Chapter 120

Ella

The tension in the room was still palpable, and I felt like I was stuck at the center of it all, caught in between approval and disapproval from my loving parents.

But what my dad did next shocked me—and all of us, really—to my core.

My dad extended his hand across the table, palm up, eyes still locked onto Logan. Logan stared down at his outstretched hand, clearly trying to decide if this was genuine or some sort of trap.

“Look,” my father said, seeming to sense Logan’s trepidation. “I’ve been in business long enough to know a good prospect when I see one, and you seem like a good young man with decent intentions. I’ll give you that.”

Logan hesitated, eyeing my father’s hand like it was a loaded gun. “Thank you, sir,” he stammered, clearly caught off guard. But he reached out and grasped my father’s hand, sealing whatever unspoken contract was being made in that moment.

I felt a lump form in my throat as their hands shook. Was this it? A tentative stamp of approval from my business-mogul father?

From across the table, though, Moana’s face remained shocked, her green eyes wide. I probably looked about the same; not only had Logan announced a whole host of plans to take down the mafia back in our city that I had never heard before, but my father was also… accepting him?

“What’s happening here?” I blurted out, unable to mask the surprise and intrigue in my voice.

Edrick finally turned his eyes toward me. There was still a subtly icy undertone to them, but it was considerably warmer now. Clearly, Logan’s words had struck my father in one way or another. “Your young man here has piqued my interest, Ella. It’s a rare thing these days, trust me.”

“So is this your way of saying you approve?” I prodded, hoping for affirmation.

Logan looked equally in need of clarification. “Sir, does this mean you’re okay with us—me and Ella?”

“In business, a handshake is an agreement, a foundation. It says, ‘Let’s see what we can build together.’ Consider this a first step,” my father said, directing his words more at Logan than at me.

My mother, who had been mostly quiet, visibly exhaled.

“Well…” She paused, clearly still apprehensive. But I think that she also had her own ways of gauging someone’s trustworthiness, being the Golden Wolf at all. And maybe something about Logan had given her a good feeling. “This is an unexpected turn of events, but I won’t lie; it is pleasant.”

Just as we all began to relax, my dad leaned in again, the businessman in him never too far away. “However, Logan, you strike me as someone with multiple agendas. A man doesn’t get to where you’re aiming without having several irons in the fire.”

Logan stiffened. “I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”

Edrick chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Come now. I may be getting on in years, but I’m not blind. You didn’t just come here to ask for Ella’s hand, did you? I’ve been closing business deals since before you were even born. I can sense when someone wants to get down to business.”

There it was: the metaphorical anvil, dropping on the table between us. My father had always been too perceptive, but how perceptive was he when it came to the fakeness of my relationship with Logan?

Logan’s eyes flicked toward me, then back to my father. “You’re very perceptive, sir.”

“So, you admit it?” My dad’s eyes were keen, almost sparkling with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. It was all I could do to not jump up and run right out of the restaurant.

Logan sighed, glancing at me once more before addressing my father. “Yes, I was hoping that, at some point, you and I could discuss some business opportunities.”

The moment hung in the air, stretched taut. My dad’s keen eyes met Logan’s, an unspoken understanding passing between them. But it was Moana who finally broke the silence.

“Now isn’t the time or the place,” she chimed in, her voice smooth as butter but also firm in its own way. “Let’s just enjoy our lunch and the fact that our daughter is going to marry a nice young gentleman.”

My dad, never one to argue with my mom in public, nodded his agreement. “Very well. We can table this conversation for another time.”

I knew that ‘another time’ meant ‘later, in private, where we can really grill you.’ I could practically hear the lecture already, a dissertation in parental concern and calculated decision-making.

But for now, I was off the hook.

To sidestep the elephant that had just lumbered into the room, I turned to my mom. “How’s Daisy doing?” I asked. “I haven’t talked to her in a few days.”

The mention of my sister lit up my mom’s face. “Oh, you can ask her yourself when you see her tonight.”

“Tonight?” I blinked, thrown for a loop. “What’s happening tonight?”

Moana smirked, looking pleased with herself. “Oh, just a little gathering. I thought it might be nice to celebrate you two lovebirds. Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, the whole nine yards. And of course, your sister will be there.”

Logan shot me a look that screamed, ‘Did you know about this?’ I returned it with a shake of my head. Mom had outdone herself this time, turning a casual family lunch into the preamble for a full-on party.

“Wow, mom, you really didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”

“Nonsense,” Moana waved it off. “It’s no trouble at all. We have so much to celebrate, darling. And besides, you could show Logan your old stomping grounds.”

The thought of bringing Logan—the man who I was so desperately trying to keep myself distant from—into my old home felt like a mistake. That was the one place I had wanted to keep secret. But what was I supposed to do?

“But you should have told us,” I said, trying to seem less upset about the fact that Logan would be invading my old home and more about the fact that my mother had gone to so much trouble, which I knew she had. “We could’ve helped out or something.”

Moana smiled, but I noticed a tinge of something else in her eyes, a veiled message. Maybe, like my father, this was her own test. And maybe she was more perceptive about our fake relationship than my father was. “Don’t worry, everything’s under control. All you two have to do is show up and enjoy.”

“Just like today, huh?” Logan quipped, earning him a wink from my mom.

“Exactly,” she said, lifting her wine glass. “To family, and to new beginnings.”

We clinked our glasses together. As I sipped my wine, I felt something unmistakable: the sensation of Logan’s knee bumping against mine under the table, pressing against me. It sent an electric shock up my spine, and I quickly glanced over at him.

There was something in his eyes, something that I couldn’t quite read. But whatever it was, it filled me with equal parts trepidation and… excitement.

Brunch continued in a blur of smiles and polite conversation, the earlier tension swept under the rug but not forgotten. As we said our goodbyes, my dad pulled me aside.

“We’ll talk later,” he said softly, his eyes searching mine.

“I figured as much,” I replied, trying to mask my apprehension.

“Look, Ella,” he added, “I want nothing more than for you to be happy. But if you need help… If you need a way out…”

I swallowed, shaking my head. “I’m fine, dad. Really.”

He hugged me, a brief but heartfelt embrace. “Okay. But be careful.”

I nodded, and as we pulled away, I offered him a tense smile. Logan and I headed back to the car in silence, but my mind was far from quiet.

All I could feel, instead, was my wolf in the back of my mind, prodding me. Because she knew what I had done.

I had refused another way out.