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I stare at him like he’s grown a horn and told me he’s identified as a unicorn that shits candy. This is Dad. The man who fell for Mum aged seventeen without a penny to his name.
And he’s asking me to marry for money.To have kids for money.
“Gabrielle doesn’t want this. She told me. Did you ever think about that? Regardless of what your own son wants, did you think about what she might want? Being told she’s marrying some guy because of a business deal her father’s agreed. Fuck.” I stand in a rush, my chair falling over and banging loudly as it hits the floor.
“You should talk to her,” Dad says, barely able to meet my eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to. I can’t believe you’d keep this from me. What the hell, Dad.” I grab the chair and throw it back onto four legs.
I stalk across the kitchen, unable to look at my father any longer. I press a rushed kiss to Mum’s cheek.
“You okay, Mum?”
She nods, taking a deep breath through her weeping.
“I’ll call you later, okay.” My voice is soft, in direct contrast to the heated fury in my eyes as I glance at Dad. He at least has the decency to look ashamed as he stares back at me with glassy eyes.
“I’m sorry, son.”
“Yeah,” I snap. “Me too.”
Then I storm out of the house, slamming the front door behind me.
I stand from my seat as she weaves through the people to get to me. She brushes her long blonde hair away from her face as she meets my eyes and smiles. Every man in the Knightsbridge hotel bar watches her, disappointment clear on their faces when she reaches me and kisses both of my cheeks in greeting.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I forgot what a nightmare London traffic can be. Have you been waiting long?”
“It’s fine.” I brush her apology away with a smile. Truth is, I’d have waited years to see Gabrielle today. To have someone to talk to who understands. Someone as baffled as me at this entire situation.
“What would you like to drink?” I signal the bartender as she takes the seat next to me.
“Something strong.”
“Hell, me too.” I order two Aunt Iris’s gins on the rocks for us.
“You look good,” Gabrielle assesses me.
I smile and say thank you. But I feel… nothing. No spark of attraction. No flare of temper because she’s pushing my buttons. No spike of heartrate because she makes it race. No pulse in my dick because just hearing her voice makes it throb. None of the things I’ve been feeling these past few weeks in Italy.
Nothing.
“So do you,” I reply sincerely.
Gabrielle is beautiful and smart. I admire her for chasing her dreams of being a doctor when Spencer made no secret of the fact he wanted her to work in the family business with him. But despite what Dad thinks, attraction doesn’t always come from knowing someone for years. Not with Gabrielle, anyway.
I thank the bartender and take a large mouthful before memories of hazel eyes, dark curls, and hips that are the perfect size for me to grip onto flood my brain.
Now isn’t the time to think of her. Shit’s complicated enough until I wade through this mess that Dad’s gotten us all into.
“How’s it been? Being back?”
Gabrielle tilts her head with a smile, her eyes sparkling. “Well, I’m used to performing surgeries in a makeshift tent in the middle of disaster zones, so navigating the London traffic with a taxi driver who wanted to share his life story with me was a little different to my usual day.”
“I bet.”
“It’s nice to be home, though… To see Dad.” Her gaze drops to her glass. “I told him I was coming home to stay even though a part of me didn’t truly believe it. But now I’ve seen him…” She blinks a few times, lifting the glass to her mouth and taking a mouthful. “I’m not leaving him, Logan. I can’t be that selfish again. I’ve done a lot of thinking since I came back.”
“What do you mean?”
