She Loses Her Key at a Wedding, Unaware the Millionaire Who Helps Search Will End Up Loving Her
The Golden Key
Lena Prescott realized her key was gone at the worst possible moment, thirty minutes after the wedding ended. She was barefoot on the lawn, holding her heels in one hand and panic in the other.
“No, no, no,” she muttered, patting the clutch again even though she had checked it five times already.
The tiny gold key to her apartment had vanished somewhere between the ceremony and the champagne toast.
“You okay?” a deep voice asked behind her.
She turned fast and winced when a heel jabbed her ankle.
“Oh yeah, I mean sort of.”
The man standing there looked wildly out of place. While most of the wedding guests had either stumbled to their rides or migrated to the hotel bar, this guy stood perfectly composed.
He was in a crisp black suit that probably cost more than her rent. His hair was dark, his jawline sharp, and his tie was still perfectly in place.
He looked like he belonged in a GQ ad, not poking around the grass next to the bridal tent.
“Lose something?” he asked.
“My apartment key?”
She knelt down again, brushing her hand through the grass like that would magically summon it.
“It’s small, gold. And I’m guessing it’s laughing at me from somewhere in this lawn.”
He gave a short nod and took off his jacket, tossing it over a nearby chair.
“All right, I’ll help. You don’t have to. I want to.”
She blinked.
“Seriously?”
He crouched beside her.
“It’s either this or small talk at the bar with people I barely know. Trust me, I’d rather dig through grass with you.”
She gave him a surprised laugh.
“Well, okay. Thanks.”
“I’m Theo,” he said, reaching under the tablecloth of the dessert table. “Theo Zane.”
“Lena. Lena Prescott.”
The two of them crawled around the lawn under string lights, the soft hum of music playing from the tent speakers. Her knees were grass-stained and the breeze had picked up.
Somehow, searching for a lost key with a ridiculously attractive stranger felt less like a disaster and more like a weird meet-cute from a rom-com.
“Did you know the bride or the groom?” she asked, peeking under a folding chair.
“Groom. My cousin Nate.”
“Oh, that makes sense. You’ve got that same ‘I own forty suits and a yacht’ vibe.”
He laughed, low and warm.
“I don’t own a yacht.”
“You totally do.”
“I don’t.”
She gave him a sideways look.
“But you could.”
Theo didn’t answer, just grinned and nudged aside a lantern. They searched for another fifteen minutes before she slumped back onto the grass, sighing.
“It’s gone. I’m going to have to call a locksmith and pay him with my dignity.”
Theo sat beside her, stretching his legs out.
“I’ll get you home.”
Lena glanced at him.
“What?”
“I’ll drive you wherever you live, and I’ll pay for the locksmith.”
She sat up straighter.
“No, absolutely not. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is.”
“I don’t even know you.”
“You’ve been sitting in the grass with me for twenty minutes. That practically makes us friends.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t let friends pay for locksmiths.”
“Then let’s call it a wedding favor.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Do you make a habit of rescuing people at weddings?”
“Only the interesting ones.”
Lena’s face warmed and she stood up, brushing grass off her dress.
“Fine, but I’m not letting you pay for anything.”
Theo stood too, towering over her.
“We’ll see.”
