Prologue
Ten Months Ago
Tonight, Seraphina Maud Crutchley was a superstar.
She didn’t feel like one very often. Rarely, in fact. But in this moment, with the spotlight trained on her as she stood in the middle of the ballroom surrounded by every single luminary in London’s elite, she felt a wild mix of emotion: pride, certainly, but also the teensiest sense of imposter syndrome.
Honestly, she didn’t know what to do with all the attention, so she smiled and kept her focus on the stage.
“The Lumley Foundation has hosted this ball for over a century.” The CEO, in his black tailcoat and white bow tie, addressed the crowd of glittering donors. “Thanks to the addition of Phinny to our team, we’ve seen our donations quadruple. With her sparkling personality and boundless compassion, she is most certainly a bright star among us. Thank you, Phinny, for putting together such a spectacular array of auction items.” He gave her a nod, and the audience broke into applause.
Her stepfather squeezed her shoulder, and her mum whispered in her ear, “I’m so proud of you, darling.”
It was the most glorious moment of her life. Thanks to the blinding light in her eyes, she couldn’t see the audience, so she just waved her appreciation. When the applause didn’t die down, she began to wonder what was going on. The acknowledgement was lovely, but surely, she hadn’t done anything that exceptional.
She supposed scoring a reclusive billionaire’s superyacht for a week was quite a coup, but still…
This response is a bit much.
It was only when the spotlight turned away from her that she discovered the reason for the crowd’s enthusiasm. Cameron Lumley had taken the stage. Shaking the CEOs hand, he grabbed the microphone. Then, her elegant, handsome boyfriend flashed his movie star smile. “Good evening.”
Even though his family ran the foundation, he had no reason to be on stage right then. He might not run events, but he sure was an impressive sight. His custom-made suit hugged his broad shoulders and muscular thighs while his commanding presence captured the attention of everyone in the room. “On behalf of my family, I’d like to thank you all for your support this evening. As you know, the charity is my life’s work, so it’s only fitting that the woman who owns my heart now plays such a central role in it.”
Surprise jolted her.
I own his heart?
They’d been together a while, but they hardly had some grand love affair. Not even close.
What’s he going on about?
Her parents moved to stand on either side of her, enormous smiles stretching across their faces.
Cameron extended a hand. “Darling, please come up here.”
She almost shouted Why? She didn’t need to get up on stage. The band should start playing, and the patrons should go back to dancing. That was the order of events.
Her mum took the champagne flute out of her hand. “Don’t just stand there.”
With all eyes on her, what choice did Phinny have? But while her brain sent the signal to her legs, they refused to cooperate. A wave of nausea hit, and she went hot all over.
Her stepfather set his hand on the small of her back and gave her a nudge. “Go on now. Don’t embarrass us.”
That got her moving. As the crowd parted, she made her way to the steps. On some level, she knew what was happening, but her mind was racing, and she couldn’t think clearly.
Please don’t do this.
We’re nowhere near ready for this. They’d grown up together but had only begun dating during their last year at university.
Casually dating.
Cameron stood center stage, while the CEO reached for her hand and helped her up the stairs. It was hard enough to move in her ball gown and shapewear bodysuit, but with her legs shaking, she moved like a newborn foal.
Which was fitting since her heart was positively galloping.
“Darling…” Cameron reached for her hand, kissing her palm.
And then, he dropped to a knee.
In the middle of the grandest charity event of the year, her boyfriend—emphasis on friend—was about to propose. “I have loved you my entire life, but it was only when I saw you coming out of Trinity Hall that I knew it was time to start our future together. Every day has gotten better, and I can’t wait to spend my life with you. Seraphina, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
With the audience’s collective gasp, the air was sucked out of the room.
She couldn’t breathe. Blood roared in her ears, and her vision blurred around the edges.
In the silence, she had the strangest sensation of floating. She could picture herself grabbing a handful of helium balloons and drifting off the stage, out the window, and sailing over the rooftops of London.
Cameron’s smile faltered, and it jerked her back to the moment. She couldn’t embarrass him. “Yes. Of course, yes.”
Relief washed over his handsome features, and he stood to his full height. He wrapped an arm around her and faced the ballroom, raising their clasped hands as though she were a trophy.
In the middle of the audience, Phinny found her parents. She’d never seen them so happy.
But why? The moment felt surreal. She’d never gushed about him to her parents. Never once talked about marriage or babies or any kind of future with him. They were two people from similar backgrounds who had fun together. We’re just dating.
Marriage?
Standing on that stage, she felt like a paper doll cut-out.
With a tug, she was led back down the stairs. Immediately, well-wishers swarmed them. His family, their friends…everyone was gleeful.
And it was all a lie.
Because she couldn’t marry him.
Flee. It wasn’t a thought so much as an alarm that rang through her body. She wrenched her hand out of his grip and made her way out of the ballroom. When she saw a sign for a powder room, she ducked inside and locked the door.
Oh, God. What is happening?
As she ran cold water over her hands, she looked up into her wild-eyed reflection. Her pulse pounded violently. Why had he proposed publicly? Now, calling it off would create a scandal.
It didn’t have to be like this.
A hard rap jerked her attention from the mirror.
“Phinny?” Cameron. “Open up.”
Angry that he’d put her in a terrible position, she opened the door, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him inside the lavender-scented bathroom. “What was that?”
His eyes flickered with hurt. “What do you mean, what was that? It was a marriage proposal.”
“But why? Cameron, we’re not ready for that.”
“We’ve been dating three years. When did you think we’d be ready?”
“I don’t know.” Never. “We haven’t talked about it.”
“What on earth do you think we’ve been doing all this time?”
“We’ve been dating.”
“Yes, on a course toward marriage. Why else would I be exclusive with someone if not with the intention of marrying her? Why are you acting like this came out of nowhere? You can’t pretend you didn’t know it was the path we’ve been on.”
She couldn’t argue his point, and it flustered her. Because, really, it uncovered a truth that would only hurt his feelings. I don’t love you. “I can’t possibly get married now. I haven’t done anything with my life.”