Jessica: Mrs. Wilder posted last night. Our DMs are flooded.
Jessica: Like, FLOODED.
Tessa pulled herself upright and opened Instagram.
A gorgeous photo of the reception at sunset, the terrace bathed in the last golden light before dusk. The champagne tower she had designed glowed warm against the evening sky. String lights hung scattered like stars.
Caption:Absolutely obsessed with @ThorneEventsNYC. That lemon ricotta appetizer alone was worth the trip to the Vineyard. If you need catering that’s flawless from the first bite to the last, hire Tessa Thorne immediately. Already planning all our Oath Capital events with her.
Tessa read the last sentence twice.
Mrs. Wilder was Devney. Devney was the bride. The bride had married Ronan. Ronan was Gabriel’s partner.
She hadn’t put it together. Eleanor had handled the menu personally, and Tessa had never thought to ask who Devney was marrying.
Oath Capital was Gabriel’s firm.
She set the phone face down on the bed.
She had succeeded. Validation was hers. Everything she had spent decades working toward had been delivered, wrapped in irony, and every bit of it required walking back into Gabriel Sterling’s world.
Chapter 3
GABRIEL
The email arrivedat 8:15 on Monday morning.
From: Devney Wilder
To: Ronan Wilder, Knox Knightly, Gabriel Sterling
Subject: Catering Consultation, 10am, Conference Room B
Morning! I know we just got back from the wedding, but I couldn’t wait to follow up with Thorne Events. I exchanged emails with them yesterday, and they had an opening this morning. They are coming in at 10 to present proposals for our upcoming events. I would love all your input. See you then!
P.S. Gabriel, can you come at 9:45? I want to run through something quickly before the meeting.—D
Gabriel stared at his computer screen, and his cursor blinked at him.
Devney Wilder. The name still looked strange, two words forced together like two words that still didn’t belong together. Less than a week married, and everything had already changed.Ronan, the notorious control freak, had fallen, and his carefully constructed world now included a woman who kept a bedazzled pencil holder on her desk and had once organized a surprise birthday party for the office fern. Gabriel had been suspicious of her for two days, charmed by her in three weeks, and quietly delighted to watch Ronan unspool around her ever since. She had been good for his oldest friend. He liked her. On most days, he was glad she had stayed.
The postscript sat in his inbox like a warning sign on a winding road.
Probably budget questions. Or Ronan was already driving her crazy. A few days into marriage, and the man had probably reorganized her entire filing system, alphabetized her spice rack, and built a spreadsheet to track their household efficiency metrics.
Gabriel closed the email and tried to focus on the Meridian contracts waiting for review. His cursor blinked at him, patient as a held breath, and he wasn’t seeing contract terms. He was seeing brown eyes and a face he had never managed to forget.
At 9:40, he gave up the pretense of working and headed to Conference Room B.
Devney was already there, two cups of coffee on the table like peace offerings. She looked up when he entered, and her eyebrows lifted just slightly—kind, curious, the expression of someone who had questions and was deciding which one to lead with. Gabriel’s hand tightened on the doorframe before he made himself let go and walk in.
“Thanks for coming early,” she said, gesturing toward one of the cups. “Two sugars, extra cream.”
Of course, she remembered. He sat and wrapped his hands around the cup without drinking. “What did you want to discuss?”
“The wedding.” Devney leaned back in her chair, posture casual, eyes sharp. “Ronan and I noticed something seemed off with the caterer who dropped the champagne tray. Is there a problem with us hiring her company?”
She was giving him an out.Say yes. Claim a conflict of interest. Professional concerns.Devney would cancel the contract, hire someone else, and Tessa would never have to walk into this building. It was exactly the type of solution Gabriel had built his career on.
