Page 20 of Pretender

“Wow! Congratulations!”

I turn to Will—he grins from ear to ear, tears forming in his eyes.

“It’ll be at the end of August at Will’s brother’s manor house in Devon,” Mum says.

“This August? In two months?”

“Yes, and we can’t wait to meet your Linnea. Please invite her to that dinner at Brunswick Nurseries next weekend, will you? Now I can finally tell everyone it’s actually our engagement party.”

Oh shit. Now I’ve absolutely put my foot in it.

CHAPTER FIVE

sweetheart

LINNEA

It’s the night of the big augmented reality event for Aiden’s friend Mark’s gaming company. The Elven forest stretches out in front of me; trees line the walls and cluster in the centre of the main room. They continue through the long hallway and into the adjoining rooms, creating a vast dense forest for the AR gamers to enjoy. I step through, checking my team’s work one last time before the doors open to the guests.

The details of the polyurethane bark and the silk leaves of the hanging birches make it lifelike. The leaves stir and rustle lightly when the air moves as I walk past.

But it’s the combination of the twinkling invisible-wire fairy lights and Olga’s idea of using Swarovski crystals throughout that gives it a subtle, shimmering, evening dew vibe.

My team can’t take full credit for this stunning scene, though. The walls are covered in Rey’s murals. This whole fantasy world is her idea. But our expertise in lighting, texture, and materials elevates it to a level beyond breathtaking. Beyond luxurious. It’s … spectacular. I’m so proud of my team.

The space is dotted with hidden speakers for the soundscape of the forest. There are small calibration markers for the AR glasses to know where people will see whatever it is they’re interacting with—elves and talking animals, mostly. It bothers my designer’s eye to see these small stickers, but the guests won’t notice.

“Hey,” a voice says from behind me and I turn to find Aiden and a couple of others. The tech crew, it appears, with their headphones and AR glasses at the ready.

“The team is ready to do the sound and visuals tests, are you happy with everything else?” Aiden meets my eye then cuts away. Hm.

“Yes, all good,” I say.

“Great.”

“Good luck with the event.” I nod goodbye and make my way down the long room, but Aiden flings out an arm in front of me. I lift my gaze to his to see what he wants. This is highly unusual for him.

“Uh, sorry, I… Do you want to stay?”

“I don’t have a costume. I’d stick out like a sore thumb.” Maybe not too bad in my navy, sleeveless jumpsuit, but that’s the best excuse I could make up on the spot. And there’s no way I’ll even consider being dressed up as a sexy elf in front of him. Or anyone. Especially people Henry still works with.

“You can join the pre-event,” he adds. “I can introduce you to some investors.”

“Thank you, that’s nice of you to offer,” I say, considering it for a moment. “I really appreciate it, but…”

How much do I say? Henry was always the one doing the networking. All the schmoozing. Aiden’s investors will be Henry’s kind of guys. Not mine. Not residential, nor female. “I need to focus on my residential pivot.”

He blows out a breath. “Look, I need to⁠—”

“Aiden, there you are,” a man’s voice comes from the entrance.

Sebastian Vincent.

I’ve seen him in the blog (and pretty much everywhere online, he’s hard to miss), but although he’s been around The Orion I’ve never spoken with him. His other friend, the more private one, comes up behind him. What’s his name again? He was involved in last year’s Hotel Fabiano renovation, if I remember correctly. But he’s not been much in the blog or press like the others so I know nothing about him.

“Guys, have you met my Linnea?” Aiden gestures to me. “I mean, my designer?” He barks out a laugh, and it’s the strangest sound. What is going on with him?

He clears his throat. “Linnea, these are my friends and investors, Sebastian and Elliott.”