His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 54

Cole’s POV

“Invite her to the party.”

Sophia said it abruptly, turning to face me with an intensity I’d ever seen before.

“What?” I blinked, caught off guard.

“Invite her to the party. And Zane too. I want both of them there.

She was staring at me with focus that made something in my chest tighten. There was a sharpness in her eyes now, something calculating that hadn’t been there before. Or maybe had been, and I’d been too busy using her to notice.

“Why?” I tried to keep my voice steady. “That’ll ruin your birthday. It should be all about you, not about having Zane and my obsessive ex-girlfriend there causing drama-”

“Don’t worry.” She stepped closer, and I saw it then-the shift. The way her mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “I have a plan for her. One where my brother sees exactly what kind of person she is. That she’s a gold digger who’s been using him this whole time.”

She walked past me to grab another golf club from my bag, weighing it in her hands like she was testing its balance.

When had Sophia ever shown interest in golf?

“You know what I’ve realized, Cole?” She didn’t look at me, just kept examining the club. “Everyone underestimates me. They see the blonde hair, the smile, the fact that I’d rather throw parties than close business deals. They think I’m just… decoration.”

“That’s not-”

“But I’m a Mercer.” She finally looked up, and the expression on her face made my cock twitch and my instincts scream danger at the same time. “And Mercers don’t let people take what belongs to them.”

She set the club down, walked back toward me with deliberate steps.

“Zane is my brother. My blood. And I’ve watched him destroy himself over the years, watched him build walls so high no one could reach him. Our mother’s death broke something in him.” Her voice softened slightly, but that dangerous edge remained. “And now this girl-this nobody-thinks she can just walk into his life and what? Fix him? Take his money? Use him for fame?”

I stayed quiet, recalculating. This wasn’t the Sophia I’d been dating for months. This was someone else entirely.

Someone I could actually work with.

“So yes,” she continued. “Invite them both. Let her come to my party thinking she’s won. Let her watch you propose to me— because that’s what this party is really for, isn’t it?”

My throat went dry. “How did you—”

“The ring box in your jacket pocket last week. The way you’ve been planning every detail of this ‘birthday party’ but won’t tell me specifics. The photographer you hired.” She smiled. “I’m not stupid, Cole. I just let people think I am.”

Fuck.

“I was going to surprise you—”

“And you still will. I’ll act surprised, overjoyed, all of it” She reached up, fingers trailing down my chest. “Because I do want to marry you. You’re useful. Connected. Ambitious enough to match me.”

Useful

The word should’ve bothered me. Should’ve made me angry.

Instead, it turned me on.

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