Later that afternoon, I was sitting at my desk at Oasis, putting the finishing touches on my presentation for a potential client that Ronan had sent my way. He’d kept his word about helping me with my business, another way in which we’d become a team.

An amazing team.

I smiled to myself, recalling our rough beginning, when it had seemed like we argued about every other thing. Due to our strong personalities, we still clashed occasionally, but when it came to the important stuff, we were usually in agreement.

Ronan was a linear thinker, and while it sometimes felt like he oversimplified everything, he was fabulous at cutting through the noise to reach the heart of a matter. And once he’d grasped that my world view wasn’t totally alien to his own—it just had far more shades of gray—we’d been able to talk easily about everything under the sun.

Well, almost everything. We hadn’t yet talked about our feelings for each other—but I was gearing up for that conversation. Sometime within the next day or two, I’d find the right moment to tell Ronan how deeply I’d come to care for him.

Just then, the door opened, and I was stunned to see Veronica Kingsley enter the room. Her heels clicked against the hardwood floor as she strode briskly toward my desk. Dressed in a flowing navy silk pantsuit accessorized with pearls, she appeared more polished than ever against the battered walls and used furnishings of my rented workspace.

“Hello, Ava,” she said. “We need to talk.”

Why was she here? Was she about to drop some new, wedding-related bombshell—and if so, why had she bothered coming to my workplace, instead of calling or dropping by the apartment?

I rose to greet her. “Good afternoon, Veronica. Can I get you a cup of coffee, or tea?”

“That won’t be necessary,” she said. “What I have to say won’t take long.”

With an expression of distaste, she perched on the battered red bucket chair that I thought of as Mimi’s and positioned her purse on her knees.

I sat back down at my desk, shut my laptop, and gave her my full attention.

“What do we need to discuss?” I asked.

“Your upcoming marriage to my stepson,” she said. “It’s a fake, a ruse to gain access to his trust money—and we both know it.”

For a moment, I just stared at her as my mind raced. Could she possibly know the truth about my arrangement with Ronan? It didn’t seem possible. Aside from Ronan and me, only Cara, Mimi, and Jack knew the truth, and none of them would sell us out.

Which meant that Veronica had to be bluffing. No other explanation made sense.

“Where is this coming from?” I said. “Ronan and I love each other.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Cut the little-miss-perfect act. It doesn’t fool me for a minute. Your sudden engagement was suspicious from day one, and now, thanks to Aiden, I know all about Ronan’s financial problems.”

“Whatever you’ve heard is malicious gossip,” I said. “Ronan’s business is thriving.”

She rolled her eyes. “Spare me the lies.”

I didn’t know what else to do, so I threw everything I had at her. “Believe what you want, Veronica. I don’t need to convince you of anything. Ronan and I love each other, and one week from tomorrow, we’ll be married. Nothing you say or do can stop us.”

She eyed me with grudging respect. “So that’s how you want to play it?” She reached into her purse. “How much do you want?”

I stared at her. “What?”

She pulled out a checkbook and waved it at me. “Money. How much is Ronan paying you? A million—or two? Whatever the amount, I’m prepared to outbid him.”

A cold fury rushed through me. Who did she think she was? How could she whip out her checkbook and play God with Ronan’s life?

When I regained control of myself, I stared the bitch down and asked the question that had plagued me from the day I’d first met her.

“Why do you hate Ronan so much?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“So there it is—you do hate him. You just admitted it.”

“I admitted nothing. You heard what you wanted to hear.”

“I heard the truth from your own lips—and I expect an explanation.”

“Very well,” Veronica said. “I don’t particularly like either of my stepchildren, but I don’t hate them, either. I’m only doing what’s necessary to ensure that Aiden receives the inheritance he deserves.”

Her statement was in line with Cara’s belief that Veronica’s aim was to make sure that Aiden received the bulk of Carter Kingsley’s fortune, at Ronan and Cara’s expense.

“Carter’s a billionaire,” I said. “He has a wife and three children. Isn’t a quarter of his fortune enough for each of you? Why are you so determined to get Ronan disinherited?”

