Mrs. Ormond hesitated, her voice tight with emotion. "Elora, we don't want you marrying someone far off. Tatum's great, don't get me wrong, but he's from way out there. You know how much our family leans on you now."

"Mom, I get it," Elora replied, steady and sure. "I'm marrying Tatum, but I'm not leaving Annenburg. The family company's mine-I'm not stepping away from it. I'll even keep living here at home. You don't have to worry I'll check out once I tie the knot."

Mrs. Ormond's eyes widened. "Wait, Elora—have you and Tatum already hashed out what happens after the wedding? Is he cool with being our live-in son-in- law?"

If Tatum was down for that, she could get behind this marriage.

Her daughter had snagged a top-tier guy from the York family—talk about a win. If Tatum joined the household, he could lighten Elora's load and have her back. Plus, with the York family's clout behind him, no

she's good with whatever Tatum decides. But honestly,

gig's here. Once we're married, he's got to show up for work anyway. He'll be living here most of the time-what's the difference between that and being a live-in son-in-law? During holidays, I'll carve

Ormond nodded slowly. "Just keep doing your thing,

take the reins, I'll step back, retire, and jet off with Tatum to see the world. As for his business, he can pop in now and then to check

things-people he trusts-and his brothers back home

how it works when I was at FC Manor. The fifth Johnson brother, Remy, handles their company's Wiltspoon branch. He's based there most of the time-basically

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