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I lift my head and take off my glasses when Asher appears at my door.
He left at seven so I wasn’t expecting to see him back here. The black biker jacket he’s wearing suggests he made a stop to see me but has other plans for the night.
“Thought you’d still be here.” He grins as he walks in.
“Where else would I be with the shit ton of work that came in today? Did you see it?”
“Of course I did, but it said: ‘For the attention of Hunter Le Blanche.’ That isn’t me.” He chuckles. “You have to draw a line, Hunter. If you don’t, especially now, you’ll be a fucking zombie by the time Father leaves for Europe.”
I sigh and relax my shoulders. “You’re not wrong. But this is a good opportunity for us. I feel like the weight of our family legacy is on my shoulders, so I can’t fuck things up.”
“You won’t.” He sits and gives me a contemplative stare, lifting his chin slightly. “I may not be getting the CEO position or even the CFO role for another year, but I feel the same as you. That’s why I’m taking Priscilla on a little trip.”
I straighten and widen my eyes. “What kind of trip is this?”
“The kind where I’m hoping we’ll bond. I’m taking her to Cyprus. She said she always wanted to go there, so I’m making it happen.”
I give him credit. He’s really trying. I suppose he has to, though. Not trying means fucking up everything he stands to gain from their marriage.
“That’s a good call, Asher.”
“I hope so. What about you?” Mischief forms in his eyes. “You haven’t talked about Luna much, and you never gave me an update on what became of my little gift to you. Has she been in touch much with soldier boy?”
“No.” Of course, I’ve been checking, but there was nothing to check at the time. “I did, however, notice that Ryan has signed himself up to work with Luna on all her upcoming fundraising events.”
“That little prick. What about you? Tell me you’re at least having fun with her.”
“This is business, Asher.” I won’t tell him about that kiss.
“You know what all work and no play does to the soul.”
A thin smile glides across my lips. “What a good thing I have no soul.”
“Soul or not, you need to get laid. You’re too wound up. That can make a man crazy.”
“Don’t worry about my dick. I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much.”
“Just looking out for you, brother.” He laughs. “You have one of New York’s most talked about women in the palm of your hand. I’d hate to see you waste a good opportunity.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
He laughs, then a look of seriousness enters his eyes. “Have you really thought about everything else, like life after the wedding? You don’t exactly know how long this thing with her father is going to take.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” I make it sound simple, but I know it won’t be.
“The longer this takes, the more complicated things will become.”
“I know, but that’s the risk I have to take.”
I’ve tried not to entertain the possibility that this could take several months. Fuck, maybe even a year. If that happens, I’ll have to take other measures. I certainly won’t stand back and allow Dominic to become governor. That means I have less than six months to sort things out.
“I guess we’ll see what happens. For me, too. Anyway, this is yours.” Asher reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver De Beers ring box.
It should contain Luna’s engagement ring. I ordered it the other day and asked him to pick it up for me when it was ready. I got Luna’s ring size from her father. As I wanted something customized and ready at short notice, I paid a small fortune.
“It’s ready,” I say more to myself than him.
“It is, and it’s one hell of a rock.” He chuckles and hands me the box. “You went all out.”
