"Those are my terms." She didn't blink. "Half now, half later. Or we don't have a deal."
I studied her for a long moment. "Fine." I nodded at Michael again. "Half upfront."
Kim returned to the contract. Read the rest in silence. When she reached the final page, she picked up the pen I'd provided—a Montblanc, because I was apparently trying to impress her even now—and signed her name in neat, precise letters.
Kim Young.
Her hand didn't shake. Her expression didn't waver. She set down the pen and looked at me with those dark eyes that gave nothing away.
"So," she said. "When do we start?"
"This weekend." I pulled the contract toward me and added my own signature. "Dinner at my grandmother's estate. The whole family will be there. Sebastian, his girlfriend Aria, my mother Helena, and my grandmother. Maybe Isabelle, if she decides to show up.”
I handed my copy to Michael. He nodded, then left.
Kim's composure flickered. Just for a second. "That's a lot of people."
"They'll all want to meet you. The mysterious woman who finally tamed Xavier Dubois." I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't worry. I'll prep you."
"Prep me?"
"Tell you about them. Who to watch out for, who to charm, what topics to avoid." I leaned forward, elbows on my desk. "If we're going to convince them this is real, you need to know what you're walking into."
She nodded slowly. "Okay. Tell me about them."
I took a breath and started with the hardest one.
"Sebastian. My brother. Half-brother, technically—same father, different mothers. If you're honest with him, he'll respect you. If you try to play games, he'll see through it immediately."
"And his girlfriend?"
"Aria." A genuine smile tugged at my mouth. "You'll like her. Everyone likes her. She's warm, sharp-tongued, and doesn't take anyone's crap. She sees everything, so don't try to hide anything from her. She'll figure it out anyway and be annoyed that you didn't trust her."
Kim filed that away. "Your grandmother?"
"Eleanor Dubois. She'll watch how we interact, how we look at each other. If there's a crack in our story, she'll find it."
"Reassuring."
"She's not cruel. She's just... thorough. She wants to make sure I'm not wasting my life. In her mind, this is love."
Kim's expression was unreadable. "And your mother?"
"Helena." My voice softened despite myself. "She's kind. Desperate for me to be happy. She'll probably cry when she meets you, fair warning. She's been waiting for this moment since I turned twenty-five and showed no signs of settling down."
"So she'll be easy to convince?"
"She'll be easy to please. Convincing is different." I met Kim's eyes. "She knows me. Really knows me. If I seem off, she'll notice."
Kim absorbed all of this in silence. Then she straightened in her chair.
"Your turn," she said.
"My turn?"
"If your family asks about me, you need to have answers. Where I grew up. What I like. Basic information that a boyfriend would know."
She was right. I should have thought of this myself.
