My proposal? Yuppp! Finally.

"Your brother?" I repeated before I could stop myself.

Leo's arm remained around my waist, as he rested his fingers on the fabric of my green dress. "Something wrong, princess?" 

I stared at him like he was a lunatic. The man I had hired to accompany me to my ex-boyfriend's wedding had just turned out to be my ex's brother, yet he had the nerve to ask me if something was wrong.

"Leo," Savvy snapped, drawing our attention back to him. "I'm talking to you."

"I can hear you." Leo's expression remained carefree. "You don't have to shout."

A few guests exchanged glances, causing Savvy's frown to deepen. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Attending a wedding. Do I need your permission to do that now?"

"Don't play games with me!"

My hands reached for the champagne flutes but I almost choked when I heard Leo's comeback.

"Then stop asking ridiculous questions."

Oh, this man is going to get me killed.

"Wait a minute." Ciara spoke, breaking the silence the two men were keeping. "Savvy, you know him?"

Savvy turned to her, with a frustrated look. "He's my brother, of course I know him!"

"Stepbrother," Leo corrected him, like he made a mistake with the time.

The single word seemed to make the atmosphere even more uncomfortable. It explained why they looked nothing alike, although it did not do much for why Leo had never mentioned any of this to me.

I turned my face toward him, but he simply raised an eyebrow when he caught my expression. Leo moved his head to my side and whispered. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Your face says otherwise."

"Perhaps your eyes are malfunctioning."

His eyes sparkled in amusement. "Should I take you to a doctor, princess? You seem unwell.”

The fact that he was pushing me to the wall without knowing made me force a smile. "Try it, and I'll introduce you to a very good undertaker."

He let out a low chuckle and somehow, annoyed me even more. The universe must have decided that my humiliation wasn't complete until it added a family scandal to the mix.

I took another sip of champagne but it tasted bland, God! I needed something stronger.

"Leo." Savvy's voice interrupted my thoughts. "We need to talk, now."

Leo’s eyes didn't leave me. "I'm busy."

"You're standing here doing nothing!"

"I'm enjoying myself, staring at this beautiful one," his eyes dropped to mine. "Very much, in fact."

My cheeks warmed before I could stop them even though I hated it. A man I did not know well was making me feel things with just a look, while the man I had loved for four years now made my skin crawl.

"Enjoying yourself?" Savvy repeated. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Your wedding reception? A little."

Someone behind us snorted, causing Savvy to raise his head and look around but the poor guest pretended to be fascinated by the decorations.

"Why are you with her?" Savvy demanded.

This time, Leo's smile disappeared. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Savvy pointed at me. "Why are you with Zariah?"

I stared at him in disbelief, even after cheating he had the guys to demand an explanation about the man standing beside me. Talk about shamelessness at its peak.

"Are you serious right now?" I asked.

Savvy ignored me and continued with Leo. “I'm asking you a question, Leo."

"I heard you the first time."

"Then answer it!"

Leo's arm tightened around my waist. "I came because she invited me."

Savvy looked at him as though he had spoken a foreign language. "What?"

"Do you need me to repeat myself?"

"You came here because she invited you?"

Leo glanced around the reception hall. "Unless you know another Zariah here wearing a green dress and looking like she'd rather be anywhere else, yes."

I almost spat out my drink, I was going to die at this wedding from trying to keep a straight face around this man.

"Do you even know who she is?"

”Is that necessary?" Leo looked down at me and brushed his thumb on my waist. "She's my princess."

My heart skipped a beat, I was already scared he was going to spill the truth out in front of everyone.

But there he was, calling me his princess like I meant the world to him. His eyes were fixed on me, like he had been doing this his whole life.

I was beginning to suspect that the thousand dollars Estelle had spent on this arrangement wasn't enough, she deserved a bonus or even a medal.

"Your princess?" Ciara repeated, when she found her voice.

Leo turned toward her. "We're in an open space, is there an echo in here?"

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I'm only trying to understand."

"Then allow me to help you." His smile was polite enough to fool a stranger, but something about his eyes made me shiver. "I'm here with Zariah, the woman I'm interested in. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Ciara looked uncertain but managed to force a small laugh. "That's interesting, Zariah never mentioned you were so close."

I smiled because that was my cue. "Perhaps you should have spent less time planning your wedding and more time keeping up with my life."

Her eyes narrowed on me. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, bestie."

The word tasted like poison on my tongue and for a moment, neither of us spoke until Leo chuckled.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, princess."

I looked up at him. "You're already on it."

"Good." His smile widened. "I like a challenge."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto my face.

Savvy watched us with an expression I couldn't quite decipher. Whatever it was, I didn't care.

