<b>Chapter </b><b>156 </b>


    -MIA-


    (Eight months ago)


    The Rosewood Ballroom looked like a scene from a fairy tale. It featured crystal chandeliers and gold ents that reflected light in many


    ways.


    I smoothed my hands over my emerald silk gown…Valentino, naturally…and studied the crowd of Manhattan’s elite hanging out below <b>the </b>grand staircase.


    Another charity g.


    Another night of perfectly nned conversations and strategicworking disguised as unselfishness.


    “Mia, darling, you look absolutely radiant.” Senator Patricia Wells air–kissed both my cheeks, her champagne breath tickling my ear.


    “Your father must be so proud. That education reform bill he sponsored is all anyone’s talking about.”


    “Thank you, Senator Wells.” I smiled the smile I had perfected at cotillion twenty years ago. “Daddy does love making a difference.”


    The lie rolled off my tongue effortlessly. Daddy loved making headlines, not differences. But Patricia Wells didn’t need to know that.


    “Speaking of making differences,” she continued, lowering her voice conspiratorially, “have you met Hunter Reid? The hotel mogul<b>? </b>Absolutely brilliant man, and handsome as sin. Still single, too.”


    My pulse sped at the mention of his name.


    I had been hearing whispers about Hunter Reid for months….the young CEO who had built the best hotel empire before thirty, the eligible bachelor every mother in New York wanted for her daughter.


    “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” I said carefully.


    “Well, we simply must fix that. Eleanor Reid and I went to school together, you <i>know</i>. Lovely woman, though she can be a bit…” Patricia paused, searching for the right word.


    “Particr about who she considers suitable for her son.”


    The challenge in her tone was unmistakable. Senator’s daughter or not, I would need Eleanor Reid’s approval to get anywhere near Hunter.


    t was still processing this information when the crowd near the entrance shifted, and I saw him.


    Hunter Reidmanded attention without trying,


    Tall and broad–shouldered in his perfectly tailored tuxedo, dark hair that looked like he had run his fingers through it, and the kind of strong jaw that belonged on magazine covers.


    It was his bright blue eyes that took my breath away. They were smart, calcted, and showed no interest in the shy events happening


    around him.


    He moved through the crowd confidently, as if he always belonged there, He epted congrattions and chatted easily with <b>everyone</b>.


    When heughed at something the mayor said, the sound was rich and genuine, and I felt something flutter in my chest that had <b>nothing </b><b>to </b>do with champagne.


    <b>1/4 </b>


    This was the man I was going to marry.


    The thought came out of nowhere, sudden and certain.


    I had dated plenty of suitable men–senators‘ sons, investment bankers, corporate heirs.


    But looking at Hunter Reid, I understood for the first time what people meant when they talked about chemistry.


    “There he is now,” Patricia murmured. “Shall I make the introduction?”


    “Please.”


    We made our way across the ballroom, my heart hammering against my ribs with each step. Up close, Hunter was even more devastating


    His cologne was subtle and expensive, his hands strong when he shook mine. <fne864> ?????? ???? F?ndNovel</fne864>


    “Hunter, I would like you to meet Mia ckwood. Senator ckwood’s daughter.”


    “Miss ckwood.” His smile was polite, professional. “Pleasure to meet you.”


    “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Reid. I’ve heard such wonderful things about your hotel business.”


    It was a safe opener–every woman here had probablyplimented his business sense.


    But Hunter’s face shifted slightly, genuine interest flickering in those blue eyes.


    “You’re familiar with the hospitality industry?”


    “My graduate view touched on urban development and luxury hospitality.” True, though I had written it more to impress professors than out


    of real passion.


    “I found your growth into sustainable hotel methods incredibly creative.”


    That earned me a real smile, and my heart did a little flip. “Not many people pay attention to our environmental enterprises.”


    “What can I say? I’m full of surprises.”


    We discussed business sustainability and corporate responsibility for several minutes. I could <i>see </i>that I was making <b>a </b>good impression.


    Hunter was actually listening, asking follow–up questions, treating me like I had a brain instead of just looking at my dress.


