Nelson grinned down at her, teasing. "What? Off to run and meet your future husband?"

"Nelson, my stomach just dropped. I gotta bolt to the bathroom," Haven said, wincing as she pressed a hand to her cramping belly. She didn't even wait for him to answer before spinning on her heel and hurrying off.

Nelson chuckled and shook his head. His little sister was just nervous, that's all.

Locked in the bathroom, Haven splashed cold water on her face, letting the chill droplets trail down her jaw. When she glanced up at the mirror, her reflection looked almost foreign. It wasn't the soft, innocent face she knew anymore—her eyes glinted with a new, sharp maturity she couldn't place.

Going on a blind date right after a breakup? It felt wrong. Daunting, even.

She patted her face dry and stepped back out into the hall. Rounding a corner, she crashed straight into a man walking the other way. His scent—rich, crisp cedarwood—wrapped around her instantly, leaving her frozen, head spinning.

"How long you planning to stay glued to my chest?"

The low, smooth voice rumbled from above her, clear and cool as a mountain stream, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Haven jolted back to awareness. She'd fallen right into his arms, her palms pressed flat against the hard muscle of his chest. His heat seeped through the fabric of his shirt, straight into her skin.

Her face burned bright red. She scrambled back quickly, putting a full foot of space between them, and tilted her head up, already apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you coming I—"

He was devastatingly handsome.

The words died in her throat. She froze, completely stunned, as she drank in every sharp, perfect line of his face.

His gaze lingered on her flushed cheeks, and a flicker of curiosity glinted in his dark eyes. "No harm done, Miss Carlson. Your brother's waiting for you."

Her eyes blew wide with shock. How did he know her last name? They'd never met before, she was sure of it.

While she stood there reeling, he brushed past her, leaving the scent of cedarwood hanging thick in the air behind him.

Haven shook herself out of her daze and headed for the room Nelson had told her about. She took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.

Once inside, she stopped short. "Nelson, why's there only one person here? Where's the guy you set me up with?"

Nelson knew exactly who she meant. He grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Haven, you already anxious to meet him, huh?"

Seeing Nelson just fooling around, Haven's voice dropped, laced with worry. "Nelson, did your friend change his mind?"

Nelson caught the genuine concern in her eyes and dropped the act. "Who said he bailed?"

Right then, a deep, steady voice sounded right behind her. "Miss Carlson, why linger by the door?"

The unexpected words made Haven jump. She spun around fast, and when she registered who it was, her eyes went wide. "It's you."

Nelson frowned, curious now. "Haven, how do you two know each other?"

Haven's long lashes fluttered as she pulled herself together. She let her gaze linger on Leonard's sharp, chiseled features for a beat before answering, "We just bumped into each other in the hall."

She looked away, choosing not to get into the details of how she'd landed flat in his arms.

Leonard Peters' dark eyes flickered almost imperceptibly at her words "just bumped into," but he schooled his face back to neutral in a heartbeat.

He held her gaze, his eyes deep and searching. He worked his jaw against the inside of his cheek and let out a low, soft chuckle. "That's right. We did."

Nelson's eyes darted back and forth between Haven and Leonard, catching the weird, thick tension hanging between them. His gut told him something had definitely gone down in that hallway.

He kept that thought to himself, though, and leaned in close to Haven, whispering, "Alright, let me do the intro. This is Leonard Peters, the guy I set you up with. Now that you two are here, I'll get out of your hair and let you chat."

He didn't even wait for Haven to argue before turning and walking straight out the door.

Haven just stared, mouth hanging open, and then panic crashed over her.

Seriously? He was just gonna dip, leave her alone in a room with this stranger? This was so awkward.

Stuck alone together, Haven and Leonard stared at each other across the room. The silence stretched, thick and charged with something she couldn't name.

Needing to keep things civil, she forced a polite smile. "Um, Mr. Peters, please have a seat."

Leonard's dark eyes locked on her forced smile. Even like that, she was stunning. He loosened his tie, unbuttoned his suit jacket, set down a gift box and his leather briefcase, and sank onto the sofa with easy, relaxed grace that made Haven's heart skip a beat.

Even sitting, he radiated this overwhelming, take-charge energy that filled the whole room. Haven felt a quiet weight settle in her chest—Nelson's friend wasn't just some regular guy, that was for sure.

Wait, the name Leonard Peters... it sounded weirdly familiar, somehow.

Once they were both seated, they opened their mouths to speak at the exact same time.

Leonard smiled faintly, lifting one dark eyebrow. "Miss Carlson, after you."

Hearing him call her that felt strange, formal in a way that didn't fit. Haven's eyes softened. "Mr. Peters, you're my brother's friend. Just call me Haven."

"Sounds good. Then you call me Leonard," he answered without a second of hesitation.

Again, they said his name at the exact same time.

"Leonard."

Their eyes locked, and the newness of being on a first-name basis hung between them, soft and thrilling.

His voice, deep and a little rough around the edges, rumbled in her ears, and it stirred something low in her belly she hadn't expected.

She blinked up at him with those big, clear, beautiful eyes of hers. She didn't even realize how good it felt to hear him say her name that way, but her heart picked up its pace, spurred on by that mesmerizing voice of his.

