After Old Mrs. Fawkes left, it wasn''t long before Evangeline and Finn slipped out of the banquet hall together.


    Finn raised an eyebrow, teasing, "Congrattions, you''re about to be the richest woman in Serenity City."


    He grinned, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I really know how to pick ''em. Who''d have thought I''d end up dating a gorgeous heiress?"


    With a yfulugh, he lifted Evangeline''s hand to his face, pressing her palm to his cheek and nuzzling into it like a contented cat.


    Her hands, probably from years of doing housework, were calloused in ces, but her palms were still soft and warm.


    Ever since their first kiss, Finn had found himself addicted to her touch. It was as if her very skin had a kind of magic-he couldn''t help but reach for her, drawn like a moth to a me.


    Even up on that stage, he hadn''t been able to resist sneaking his fingers into hers.


    She''d shot him a warning look, but honestly, even her pout was adorable.


    "Just promise me you won''t leave me behind when you be a billionaire," he murmured, faking a pitiful whimper.


    His antics made Evangeline''s palm tingle with warmth and something dangerously close toughter.


    Now that their rtionship was public knowledge, she stopped pulling away and let him y with her hand, her tone serious as she reassured him, "You don''t have to worry about that. I''m not going to be rich overnight. The Fawkes family will never really let me have those shares."


    Her grandmother might genuinely want to give them to her, but the rest of the Fawkes n had a hundred ways to keep her from ever getting her hands on the shares.


    Signing that agreement had only been a stopgap.


    Already, people''s attitudes toward her had shifted. Several guests had slipped her business cards on the sly.


    Before, everyone had assumed she''d divorce Soren, so they''d written her off as irrelevant eager to curry favor with Soren by cutting her out of the picture.


    But now? With the matriarch announcing that half the family shares would go to Evangeline, everyone suddenly had to reconsider where they stood. Should they keep their distance from her, or try to get on her good side? The calction had changed.


    Finn chuckled, brushing a kiss across the back of her hand. The faint scent of her soap lingered between them.


    "So, do you want it?" His voice dropped, eyes shining as he looked up at her. "If you do, and the Fawkes family won''t give it to you, I''ll help you get it. Whatever it takes."


    Evangeline blinked, caught off guard.


    Just then, Finn''s phone rang. He pulled it out and answered.


    Whatever the caller said wiped the smile from his face for a split second before heposed himself again. "Got it. I''ll be right there."


    He hung up, regret flickering in his eyes as he pressed one more kiss to her hand. "I''ll drive you home."


    "No need. I brought my car," Evangeline replied.


    Finn didn''t argue. "Then call me when you get back. I''m going to miss you."


    He lingered for a moment, then finally turned and walked away, ncing over his shoulder as if he hated to leave.


    Evangeline watched him go, a strange thought flickering through her mind-one she quickly dismissed.


    No, it didn''t add up. If Finn had only pretended to fall for her in some calcted ploy to bring down the Fawkes family, his performance was much too convincing. And when he first approached her, everyone knew her marriage to Soren was on the rocks. Nobody could have predicted Old Mrs. Fawkes would hand her the shares.


    That couldn''t be the reason.


    Lost in thought, she almost missed Finn turning back onest time. He raised his arm and waved, his smile warm and unmistakable.


    Evangeline shook herself from her doubts and waved back, matching his grin.


    It didn''t matter. Finn had never given her any reason to doubt him. If he''d meant her harm, she wouldn''t be standing here in one piece.


    She set her worries aside and headed for the staircase, only to round a corner ande face-to-face with Poppy.


    Poppy was waiting for her-clearly on purpose.


    So much had happened today, more than Poppy could''ve imagined. She never expected the matriarch to hand over the family shares to an outsider instead of her own grandson. And she certainly hadn''t thought Evangeline would say yes.


    If the agreement and will had been signed in private, the family might have found ways to change things before word got out. But the old woman had announced it in front of everyone. There was no going back now.


    Resentment simmered in Poppy''s chest.


    Why should Evangeline-who''d done nothing-walk away with half the Fawkes fortune?


    Once the will took effect, Evangeline would have control of the family business, and Soren would be answerable to her. Even if Poppy and Soren stayed together,


    she''d always be in Evangeline''s shadow.


    Why should Evangeline get everything?


    Jealousy and indignation burned inside her. But when she looked up, her face


    was the picture ofposure—a bright, practiced smile.


    Behind her back, she quietly pressed the record button on her phone.