    Then something changed.


    His attention seemed to drift, his responses bing slightly dyed.


    I followed his gaze and saw him looking toward the service entrance where catering staff moved in and out with skillful invisibility.


    “I’m sorry,” he said, blinking back to focus. “You were saying about the guest experience programs?”


    “Just that they’re only effective with proper staff training,” I finished, though he clearly hadn’t heard the first part of my sentence.


    The pattern continued throughout our conversation.


    Hunter would bepletely present for several minutes, charming and engaged, then something would pull his attention away.


    Always toward the service areas. Always searching for something–or someone.


    13:05 FM & Aug


    “Hunter, darling!” Eleanor Reid appeared next to him like a powerful force of nature, perfectly styled “I see you’ve met Mix at <b>the </b>lovely is


    The approval in her voice was unmistakable. Eleanor Reid had already decided I was suitable daughter inw material.


    “Mother.” Hunter’s tone was carefully uninterested. “Mia was just telling me about her work in policy development.”


    “How wonderful. Beauty and brains–what more could a mother ask for?” Eleanor’s smile was sharp as diamonds.


    “Mia, dear, you simply must join us for dinner next week. Hunter would love to hear more about your… interests.”


    It wasn’t really an invitation so much as a royal decree.


    But looking at Hunter….handsome, sessful, exactly the kind of man I had been raised to marry….I found I didn’t mind being managed.


    “I would be delighted.”


    “Excellent. Hunter, why don’t you show Mia the rose garden? The moonlight is simply divine tonight.”


    Hunter offered his arm with gentleman’s courtesy, but I caught the way his eyes swept the room one more time before we walked toward the terrace doors.


    The gardens were beautiful….perfectly manicured pathways winding between flowering bushes<b>, </b>soft lighting that made everything look


    romantic.


    We walked infortable silence for a few minutes, and I let myself imagine doing this for the rest of my life.


    Elegant parties, beautiful homes, the kind of marriage my parents had always envisioned for me.


    “So,” I said eventually, “what do you do when you’re not revolutionizing the hospitality industry?”


    Hunter’sugh was soft. “Sleep, mostly. Thepany keeps me pretty busy.”


    “All work and no y?”


    “Something like that.”


    There was a distance in his voice that hadn’t been there during our earlier conversation. Like he was physically present but mentally somewhere else entirely.


    “You seem… distracted tonight,” I ventured.


    For a moment, his pretense slipped. Something raw and vulnerable crossed his face before he caught himself.


    “Just thinking about a project at work. Nothing that can’t wait until Monday.”


    But it wasn’t work.


    I could see it in the way he kept checking his phone, the way his jaw tightened when it didn’t buzz with messages.


    Someone had Hunter Reid’s attention, and it wasn’t his business or his mother’s matchmaking or even me.


    It was a woman. I was sure of it.


    The realization should have discouraged me.


    Instead, it only made me more determined.


    <b>I </b><b>had </b>never had to work for a man’s attention before they usually fell over themselves <b>trying </b><b>to </b>win mine<b>. </b>But Hunter <b>keld </b>was direct


    Difficult. Challenging.


    And challenges had always brought out the best in me.


    “We should head back,” Hunter said, ncing at his watch. “Mother will send a search party if we’re gone too long.”


    As we walked back toward the ballroom, I made my decision. Hunter Reid was going to be mine.


    Whatever–whoever–had imed his attention now would have to step aside.


    I was Mia ckwood.


    I had been groomed my entire life to be the perfect wife for a man exactly like Hunter,


    I spoke fournguages, had degrees from Harvard and Columbia, could host a dinner party for fifty or charm foreign dignitaries with <b>equal </b>


    ease.


    Some nobody who had to hide in service corridors wasn’t going to stand in my way.


    The thought should have felt cruel, but it didn’t. It felt reasonable. Necessary.


    By the time we rejoined the party, I was already nning my next move. Eleanor Reid wanted me for her son, and I wanted Hunter for <b>myself</b>.


    All I had to do was figure out who my realpetition was–and get rid of her.


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