"Haven, will you marry me?"

Leonard asked the question, his dark eyes glinting with quiet mystery, a soft, knowing smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Haven blinked, and a flicker of unease crossed her face. "It was a mistake. My brother just pushed me into it to keep Mom from yelling at me."

She paused, dropping her gaze as she fumbled for the right words. "I don’t know if my brother ever told you, but I messed up bad a while back. I walked out on someone totally wrong for me. My brother wanted to hide it from Mom to avoid gossip, keep our family from looking bad. Now I see the whole plan was selfish, unfair, and totally unnecessary. We shouldn’t have to keep up this fake act."

Leonard listened in silence for a long minute. A flicker of disappointment glinted in his deep-set eyes, masking whatever else he was feeling that was impossible to read.

"I can’t do this," he finally said. "I’m not good at pretending. And besides, the truth always comes out eventually. Won’t that just upset and disappoint your mom even more in the end?"

His deep voice hit Haven’s heart like a hammer. She dropped her gaze, her mood sinking like a stone.

He was right, wasn’t it? This was just lying. One lie always begets a dozen more. Why would Leonard even have time to play along with this dumb charade?

When the truth did come out, Mom would only be even more heartbroken.

Once that clicked, she snapped her head back up. "Thank you. You made me get it. I was wrong. I need to be honest with Mom, own my mistake, and start fresh. That’s what I should do."

Leonard stepped abruptly in front of Haven, and curled a gentle hand around her wrist. Something unfamiliar shifted in his normally unflappable eyes.

Haven froze. The warmth of his touch sent her heart racing for no reason she could name. She turned, wide clear eyes studying him curiously.

Leonard’s intense gaze lingered on her perfect face, his steady voice laced with unshakable determination. "I’ve got a solution that works for both of us. Wanna hear it?"

Haven stared at him, confused.

Wasn’t he against putting on an act?

How could he have a better idea than faking it?

Her mind spun a mile a minute as she paused, and under Leonard’s watchful stare, she sat back down.

Once he was seated, she leaned in, curious. "Leonard, what’s this solution you’re talking about?"

Instead of answering right away, Leonard grabbed his briefcase off the sofa and set a thick folder down right in front of Haven, his tone cool and collected. "Open it."

Curious, Haven snuck a glance at the relaxed, confident Leonard before turning her attention to the bulging folder sitting in front of her.

What could be inside this thing? And what did it have to do with this so-called solution of his?

Enigmatic Leonard was playing some mysterious game here, wasn’t he? What was his endgame?

Shoving the chaotic swirl of questions to the back of her mind, Haven slowly flipped the folder open. The second she did, her eyes blew wide and her mouth dropped open, completely speechless. She couldn’t even move for a whole minute.

The folder was stuffed full of documents proving just how insanely wealthy Leonard was.

Prime real estate all over the place, blue-chip stocks worth fighting for—all of it was his.

Haven had never been this stunned silent in her entire life.

She knew a few of these properties were registered under the Peters family name, inherited through government deals, not bought outright. But contrary to everything she assumed, every document was stamped and officially registered in Leonard’s name, plain and simple.

She remembered the financial hit her dad took when he bought similar property. Those weren’t permanent ownership—they were just leases, you had to drop a huge annual fee just to keep them. If you didn’t pay, the properties go right back to the government.

Wasn’t Leonard basically holding the entire region’s economy by the throat? How was this even possible?

Who was Leonard Peters really?

How could he own all these priceless assets?

How did the government even allow this?

"You done yet?" Leonard’s deep, calm voice cut through her racing thoughts.

Next to Leonard’s total composure, Haven was a mess of disbelief, curiosity, wonder, and confusion all tangled up. She couldn’t see Leonard as just some random guy anymore. To her, he was walking, breathing wealth and power personified.

"Uh—yes, I’m done, Mr. Moneybags."

"What did you just call me?" Leonard’s dark eyes narrowed, and that innate, intimidating aura of power rolled off him in waves.

Haven didn’t dare piss off the richest guy in the room. What if he went after her family?

"Ah—nothing," she laughed awkwardly, smoothing her face into something neutral before looking at Leonard with wide, sincere eyes. "I don’t get it. How do all these assets tie into your solution for helping me?"

Leonard’s gaze was intense, his eyes holding depths like an old, uncharted river. His lips tugged into a faint smile. "There’s a connection."

As his words settled in, Haven found herself holding her breath, her hands curling slightly tighter. Her beautiful eyes stayed locked on him, not even blinking.

"My dear wife, your family’s properties won’t owe another cent in fees. You’ll get full permanent ownership and land use rights. On top of that, I’m giving you a plot over two hundred thousand square feet right in Manhattan. You can do whatever you want with it. The wedding house, the dowry, all the traditional gifts—nothing’s going to be missing."

Leonard’s calm, steady words hit the quiet lake of Haven’s heart like a boulder, sending shockwaves of astonishment rippling out.

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah. Take all the time you need to think it over," Leonard’s lips pressed into a thin line, his dark eyes like an abyss, dragging her in with an irresistible pull.

