Rowan detailed her time with William, short though it had been, and her feelings for the man. Trying to decide whether or not she could see herself with William long-term. Even though she’d told them some of what had happened the morning Hugh had seen her ass tat and the…touching that had followed, Rowan filled in the blanks of what he’d said and what she’d lied about.
“So, you made Hugh think you and William were intimate?” Raven asked for clarification.
“Yes, and I hate that I did it, but damn it, I didn’t want him to know that I was still hoping he would want me back!” Rowan admitted.
“Let’s be honest, Row,” River started. “He always wanted you. He’s just been a dumbass for months.”
Rowan didn’t disagree. She then told them about her date with William, that she did really enjoy his company, and she could see trying something more permanent with him. “But...” Rowan’s reasoning petered off.
“But…you love Hugh, and you think you want to take the chance,” Raven finished Rowan’s thought.
“Exactly.”
River asked about the pictures. Wondering why it looked like Rowan was super into William.
“I am into him, damn it! That’s the problem, but less than thirty minutes after William kissed me in the lobby, I took a nude selfie in the shower and sent it to Hugh.”
Turns out, her sisters could still be shocked. There was a lot of wha wha wha’s and gasping. “In my defense, Hugh had egged me on by texting me ridiculous shit right before I got in. So, he got what he got.”
“Okay, I’m swallowing my shock. For now. But…how…I mean, how did he respond?”
“Yeah,” Raven seconded, “did he…make a surprise visit again?”
“He texted back, but I didn’t get it until this morning. He asked me to come over tonight. He said I ‘owed him.’ I agreed to meet,” Rowan revealed.
“I don’t care if he wanted you to come over,” River practically yelled. “Did he mention the picture?”
“And what did he mean you owed him?” Raven demanded.
“He said…well…he said I owed him because he was hard for hours after I sent him the pic.” They had all the details now. Probably way too many details, but Rowan needed solutions fast, and that required oversharing.
“Sexy as fuck. Wow, my father-in-law has serious game,” River teased.
“Game and hard dicks aside,” Raven started her lecture, “I’m glad you’re going tonight, but you have to set boundaries. Hugh’s natural inclination will be to bulldoze all the obstacles between him and you. You know he had to have seen those pictures of you and Will. He’ll be in damage control, and that may include damaging Will.”
“I agree with Raven. Hear what he has to say about his past asswipe blunders, and then give yourself time to assess. You like William, but you love Hugh—though he doesn’t deserve it after how badly he hurt you—so proceed with great caution,” River advised.
“A great deal of caution,” Raven seconded.
Hugh was tense.He’d changed clothes three times. Heneversecond-guessed his first choice. He never gave a single shit what anyone thought of him. He said what he wanted, and the recipient either liked it or they didn’t. He started out in a suit. Bad choice. A woman was coming to his place. He wasn’t going to a board meeting for fuck’s sake. He’d torn the suit off.
Next came jeans and a t-shirt. The jeans felt restrictive and irritating. He’d hated all the shoes and boots he’d tried on with it. He looked like he was running errands. Hugh stripped again.
Finally, he chose a pair of dark brown joggers and a soft, tan t-shirt. His feet were bare—no reason to tower over Rowan any more than he did naturally. This was a stay in casual date, well perhaps it wasn’t a date, but itfeltlike it. He hadn’t had a date in years, but he never remembered one feeling like this. Rowan would most likely choose comfortable. So, he would too. Clothes finalized; Hugh continued pacing through his apartment.
He’d missed Oklahoma. Not as much as he thought he would, but still, it was good to be back. His mother always lived in town. Hugh preferred living closer to nature. That’s why the Muskogee compound suited him so well.
His sons loved living there as well, but they were married now, and their priorities were their wives—as they should be. Hugh was excited about the distillery, so he knew he’d go back to Dublin sooner rather than later.
He did love Dublin. His sons were there, which meant Hugh would be there. He wondered if Rowan would spend part of her time in Oklahoma with him. She struggled to leave her sisters as much as he struggled to be away from his boys, and now his grandson—her nephew. Jesus, their family was convoluted.
Rowan did love the compound. She really loved the library. The unfinished library. Maybe he could draw her to his home using the library as a lure. Hugh groaned at his thoughts. He was getting ahead of himself. This was just a simple meet-up for drinks. He wasn’t proposing for the love of God. It wasn’tthatbig of a deal. It was averybig deal, he thought.
He also shouldn’t be so bothered by the pictures of Rowan and William online. Hewas, though. Damn it, he was a lot more than bothered. Hugh had called the O’Faolain’s head attorney that morning.
Interrupting the man on a Saturday had been thoughtless. Asking him to hire investigators to find any dirt he could on William Stanton was borderline out of control. Mom and Rowan would have Hugh’s head if they knew he’d even considered it.
That’s how crazed he’d been since seeing the woman he…a woman that was…of Rowan in Stanton’s arms. He wanted to find anything that might destroy him. That William dared…If Hugh was being reasonable, he would admit that William couldn’t have known she belonged to Hugh. Unfortunately for Stanton, Hugh wasn’t in a reasonable headspace.
