Page 92 of The Secret Heir Next Door

Emily nods, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I like that plan.”

We spend the next few hours navigating the event together. Serena’s still guarded, but she’s here, and that’s more than I could have hoped for. We talk to business owners, listen to their stories, and let them share their frustrations. People are engaged, moved by the collective effort to stand up against the corporate machine. It’s not a fix—not yet—but it’s a start.

As the sun sets, casting a golden glow over the square, Serena and I find a quiet moment near her booth. She leans against the table, scanning the crowd. “This…this is actually pretty amazing,” she admits. “I didn’t think you’d do something like this.”

I step closer “I’d do anything for you,” I say earnestly. “Anything to make things right...”

She looks up at me, her expression softening. “Logan…”

“I love you,” I say, cutting through whatever hesitation she might have. “I love you, Serena. I’ve loved you from the moment I met you—coffee spill and all—and I’m not going to let anything or anyone take you away from me.”

She blinks, her eyes wide, and for a second, I think she might pull away. But then she reaches up, her hand resting gently on my cheek. “You really are something, Logan Pierce,” she whispers. “You drive me crazy, and half the time, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or punch you.”

I laugh, leaning into her touch. “I’ll take whatever you want to give.”

She laughs, too, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”

“But you love me.” My grin grows.

She rolls her eyes, but there’s no hiding her smile. “Yeah,” she whispers, “Yeah, I do.”

I pull her into a hug, holding her close as the last of the sun’s rays cast a warm light over us. For the first time in a long while, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, by Serena’s side, ready to tackle whatever the world throws at us.

“Thank you,” I murmur into her hair, the words a promise and a plea. “For everything.”

She pulls back slightly, her eyes meeting mine. “You’ve got a long way to go before everything’s fixed,” she says, but her tone is light, teasing.

“I know,” I say, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “But I’m ready to start.”

“I heard that you went to dinner with Lisa and…”

“I did go to dinner with Lisa. I had a business dinner with all of the other owners. I was trying to come up with an idea, get their stories, and see if they even wanted to save their businesses.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“In hindsight, I should have. You keep telling me that you don’t want me to save you, but it’s not what I’m trying to do. I am trying to help, though. I didn’t think you’d see the difference, and I didn’t want to fight.”

“I’ve spent so long doing everything on my own that I sometimes forget that I don’t have to, you know?”

“I do. I’ve spent most of my life trying to prove that I’m different from my family, only to be exactly like them—in the way of being an asshole, that is,” I laugh. “You made me realize that I needed to take a break and look at things differently. You helped me pull my head out of the sand.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiles.

I reach both my hands under her hair and gently kiss her. When we pull apart, she leans her forehead against mine.

“I think this all went well.”

“You really outdid yourself, Logan. What you did with my booth, without any input from me…it’s like you finally get my vision and believe it too. The QR codes were really great, too.Thank youdoesn’t seem like enough.”

“I will take kisses instead of thank you—or you can give me peanut butter fudge.”

She giggles. “I can handle both of those. The website is blowing up, by the way. My online orders are a lot to keep up with. I may need to look into hiring someone to help with packaging.”

“We can go back through your financials if you’d like, then we can make sure you’re ready for that.”

“I would appreciate that. Thanks for taking care of me, even when I fight you like a feral cat.”

“That’s a lovely analogy.”

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