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Saoirse was the only O’Grady who had not officially abdicated. That had put her, technically, in the line of succession.
None of us had thought anything of that until my grandfather’s third heart attack. They’d called my sister back to Cara to discuss with her the very real possibility that Saoirse could inadvertently become Cara’s next ruler if our grandfather’s heart finally gave out.
“I stepped up because Saoirse is a child,” I say. “I did it to protect her, yes. If she was old enough to make the decision, and she’d chosen to come to Cara and take the throne, I would have let her. But as it is, I was the only one in a position to rescind my abdication.”
My brother Declan should have. But he washed his hands of the throne long ago. He hasn’t even returned to the island to visit. He’s only in touch with us, his siblings, on occasion, and our mother. Most people also consider him the most successful of us. He’s a self-made millionaire. Hell, he might even be a billionaire by now.
He owned and sold a professional football team. He owns a pro hockey team—incidentally, the one Linnea’s brother plays on—a major tech company, a movie and TV production studio, and a few other things I don’t remember off the top of my head.
He’s obviously able to get things done and lead. But he has no interest in being an actual king.
He’s got all the perks—money and power—without the pressure of affecting people’s lives in a real, direct way. Why would he give that up to come to a windswept, remote island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?
My sister could have rescinded her abdication as well, but she has a life in the U.S. She’s in love, living in a town where she has friends who are like family, and where she runs an animal sanctuary saving neglected, abused, and abandoned animals.
She’s actually making a difference. Living a good life that makes the world a better place, and raising a daughter who will do the same.
Neither of them should be forced to give all of that up and come back to Cara.
And my younger brother, Cian, is…not ready to be a king.
He’s still finding himself. And having a hell of a good time doing it. He doesn’t want a crown, a throne, and a bunch of responsibilities.
So that leaves me.
I have no kids, no wife or even serious girlfriend, no tech or sports empire, no animal sanctuary. But I do have a head full of ideas and a desire to make a mark on the world, and…I have an opportunity to do so.
I am an O’Grady, a direct heir of Diarmuid, King of Cara.
Literally, five people walking the planet can say that.
I’d be stupid not to take this chance to make my life matter, to create a legacy, and to give my family and my country someone they can depend on.
“You came home to protect Saoirse. Not out of loyalty to me or Cara,” my grandfather says.
He can believe what he needs to. I’m here now. I’m willing and able to take on this responsibility.
"While Linnea has been nothing but loyal, right?” I guess.
He doesn’t even blink. “Yes. The people know she loves the country, and they will see her as steady, loyal, and serious. She is articulate, sophisticated, intelligent, kind, and beautiful.”
Linnea Olsen is all of those things. She is definitely princess material. As Lindsey and Jen often remark.
He wants her to be my wife because she’s adored by both Cara and Denmark, she will keep me in check, and it will give her the power to do amazing things for his country. And it will keep her close to him.
But there’s a problem. Well, other than us not having even an ounce of chemistry.
And other than neither of us wanting to be forced to marry someone simply because our grandfathers were idiots when they played poker drunk.
Linnea is in love with someone else.
My best friend, to be exact.
But my grandfather doesn’t know that. Because it’s possible, very possible, that my grandfather will be so angry about it that he’ll fire Jonah and banish him from Cara.
He might even banish Linnea.
And just to really piss everybody off, he’ll live forever and never let me be king.
