I Grabbed a Cold, Dangerous Billionaire at My Ex’s Engagement Gala and Begged Him to Pretend to Be My Boyfriend—I Had No Idea He Was the Most Feared Tycoon in the Country, and by Midnight, He Refused to Let Me Go

"A wedding?" I gasped, the moment the heavy French doors of the chateau clicked
shut behind Lady Eleanor’s departing motorcade. "In forty-eight hours?!"

Enzo turned around slowly, unbuttoning his waistcoat with infuriating calm.

"You're the top luxury event planner in the Midwest, Natalie," Enzo remarked,
pouring two glasses of sparkling mineral water. "I assumed forty-eight hours was
generous for your capabilities."

"An event planner organizes weddings for other people, Enzo!" I paced across the
Aubusson rug, throwing my hands in the air. "A real wedding requires catering
tastings, couture gown alterations, seating arrangements for three hundred
international dignitaries, security clearances, floral imports from the
Netherlands, and a legal marriage license!"

Enzo walked over, handed me a glass of water, and gently trapped me against the
edge of the mahogany library table.

"The catering will be handled by the executive chef of Le Bernardin," Enzo said,
his voice dropping into that deep, hypnotic register that made my logical brain
melt. "The gown will be flown in by private courier from Vera Wang’s private
atelier in Paris within six hours. The seating charts and security are already
being managed by Marco. The only thing missing from this wedding, Natalie... is
your signature on the license."

I looked up into his intense amber eyes, my chest heaving with shallow breaths.

"Enzo... if we sign a legal marriage certificate, this stops being a fake
business arrangement," I whispered, my voice trembling with raw vulnerability.
"In the eyes of the law, in the eyes of the world... we will be husband and
wife."

Enzo leaned closer, his hand coming up to gently cup the side of my neck, his
thumb tracing the rapid pulse beating at my throat.

"Do you think I would let another man have you after Saturday, Natalie?" he
murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips. "From the second you put your hands on
my face in that ballroom, you stopped being an event planner. You became mine."

My heart did a violent, soaring backflip.

"You're arrogant," I breathed.

"I'm thorough," he corrected, his mouth hovering a fraction of an inch from
mine. "Do we have a deal, little bird?"

"Forty-eight hours," I whispered against his lips. "And I get full creative
control over the floral arrangements."

Enzo chuckled, a deep, dark rumble against my mouth. "You can redesign the
entire world, wife."

For the next thirty-six hours, the Lake Forest estate became the epicenter of a
high-fashion hurricane.

Seamstresses, florists, jewelers, and string quartets moved through the
corridors like clockwork. Enzo gave me total authority over every detail, while
his corporate legal team drafted the most ironclad mutual asset-protection trust
in modern legal history.

By Friday midnight, everything was set for the grand ceremony at the Cathedral
of the Holy Name in downtown Chicago, followed by the private reception at the
Romano Penthouse.

Exhausted, I slipped out of the master suite onto the second-floor stone terrace
overlooking the misty gardens, clutching a warm cup of herbal tea.

The crisp night air cooled my flushed cheeks.

Behind me, the soft sound of bare feet on stone signaled Enzo’s arrival. He
walked onto the terrace wearing a black silk robe, leaning his forearms against
the stone balustrade beside me.

"You should be sleeping," he said softly.

"I couldn't," I admitted, looking out over the dark trees. "Six months ago, I
was working sixteen hours a day, drowning in debt, wondering why I wasn't good
enough for a man who didn't even care about me. Now... tomorrow morning I’m
marrying the most powerful man in the city."

Enzo turned his head, his amber eyes reflecting the silver moonlight.

"Julian Cross is a fool who measured your worth by what he could take from you,"
Enzo said with quiet, absolute certainty. "I measure your worth by what I am
willing to burn down to keep you safe."

I looked at him, the sincerity in his voice bringing unexpected tears to the
corners of my eyes.

"Enzo—"

Suddenly, the night silence was shattered by the high-pitched screech of tires
from the estate’s outer driveway.

BOOM!

A massive fireball erupted at the eastern security gate as a heavy delivery van
rammed through the wrought-iron barrier, engulfing the guardhouse in flames.

Alarms blared across the entire seventy-acre property.