Page 38 of Titus

“Um?” I said, not knowing how to respond to that.

That got a smile out of him, and in a way that touched his golden eyes that I’d never seen until now.

“It is the highest compliment,” he finally said, eyes searching mine. “I would never dare compare any woman on this planet to the woman who shaped the man I became, despite how my father demanded his sons be raised.”

“I’m not sure what⁠—”

“What any of this has to do with hiring you as my event planner?” he finished for me.

“Right,” I said, pulling myself together and regaining my composure.

“Without delving into my family background, I’ll say that my father was not the type to let my mother’s Spanish heritage influence the Hawk family name. That’s why my brothers and I aren’t named after any of the greats from my mother’s prestigious family. Instead, we have more English names that reflect my father’s desire to pass on his legacy through his children. My mother was the only woman brave enough to challenge him and was fearless in resisting his dominance.”

“Well, I’m not trying to insult her, but if you and your brothers took names of⁠—”

“She allowed him that,” Titus smoothly cut me off. “Just as my father had control of his family the way he wanted, my mother did, too. She just wasn’t obvious about it. It’s what I’ve noticed about you since the first day I interacted with you and watched you put powerful men in their place.”

“Well, it’s just who I am,” I answered him truthfully. “I’m not afraid of men in power. In the end, they’re just regular men with a lot of money who spend their lives focused on nothing but creating legacies and trying to give themselves purpose during their short time on this planet.”

“Short time?”

“You aren’t gods, and you’re not immortal, if that’s what you think.” I smiled at the humor crossing his face again. “Although I sadly feel that’s what all of you believe you are.”

“Life is precious, and after losing my father at a young age and my mother not too long ago, trust me, Ms. Veléz, I most assuredly know that I’m not immortal.”

“Well,” I smiled, finding this man quite attractive beneath the hardened mask he’d worn since I first met him, “so long as you don’t think you’re a son of Zeus, I believe you and I could work well together.”

He slid his hands in his pockets, licked his lips, and studied me as if his final decision in hiring me had been made.

Billionaires were difficult and petty people to work with when it came to putting their lives on display at these events, but Jesus, not for a second did I believe I’d be going down this road tonight with this enigma of a man.

“Allow me the rest of the evening to review the contracts and numbers before I make you an offer,” he said, and I watched him pull back, hiding behind the hardened expression he naturally wore. “Thank you for accepting my invitation to dinner and for taking time out of your evening to consider working as my event planner.”

Finally, this was a return to business and a more normal direction.

“I presume your financial team will be in contact with me,” I said, preparing to leave.

“From the moment I make you the offer, you will be dealing with me directly and continue to work with me. There will be no one between us,” he said, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

A sudden jolt of electricity shot through me, only because I had let my guard down a bit. I didn’t expect the gesture, just as I hadn’t expected much else tonight, except for him flaunting his wealth, but I reacted just the same.

I needed to pull myself together. There was no man on earth who could disarm me, and I wasn’t about to let Titus Hawk be the first. I needed fresh air and to gather my senses and get myself under control. There was no way I could work for this man if I was melting under his wry expressions and gentlemanly gestures.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Mediterranean Sea stretched endlessly before us, its waves rolling in with a quiet rhythm that felt steady, predictable, and safe. The air carried warmth and salt, and the light cast a golden glow against everything it touched.

It was different here. It always was. I loved that our mother brought us here every summer to escape our father’s unyielding rule, while he stayed in London or New York, devouring businesses as if he were put on this Earth to do so.

“¡Titus, rápido!”

I turned at the sound of my brother Wyatt’s voice, already grinning before I saw him, and took off across the warm sand without hesitation. My feet sank with every step, the ground shifting beneath me. No matter how deep or thick the sand was, it didn’t slow me down, especially not when Wyatt was already halfway to the water and determined to beat me there.

As usual, he didn’t, and I ended up winning.

I caught him just as he hit the shore and crashed into him hard enough to send us both stumbling into the surf. The cold water splashed around us as we laughed like it was the greatest thing in the world.

Because in that moment… it was.