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He held the clear glass podium with both hands and waited for the applause to die down. Around them, their peers smiled expectantly, all eyes on him.

“I was planning to start my speech with a Donald Duck joke, but my esteemed colleague at Cameron Designs, Ms. Lily McIntire, suggested I don’t lose the confidence of my audience right off the bat.”

Everyone laughed. Right on cue.

He winked over at her and then began his speech. Damn. He did have this.

Like the other night, he smoothly transitioned from sentence to sentence. His voice was confident and clear. He made eye contact with various people in the room—including Clive, Joanie, and of course, Lily.

He was charming, grateful, and had earned his place in the spotlight.

And in my heart.

The flash of clarity hadn’t come out of nowhere but out of several somewheres. Every joke, wink, or smile he’d offered. Every tender gaze or wicked suggestion he’d given her when they were in bed together.

She saw him clearly now. And seeing him this clearly made her want to keep him close, and not a secret. Not any longer.

Emmett was her past.

Marcus was her future.

She loved everything about him.

He wrapped his speech, earning a standing ovation—Clive put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Marcus cradled the coveted crystal award in both hands, his grin infectious. Lily clapped until her palms were sore.

Once he’d gone backstage, she excused herself to the ladies’ room. She felt…a lot of things at the moment. She needed privacy, and to collect herself. On the way, she passed a pair of double doors leading to a balcony. It was empty—chairs upside down on tables and not a soul standing out there. Perfect.

A full pale moon lit the clear autumn night. Her skin cooled in the breeze as she inhaled the crisp smell of fall in the air. She admired the twinkling stars in a navy-blue sky and welcomed the chill as goose bumps cropped up on her arms.

In the distance, beyond the trees, the occasional headlight from a car zipped along a dark road. Willow Mansion wasn’t visible from here, but she imagined it—past the tree line, perched on a lonely hill. Inside were her discarded air mattress, lantern, and heater—where she and Marcus had left them for whoever, or whatever, had scared them out of the house.

Yes, he was responsible for the voice from the speaker, but there had been other unexplainable things that had happened that night. Them tumbling into bed together at the top of the list. As much as she had not enjoyed the ghostly experience at Willow Mansion, she was grateful she’d taken that dare. Grateful that she’d fallen into Marcus’s arms—then and since. She was also grateful to find herself imagining a future with him, instead of being alone.

In a way, she had Willow Mansion to thank for them finally allowing themselves to have what they wanted—each other.

She was going to walk back into the convention center and tell him the whole truth—about Emmett and L&B. Then she was going to tell Marcus that, against all odds, she’d fallen in love with him. And that she couldn’t wait to be with him in Hawaii.

A smile on her face, she turned on her heel and went back inside.

Marcus had been cornered by Reginald after his speech. Understandable, since the man was the reason, in part, that he’d won the award.

He listened with half an ear, his mind on finding Emmett Webster and finishing what that bastard had started. At least he’d had the forethought to suggest to Reginald that Lily head up the design for the next new London superstore. It was the least Marcus could do after learning that the patriarchy was conspiring against her.

Reginald shook Marcus’s hand one last time and then excused himself. A relief. Marcus needed a drink more than his next breath.

“Hey! There’s our guy!” Joanie said as she turned from the bar, a glass of wine in hand.

“How’d you know I was racing for a drink as fast as my slippery dress shoes would carry me?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh, just a hunch.” Clive, also at the bar, was holding his own glass of wine. “Can I order you something?”

“Whatever you’re having.” As soon as Clive put in the order, Joanie bounced over.

“We know about you and Lily. And we approve.” Then she put a hand to her chest and blew out a breath. “God. That secret was killing me.”

“I didn’t…know you knew?” He flashed a look from Clive to Joanie.

“Lily told her—not me. I just told her I suspected.” Clive handed Marcus a glass of wine.