors Club on the statement. It says Entertainment Resources. But he knew you and I were together that night. And I don’t know, with a little detective work he might be able to put two and two together and . . .”

And figure out that was where I met Lily.

Depending how much he wanted it—and he was a Winchester, after all, so something told me he wanted it a lot—he wouldn’t stop his digging. And once he started to get suspicious, it wouldn’t take long to recent news stories about my latest conquests, the most recent of which appeared well after when Lily and I supposedly met. He’d be able to ask around and realize that I’d had a new woman on my arm for every function of the past year, and not one of them even resembled Lily. If he made the right connections, he could easily trail our meeting right to that Saturday night . . .

Shit.

“Okay,” I say. “Thanks, dumbass. Well, he doesn’t know anything yet. And anyway, Lily and I aren’t . . .”

“You aren’t playing engaged anymore?”

“No, we are.” Technically. After last night, though, it was sticky.

He snorts. “My advice to you: End it. As soon as you can. Before he finds out what you did.”

He is right. I suppose the only way to get my brother to stop digging on that would be to end the engagement. That only seems logical. Especially since it isn’t currying me any favors with my father.

“Get the booty first, though,” he says. “You paid for it.”

“I didn’t pay for that,” I say, annoyed at the suggestion. “I paid her half to pretend to be my fiancé. The other half was when I successfully got my business back.”

“If Dan finds out what you did, I guess you might be in for a bargain. Because the board will never let you run the company if they find out what you did.”

I nod.

He stands up and leans forward. “Your only chance: End the engagement now. Bury her. And plead your case to the board asap. If you don’t, it’s game over.”

I sink down in to my father’s chair, then finger the ring in my pocket, which I’ll need to return. I’ve gotten very comfortable, too comfortable within these walls, over the past months. It may not be mine for much longer, if I don’t do as he says. “Yeah.”

He leaves, and I take a deep breath, pulling out my phone. I type out, then delete, then type out again a text to Lily, my finger hovering over the send button for the longest time. Finally, I close my eyes and press send.

It’s over. We can’t see each other again.