"Relax," I say, enjoying her panic. "We can stay at the penthouse until I inherit the house if that's what you prefer. I understand your reluctance to live with my mother. It's why I have my own place."
"But eventually we'll have to live here?" she asks.
"Yes. This is my family home."
I open the double doors and gesture for her to enter.
The space is exactly as I left it years ago. I haven't lived here since college. I wasn't lying when I told Sera I understood her desire not to reside with my mother.
As I look around, I realize how masculine everything is. This was a space I curated as a boy. Now I'm a man—a husband and soon-to-be father.
"You can decorate however you'd like," I say. "I want my office to stay the way it is, but I'm not particularly attached to anything else. The staff can help you obtain whatever you need."
Sera walks through slowly, taking it in. Her dress rustles with every step, the veil still pinned in her hair making her look like a ghost drifting through my space.
She stops in front of the windows, looking out at thegarden below. The moonlight catches on her veil, making the pearls shimmer.
She looks like something from a fairy tale. Beautiful and unreal.
I move behind her. Close enough to feel her heat. Close enough to smell her perfume mixing with the scent of roses from her bouquet.
"You did well today," I say quietly. "I know it was difficult."
"Difficult." She laughs without humor. "That's one word for it."
"You're a Nero now. You'll get used to it."
"Will I?" She turns to face me. "Or will I just get better at pretending?"
"Does it matter?"
The question hangs between us. Her eyes search mine, looking for something. I don't know what, but as we stand there in the moonlight, I wonder what she sees that makes her eyes flicker and her mouth turn down.
"I want to see my brother," she says finally. "You promised. After the wedding."
"Tomorrow."
"You said after?—"
"Tomorrow, Seraphina." I reach up, starting to remove the pins from her veil. "Tonight is ours."
She doesn't move as I work the pins free. Her hair comes loose, cascading down her back in dark curls.
"Adrian." Her voice wavers. "I'm tired."
"I know."
"I want to sleep."
"You will." I pull the last pin free. She looks like the girl from the gala now, less like my mother's creation.
I don't answer. Just pull her to me and kiss her.
She makes a small sound of surprise before kissing meback. Her hands come up to my chest—whether to push me away or pull me closer, I don't know.
Maybe she doesn't either.
I deepen the kiss, tasting her. Claiming her. Reminding her that she's mine now. Legally. Permanently. In every way that matters.
