“Hello, future sister-in-law,” Declan booms as soon as he sees me. Then he practically tears me out of Asher’s grip and pulls me into a big bear hug, lifting me off the floor. Asher is tall at six-foot-three, but Declan is the biggest of the Langford boys at six-foot-five, so it’s quite the lift when he raises me to his level for the hug. “By the way, I’m calling dibs on best man for the wedding, and I already have ideas for the festivities leading up to it.”
“Is that so?” I chuckle.
“It’s definitely so.”
“Put her down, dumbass,” Asher growls.
“What?” Declan says once I’m back on my feet. “I’ve never had a sister before, I’mexcited. Is that a crime?”
Asher rolls his eyes, and Harrington laughs under his breath.
“We could use another woman’s touch in the Langford clan,” Declan says. “Fuck knows mom could use an ally.”
“Oh, she’s already all over it,” Asher sighs.
I furrow my brows at him. “What do you mean?”
He flashes me a shy smile. “She’s dying to spend more time with you after the symphony. She called me this morning about scheduling a girls’ day. She never got to shop for a girl or do girl things, so she’s kind of chomping at the bit to do that with you.”
My stomach flips in excitement. “Really?”
“Really. But she wasn’t sure if you’d want to do that with her since you have your mom, so she called me to see what I thought about it.”
“I would love to spend time with her. She’s amazing, Asher.”
All three Langford men smile widely, and Harrington practically beams at me. “She’d love that, Ella. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I’m honored she wants to spend time with me.”
Harrington pats me gently on the shoulder, blinking rapidly, and I swear I see a faint sheen of tears in his eyes. Asher told me once that Catherine had miscarried a fourth child, a girl, and she was never able to have another child after that. She loves her boys, but there was always a little bit of grief in her heart for the daughter she never got to have. And now, Declan is casually talking about me joining their family and becoming like a daughter to her. The thought is as amazing as it is overwhelming.
“If you are all about done,” Janet snaps, pulling us out of our little Langford bubble. “We have a meeting to get to.”
Just like that, the good vibes fizzle away and the four of us take our seats.
“We’re going to make this short and to the point,” Asher says before anyone else can speak. “You wanted more publicity, and you got it. We don’t have official numbers yet since the story is still traveling, but there have been millions of clicks on every social media platform, hundreds of news outlets both online and traditional have reported on the story, it’s been covered by entertainment news outlets, and it’s traveled to almost every corner of the globe. I am no longer being written about as the womanizing playboy, and your love story has boosted both sales and the opinions of the Langford family as well as Langford Holdings. Our PR director, Emily, will have more concrete metrics for you after we return from our Memorial Day vacation to the Hamptons, as per previously agreed upon, but suffice it to say, your goal has been achieved.”
“And what of the marriage rumors?” Janet asks.
“What about them?”
“Is there any truth to them? There is a possible marriage clause in the contract. Are you interested in pursuing it?”
“As of now that is a private matter. If it becomes a possibility, I’ll let you all know.”
“It would make for more great publicity for the company,” a man whose name I don’t know says. “Perhaps it’s worth pursuing.”
“Well, we don’t want to overwhelm the public,” Janet inserts quickly before Asher can respond. “As Mr. Langford said, we’ll address that if it comes to it.”
I furrow my brows. Overwhelm the public? Janet wanted this. She even pushed for an engagement to be part of the contract and not an additional amendment to it. Why does it feel like she’s suddenly trying to pump the breaks?
“And what about the articles about Ms. Antonov?” a man asks. “Is there truth to them?”
Asher smirks. “To a degree, yes. She cornered me in Singapore to try to convince me to accept TDC’s deal. She also tried to convince me to get back together with her.”
“Well, that would have benefited us in both ways. Exactly what we wanted in the beginning,” Janet says, scathingly.
“In your glaring short-sightedness, you forget that selling Greenspan doesn’t help Langford Holdings in the long run. The sellonlybenefits TDC. Any money we lose now will be recouped by record-breaking margins in the future. And I’d rather castrate myself than get back together with Katrina Antonov.”