"Why me? And besides, we barely even know each other. Don’t you care if your spouse even likes you?"

Leonard Peters spoke soft and steady, explaining, "My grandpa’s been on my back nonstop about getting married. He’s dying to see a grandkid before he gets any older. His health’s been shaky, and I just don’t want him to leave this world with any regrets."

Haven Peters paused, and the slow dawn of realization crossed her face. When Leonard finished talking, he looked back at her and went on, "Besides, I’m not marrying some random stranger. I know you, even if you don’t remember me."

Haven froze, stunned.

No wonder he’d known her last name when they talked earlier. No wonder he knew Nelson Carlson was her brother.

She blinked, studying his sharp, polished features as their eyes locked. This face was so handsome—she should definitely remember it, right? But she dug through every corner of her memory and came up empty. She’d never seen him before.

Leonard caught the confusion clouding her eyes and realized she had no clue who he was. His dark irises dimmed for a split second before he asked, "Have you given any thought to my proposal?"

Haven pushed her doubts aside, her brow furrowing slightly. She couldn’t let her mom stand alone at her fiftieth birthday, facing all the town gossip without a proper husband by her side.

An idea sparked out of nowhere, and her eyes lit up. "What if we swap? You pose as my husband when you meet my mom, and I’ll pose as your wife when you meet your grandpa. Sound good?"

"Nah. A fake arrangement is still just fake. If they find out the truth, it’ll be way worse. My wife has to be real. Our marriage has to be real."

Leonard paused, then added, "Not that…"

Haven jumped in quick, "Not what?"

"Not that we have to be in love. It’d just be a marriage of convenience. We can live our own separate lives, just help each other out with our families."

"A marriage of convenience?" Haven’s eyes blew wide.

Leonard nodded. "Yep. That’s all laid out in the agreement. If you’re down with it, sign here." He pulled a thick document out of his briefcase and handed it straight to her.

Haven’s gaze dropped to the papers, her expression turning serious. The agreement spelled out every boundary clear as day. Best of all, if either of us found real love, the whole thing would dissolve—and our marriage would end right along with it.

"Even if we’re technically married, this deal’s still gonna ask a lot from you. I said you’d be my wife, and you’ll have to play the part fully to convince my grandpa."

Leonard’s voice was low and sincere, it had an pull you couldn’t deny.

Haven thought it over hard, her gaze dropping to the floor. This agreement was no joke—were they really going to go through with getting married? Her own parents’ marriage had turned into a bad joke after her dad ran off with another woman, leaving her mom alone to deal with all the sneering from friends and relatives.

That memory twisted a sharp pain right through Haven’s chest, tangled up with guilt and a sick, uncomfortable ache.

After a long minute of silence, Haven lifted her head from the document, took a deep breath, and made up her mind. "Alright. I’ll marry you. It’ll put my family’s worries to rest. Let’s pick a time to go meet our elders."

Leonard picked up a pen and signed his name without a single hesitation. A deep, unreadable light flickered in his eyes, and his lips tugged up into an irresistible smile.

"So, you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I am. What for?"

Leonard answered, "Then bring your ID and meet me at the marriage registry first thing in the morning."

Haven stared, caught completely off guard. "The registry office? We already signed the agreement—we actually have to make it legal?"

Leonard’s face went serious, and he answered with total confidence, "You think my grandpa or your mom would believe our marriage is real if it’s not official?"

Haven remembered that clause she’d read in the agreement, and nodded reluctantly. "Okay. I’ll meet you at the registry tomorrow."

Right then, her phone rang in her purse. She fished it out and answered, her eyes pausing mid-conversation before she politely ended the call. She turned back to Leonard with an apologetic wince. "Sorry, I have to run. Let’s swap numbers."

Leonard’s gaze darkened, but he didn’t press her for details. He just reeled off his number in that low, smooth voice of his.

The second Haven left, Nelson Carlson tracked Leonard down. Seeing Leonard alone, Nelson paused before asking, "What are you doing here by yourself? Where’s my sister?"

Leonard took his time straightening the documents, tucking them back into his briefcase before he answered casual as anything, "She left."

Nelson’s jaw tightened, his mind jumping straight to the jerk who’d wasted five years of Haven’s life. Could that asshole have come back?

Outside the ballroom, Haven walked back in holding something. She was wearing an evening gown, and she turned every head the second she stepped through the door. No one could miss her.

The young woman was dressed in a lilac floral evening gown, the soft lavender satin glowing like a fresh spring garden. A thin white satin ribbon cinched her waist, showing off her perfect hourglass figure. Her skin was fair and smooth, her eyes deep and unreadable. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry, and it only made her look more ethereal, like she didn’t even belong in this room.

Joshua West couldn’t help but stare, surprised to see Haven looking so elegant. He never expected to run into her at Mrs. Porter’s party. As every man’s eyes glued themselves to her, his brow furrowed hard. What the hell was she doing here?

Sitting right next to him, Mrs. West recognized Haven immediately. Her face turned sour, and she spat out with total disdain, "What is Haven doing here? Her family’s firm is on the brink of collapse and she doesn’t even care. Now she shows up all dolled up like she’s showing off—what game is she playing at?"