Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)

by Lauren Asher

Are you upset about the type of proposal or the fact that it’s a fake one?

Hey, maybe we should put everything on pause because there is a slight chance I might want him to propose for real one day?

Did you expect her to be happy about any of this? No, of course not, but I didn’t think her reaction would affect me to this level.

“I thought this is what you wanted.” “It was.” “What changed?”

“I wanted more for us,”

“When we started this process, I thought there was no way in hell I’d give you another chance, and we both know you wouldn’t want one either, so I didn’t think there was much of a risk while faking it for the public. But the more time we spent together, the more I started looking forward to it.”

“I wanted to hate you. I really did. But you’re so damn…” “Charming?” He cracks a smile. “Annoying and persistent and so damn hard to dislike, especially when you open up to me because you don’t trust anyone.”

“Tell me I’m not alone in this,” I demand, my voice strained. “Tell me you want me, that you feel this same, undeniable pull toward me, even if you’re determined to not act on it.” He stares at me with that dark, brooding gaze of his. “I can’t.” “Can’t or won’t?” “Does it matter? Because either way, you’re right. I won’t act on it.” “Why not?” I want to shake him around. “Give me a good reason.” “Because I’ll never be able to give you what you want. I can’t. I’m incapable of loving someone else, and if anyone deserves the happy ending they want, it’s you.”

“How would you know if you haven’t even tried?” “Because people like me—people like my father—we don’t love. We don’t know how to. Instead we obsess, to the point of making ourselves sick over someone else.”

“Love is obsession. They go hand in hand.” “No.” He shakes his head. “Love is good. It’s pure. What goes on in my head…it’s the complete opposite.”

You’re incredibly loyal to those you find worthy of it.”

I want someone to be loyal to me. Not because we’re family or since we’ve spent our entire lives around each other, because I already have that.

I want someone who supports me because we’re a team by choice, not by circumstance.

“I hope to meet a man who makes me forget about everyone who came before him.”

“I’m not going to stop talking about the future I want, so if you have a problem with it, then you need to do some soul-searching as to why that’s the case.”

Lily still has the other matching one, which further emphasizes how much I care about her. Which is why I do have a problem with her discussing a future where I cease to exist. It becomes clear where my heart is at—or rather who has it. But accepting the truth? That’s a whole other issue.

Now Lily is the one with all the power, because piece by piece, I handed it over. There was no other option for me, and maybe I was a fool for thinking there was one.

didn’t want to pretend anymore. Just like I don’t want to pretend now. I don’t care if you’re Lorenzo or Laurence. I like

you despite all the reasons I shouldn’t, and it makes me hate myself.

can’t begin to fathom the idea of her moving on to someone else and building a life with them. Not when I so clearly picture her in mine.

I like taking care of you.” She averts her gaze. “Don’t.” “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?”

“You can’t protect me from him forever.” “Watch me.”

“Nearly a year ago, I was down to one.” I’m not entirely sure where this story is going, but the way Lily hesitates to speak makes me even more curious. “What happened with it?” “I wasted it on the wrong guy.”

She used her wish on me, and I took that dream—that hope—and I destroyed it with my selfishness.

I want her to tell me about every single wish, and I want to make sure she never has another reason to stop. And I think I have an idea of where to start.

I never understood why my father gave up his entire life for my mother, but right now, I can see it clearly. Because when you find the one person in the world who sees you—who takes the time to collect every broken piece of your spirit and helps you put it back together—you don’t let them go.

“Lily?” He reaches for my hand before I can escape the car. “Yeah?” “I don’t want to be your friend.” My heart takes a brief intermission. “Why not?”

“I’d much rather be your boyfriend, if that’s an option.” I stop breathing altogether, but who cares. Oxygen is overrated. “You…what?” “I thought about what you said yesterday, and you’re right—I am bothered by you talking about a future with another man because I so desperately want that man to be me.”

“I don’t want to lie to myself anymore about what we are. I don’t want to pretend. I want you to be mine, not because of an arrangement but because you choose to be.”

“I’m supposed to believe you changed your mind less than twenty-four hours later?” “I’ve been changing my mind for weeks, but last night forced me to accept what I’ve been denying for far too long.”

“If I had a thirty-year plan, you’d be the woman I would want to share it with.”

Lorenzo once described falling in love as a collection of small, impactful moments, and this happens to be on...

“Vi ho portato a Lily oggi, cosi potete finalmente conoscerla. Sono molto sicuro che la amereste piu di quanto amate me.”⁠*

If the man isn’t in love with me yet, he is already halfway there, if that genuine smile on his face is anything to go by. And I look forward to the day when he finally realizes it himself.

He makes me want to believe in myself again and my ability to handle anything that comes my way, because I know that if I struggle, he will be there to support me until I can hold my own.

Lake Wisteria is my home, but Lorenzo…he is my heart. I don’t want to have to choose between one or the other.

“I appreciate the attempt to make me feel better, but your decision does have to do with me. Because if you loved me, you’d stay. You wouldn’t run away like Trevor suggested because you’re supposed to be loyal to me, not an election.”

“Yeah, I would. I’d much rather walk away with dignity than stay in this town for nothing,” he snaps back, his voice sharper than a whip. I flinch. “I’m not nothing.”

“You and me…we’re done.”

Fight for me as hard as you’ve fought for this election.

“I won’t make you a promise I can’t keep.”

Maybe we were always doomed because neither of us is willing to sacrifice for the other.

My rib cage feels as if it’s cracking in half, each strenuous breath serving as a painful reminder of what happens when we fall in love with someone who won’t love us back.

I thought love could conquer all…only to have it destroy me instead.

I want to tell her that I love her and that I never want her to go another minute without knowing it.

He is making us both suffer over his stubbornness. Over his pride.

the future she painted

for herself… Well, I couldn’t imagine anyone else standing beside her in that picture but me.”

I wish I could take back all the doubt I placed in Lily’s mind. All the hurt.

“Lily showed me what my life could look like, and it’s that vision that keeps me motivated.