Page 177 of Secret Heir For The Billionaire Twin

“I picked those three weeks ago. Lydia asked which one you liked.”

I glance down at them. Ivory, cream, something slightly darker that I cannot imagine having a meaningful opinion about.

“I’ll look at them tonight,” I tell her.

Camille gives me a tired smile.

“That’s what I mean.”

I know there is an answer she needs from me, and for once I cannot solve the problem by moving a meeting or clearing an afternoon.

I reach for her hand.

She lets me take it, but the space between us remains.

“I do want this,” I say.

Camille studies my face.

“I know you do.”

The distinction is quiet but I understand it anyway. She squeezes my fingers once before pulling her hand free and collecting the rest of the papers.

“I’m going to bed,” Camille says.

“I’ll be up in a minute.”

She nods and leaves the room. I stay where I am with the wedding folder open in front of me, staring at decisions I have postponed long enough that they no longer feel like decisions about flowers, menus, or dates.

Camille and I have been together a little over three years, and when I asked her to marry me, I believed I was ready for the life that was supposed to come with it. She is intelligent, steady, beautiful, and I love her, but somewhere between the proposal and actually getting to the marriage, the certainty I expected never arrived. Lately, I have started to wonder whether loving her is enough when I can feel how often I am disappointing her.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sophie

Claire catches me before I make it back to my office.

“Sophie, five minutes,” she says, holding the conference-room door open.

I glance at the coffee in my hand, then at her.

“You said that yesterday.”

“I meant it yesterday too.”

I step inside. Mark Feldman is already there, along with Nina Patel, Vanguard Business’s editorial director. The Blackwell packet sits in the middle of the table again, exactly where I left it in my mind even though I carried the actual copy home. I take the nearest chair.

“If this is another attempt to convince me, I’ve already given you my answer.”

Claire sits across from me.

“We know.”

Nina folds her hands on the table.

“Then let us give you ours.”

I look at her. “Go ahead.”