He had lost the right to question anything I did the moment he decided that four years with me meant nothing.

"You can't be serious about her," he said to Leo.

Leo's amusement vanished. "And why is that?"

Savvy glanced at me. "She's my ex."

A genuine laugh escaped my lips, drawing the attention of several guests nearby. "Your ex?" I repeated. "Oh, Savvy, thank you for reminding me. I was beginning to forget."

His expression darkened, like he knew I was about to have an outburst. "Zariah, don't start."

"Don't start what? Reminding you that you dumped me for my best friend?"

"That's not what happened."

“Really? Don't let me interrupt your beautiful explanation, I'm dying to hear how that was somehow my fault."

A few guests began whispering again making Savvy realize he was losing control of the situation. "Can we talk about this privately?"

"No."

"Zariah—"

"No." I smiled at him. "You had four years to talk to me, to tell me you were unhappy, that you did not love me or you wanted someome else. Instead, you let me find out the way I did."

A part of me still remembered the boy who used to wait outside my office with flowers, who called me every night, and promised that we'd get married one day.

But that boy was gone.

"So forgive me if I don't care about your feelings anymore."

Leo's hand found mine, as warmth from his hand spread to mine.For once, someone was standing beside me without asking me to be the bigger person.

Savvy looked at our joined hands. "Leo, stay away from her."

The entire area seemed to go quiet, as Leo stared at him for a long moment before letting out a soft laugh. "You're giving me orders now?"

"I'm warning you. You're not welcome here," Savvy said through clenched teeth.

Leo glanced around the reception hall. “I could have sworn this was a public event."

"It's my wedding!"

"And yet, here you are, spending more time watching another man’s woman than celebrating your marriage."

A few guests gasped, forcing Ciara to grab Savvy's arm. "Baby, let's go."

He acted like he did not hear her as his eyes remained fixed on Leo. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

“Neither do you."

"Leo," I whispered, tugging lightly at his hand.

He turned toward me and the coldness in his expression softened. "Are you uncomfortable, princess?"

I thought for a second about the fun I was having and shook my head. “No.”

"Be careful what you say, Zariah,” my name sounded different coming from him. “Because I might start believing you."

There was no way I was going to let a man I had hired turn my brain into mush in the middle of my ex's wedding.

"Leo!" Savvy's voice snapped through the moment.

Leo closed his eyes, as though he were asking the heavens for patience, he murmured. "Does he ever stop talking?"

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. "No."

"Then I suppose I'll have to do something about it," before I could ask what he meant, Leo turned toward the crowd. "Everyone, may I have your attention, please?"

The reception hall grew quiet and conversations died down as guests turned to look at him.

Leo ignored Savvy and reached for my hand, gently pulling me toward the center of the open space.

My eyes widened because of the attention this was getting. "Leo, what are you—"

"Trust me."

Two words. That was all he said and I wanted to trust the handsome stranger who had walked into my life and turned everything upside down.

Whatever the reason, I let him lead me and the whispers from the guests began again.

"Who is he?"

"Is he really Savvy's brother?"

"Wait, is that Zariah's new boyfriend?"

"Why is he taking her to the middle of the reception?"

Leo stopped in front of me and turned to face the crowd, then looked back at me with loving eyes.

"Zariah North," he began. "For a man who has spent most of his life avoiding crowds, I must say you've managed to get me into quite a situation."

A few guests laughed, but I did not. My mind was too busy wondering whether I'd accidentally hired a lunatic.

“What are you doing?” I asked with clenched teeth and a smile on my face.

"But," he continued, his eyes never leaving mine, "I've never been good at walking away from something I want."

Something about his voice had changed. It was still Leo, but there was a seriousness to it that I hadn't heard before.

"Today, in front of everyone who has gathered here, I'd like to ask you something."

No! He wasn't going to—

Leo lowered himself onto one knee cutting my thoughts short as gasps rang out from every direction. A woman near the front covered her mouth with both hands, while another guest lifted her phone to record.

My mother, who had been standing near the entrance, rushed forward with an expression of complete disbelief.

I stared down at Leo, unable to move as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and brought out a small velvet box.

Where did that come from?

He opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring that sparkled beneath the reception lights.

"Leo," I whispered, my voice trembling. "What are you doing?"

"Zariah," he said, loud enough for every guest to hear, "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I've never been more certain about anything in my life."

Oh, God! Who gets proposed to at her ex's wedding? I was going to be the talk of the town. Wait, he had not asked yet, maybe it was all a joke.

I smiled and tried to pull him up. “Stop joking, this is getting too serious.”

But the next words from him made me lose my breath and almost faint.

"Princess, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"