Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)

by Lauren Asher

So here I am, a witness to everyone else’s love story after spending so long wishing for mine.

Willow crumbles from the pressure and throws her arms up. “It was an accident! I swear!” He squeezes his eyes shut and mutters “Cazzo⁠*” under his breath. The Italian curse word sounds undeniably sexy coming from him, and my stomach flutters.

Lorenzo’s warm gaze flickers over my face for a few drawn-out beats before he releases my chin and faces my sister. “I don’t think there was an exact moment in time where I realized I loved Lily, but it was more a collection of small, impactful ones. Moments where I fell in love with her genuine heart or her quick wit or the adorable tell she has where her nose wrinkles whenever she wants to be honest but worries it might hurt someone’s feelings. Not to mention she’s confident, incredibly loyal, and so out of my league, I’m still surprised she gave me a chance.” I don’t care what Lorenzo says. I don’t care what lies he tells himself. He might not love me, but his words give me hope that there is a chance he could one day. Hope I haven’t felt since I took the last gold coin my dad gave me and used my wish on him.

“I thought I heard a strange noise.” Just me dying.

When I open my wallet to grab my credit card, I find all of them missing except for a black one with Lorenzo’s name on it.

“Don’t what?” “Make me think this is real.” Her voice drops, and I feel guilty for being responsible for that doubt. “What if I want it to be?” I ask, surprised by my own outburst. “Or what if it has been real between us for a while but I was too stubborn to accept it?” “That’s a lot of what-ifs.” “I only care about one.” I snap her seat belt in place before kissing her temple. “What if we gave this a try?”