“It’s not that simple,” she said. “Carter won’t divide the firm. He’ll leave Kingsley Capital to one of his two sons, just as his father left it to him.”

“And you want Aiden to inherit Kingsley Capital.”

“Of course I do,” Veronica said. “The firm is worth more than the total of Carter’s other assets, and right now, Carter intends that it go to Ronan—his eldest son. Compared to what Ronan will inherit, my son gets a pittance.”

“A quarter of Carter’s other assets is no pittance—and Carter’s old-fashioned attitude in favoring his eldest son isn’t fair to Cara, either.”

“Cara doesn’t count. Carter would never leave his business to a woman.”

“That’s outrageous.”

She shrugged. “I don’t disagree, but that’s the way it is. One of Carter’s two sons will get Kingsley Capital, and I intend to make sure that son is Aiden. If Ronan’s business fails, Carter will be embarrassed by that failure, and I’ll be able to convince him to alter his will in Aiden’s favor. Carter won’t risk leaving Kingsley Capital to a son with poor business judgment—a son who might destroy his legacy.”

For the first time, I fully grasped not only Veronica’s aim but also her thinking. In a twisted way, she no doubt saw herself as a mother fighting for her child. But in her vicious quest to seize money and power for her son, greed had led her to pit brother against brother, and to tear the Kingsley family apart in the process.

“This has been your plan all along, hasn’t it?” I said. “This is why you put Ronan down at every turn, always trying to make him look bad to Carter.”

“What if I have?” she said. “When Aiden inherits the Kingsley fortune and the place in society that goes with it, his success will be worth everything I’ve done to assure it.”

Her words sickened me. After growing up surrounded by Carter’s prejudice and Veronica’s machinations, it was a miracle that Ronan and Cara had turned out to be the kind, decent people who they were.

“Put your checkbook away,” I said. “I understand that you love Aiden and want the best for him—but I love Ronan and would never do anything to hurt him. Carter’s will may not be fair, but ultimately, it’s his right to leave Kingsley Capital to whoever he chooses—and regardless of who he chooses, each of his children will still inherit a fortune.”

Veronica leaned forward in her chair. “You’re making a mistake, Ava. I’m prepared to offer you two million dollars to call off this farce of a wedding.” She gestured at my less-than-impressive office space. “With that kind of money, you could rent a space in Manhattan and set up a real business for yourself.”

My blood simmered. “My business may not be worth millions, but there are some things money can’t buy, and one of them is my heart. I would never betray the man I love.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Three million, then, you gold-digging upstart.”

Fighting to contain my rising anger, I leveled her with a look. “Why is it so difficult for you to accept the truth? Ronan and I are getting married because we’re in love, and no amount of money will change that reality.”

She scrutinized me for several seconds before emitting a brittle laugh. “Silly girl. You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?”

“Veronica, we’re in love. It’s high time you faced that fact.”

“If you think Ronan loves you, you’re a fool. He’s just like his father.”

I glared at her, resisting the urge to reach across the desk and slap her perfectly made-up face. “Ronan’s nothing like his father.”

She regarded me with contempt. “Don’t be stupid. Ronan’s a skirt-chaser, just like Carter. Neither of them love anyone or anything beyond their own pleasure.”

At that, something snapped inside me, and I stood up from my chair. “You need to leave, and leave now. You’ve made your disgusting offer, and you’ve heard my response. There’s nothing more for us to say to each other.”

Veronica got to her feet, slung her purse over her shoulder, and stalked toward the door. But when she reached it, she paused and turned back to me.

“Call me if you change your mind,” she said evenly. “My offer’s good until the day before the wedding.”

“Whatever. I won’t be calling.”

“You’ll live to regret this.”

“I’ll never regret turning down your filthy bribe.”

It was then that Veronica delivered her most spiteful shot.

“One day you will,” she said. “And it won’t be your only regret, because you’re betting your future on the wrong man. Ronan doesn’t love you—and he never will.”