Page 88 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

For the first time, they aren’t looking at Sophie Langford, Richard Langford’s daughter or the financial consultant they may have met at some networking event. They’re looking at Lucian Hawthorne and Caleb Pierce’s wife.

Mrs. Hawthorne-Pierce.

A strange ripple goes through me. It’ll take some time for the reality to settle in.

Before we can greet our guests, a woman in black steps into our path with an expensive camera already lifted.

I blink. Lucian doesn’t.

“Marcella,” he says.

She circles us once, studying the three of us with the detached concentration of someone arranging pieces on a board.

“I need the three of you to stand a little closer.”

Lucian tightens his arm around my waist while Caleb takes a step toward me. Marcella shoots several frames in rapid succession.

“No.” She reviews the shots then lowers the camera. “You look like you’re guarding a head of state.”

She snaps at least another dozen. “Good, good. Now, Caleb, look at Sophie.”

The intensity in his dark eyes catches me off guard. Marcella’s shutter clicks once. Then again.

Her attention shifts to Lucian. She doesn’t have to tell him where to look. His gaze has never left me.

Something warm and deeply unsettling unfurls low in my stomach.

Marcella lowers the camera slowly. “That’s the one.”

I have no idea what she means.

Her phone vibrates. She checks the screen, then looks at Lucian.

“It’s live.”

My stomach drops.

“What’s live?”

Neither man looks surprised. Marcella answers.

“The article about the wedding, along with pictures.”

“Already?” I ask.

“We want to control the narrative.” Caleb answers for everyone.

Marcella grinned. “It’s a Scandalicious exclusive.”

The biggest online gossip site on the planet.

Marcella zooms in on my face and then looks at me. “Houston is already talking about you. And I’ll keep the conversation going.”

She takes one last shot. “Congratulations, y’all.” Her gaze seems focused on Dante Moretti. With a tiny wave, she moves off.

A server appears almost instantly with champagne. Lucian takes one flute and offers it to me.

I have barely finished my first sip when Altair Montgomery joins us.