He’s right. I do need to speak with her, but I’m not ready to admit that I feel something for her. I’m not even sure about my own feelings at this point.

“I’m going to go,” I tell him.

I turn on my heel and set out to find Margo. The crowd is thick, but I know she won’t be in the middle of it, so I begin checking every secluded place I can find. When I round the outside corner of the building, my eyes land on one of my very best friends and my baby sister. They are sitting too close for my fucking comfort on a bench built for two. Jack and Diem sit side-by-side with their heads lowered, talking privately. My sister glances over at Jack and smiles. I don’t like that smile. It’s too flirty, and I’ll be damned if I allow anything to happen between the two of them.

“What the hell is this?” I ask, not moving my eyes off them.

Diem jumps up instantly from her seat. “Hey! Alexander! Some party, right?”

I narrow my eyes. “Don’t change the fucking subject, Diem. Why are the two of you doing that?”

“We weren’t doing anything, Alexander. You are too damn paranoid. Nothing is going on.”

My eyes flick to Jack for a second before they return back to my sister. I don’t have time for this bullshit. I have to find Margo. “Squash this shit. Now. It’s not happening between the two of you. Ever.”

I curl my fingers into fists, and I feel the need to lash out. Everything feels like it’s coming down on me at once, and I feel like I’m about to lose my goddamn mind.

Jack pushes himself up off the bench and approaches me slowly with his hands up in surrender. “What’s wrong, man? You look panicked.”

I rub the skin on the back of my neck, willing myself to calm down and refocus on the major issue at hand. “Jess is here to spy on me for her fucking father, trying to prove that my marriage is a complete fucking fake.”

“I spoke with the board, Alexander. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Everyone seemed really pleased with your marriage to Margo after the King Gala, which tells me they all are buying your story. We just need to ride this out for a few more days, and then we’re in the home stretch. So do the best you can to stay away from Jess until then.”

“Okay. I have to find Margo and make sure she’s still on the same page. I just pissed her off. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

Jack nods. “She actually just passed by here. She was on her phone. You better go find her in case she was arranging a flight back to New York.”

“Shit. All right. I’ll see you two in a bit,” I tell them before I rush off in search of Margo.

Panic sets in. I can’t allow her to leave here mad at me. I need to find her and apologize.

That last thought stops me dead in my tracks. When in the fuck did I start having the urge to tell someone I was sorry? I’m Alexander King. I’m not supposed to be sorry for anything I do, but this time I am. I don’t like the idea of hurting Margo in any way.

It’s not until I walk down to the beach that I find her. She’s staring out at the sea while the waves crash around her ankles.

I step up beside her and notice the tears streaming down her face. While I know it was shitty to keep something like that from her, I never took Margo for one who would cry over it.

It makes me feel bad that I hurt her like that.

I swallow hard. “I knew I should’ve told you that I proposed to Jess—”

“I don’t give a shit about what you did in your past. I walked away because I’m tired of you thinking you can just use my body any time you feel like it. Don’t you ever use fucking me as leverage again.”

“Margo, that was just a threat to prove to her how serious I am about you.”

“Whatever. Just don’t do it again.”

That’s a reasonable request. “Okay. I won’t.”

I figured that would make the tears stop, but they continue to flow down her face. It worries me, so I put my arm around her shoulders. “I said I wouldn’t do it again. You can stop crying now.”

She shakes her head and her lips pull into a tight line. “That’s not it.”

I give her shoulders a little squeeze. “What is it then? Tell me. Maybe I can make whatever it is better.”

“Not this,” she whispers. “My dad’s dead.”

My eyes widen. “What? How?”

“Heart attack,” she says simply. “My father’s attorney just called me. Apparently, I have to sign some paperwork making me the new head of Buchanan Industries immediately.”

I wrap her in my arms and comfort her the best way I know how. “I’m so sorry, Margo. I know he meant a great deal to you. We’ll leave as soon as you need to.”

She sobs into my chest as I stroke her hair, attempting to soothe her pain. It kills me to see her cry like this because I’ve lost a parent, too. It hurts like a motherfucker.

I wish I can do more, but no matter how much money I have, it won’t bring her dad back. I wish it would though because I would’ve brought mine back a long time ago.

It’s hard for me to even wrap my head around the fact that her father is dead.

My mind races through all the things that Dan Buchanan dying means to the deal I was about to strike with him for his company. My heart does a double thump in my ribs when one piece of the Buchanan puzzle pops into place. Since we’re legally married, I now have rights to Buchanan Industries just as she has rights to King Corporation.