I snorted. “It’s actually insurance and CrossFit.”
“Jesus. I bet he eats a carnivore diet too.”
I was giggling now. “He says Keto, but he likes potato chips too much to adhere to anything.”
“So, on top of being a terrible person, he never shits. No wonder he’s in such a bad mood.”
By the time he was finished, I was bent over laughing. “Oh my God, stop.”
“Never. I like that sound too much.”
I knew it was all bravado, but it had been such a long time since someone other than Megan had made me laugh like this.
Derek certainly never had.
Ronan slung a congenial arm over my shoulder as we plodded on. There was nothing sexual about it, but the warm, heavy weight was comforting. It hadn’t escaped me earlier how well we fit together when he’d first arrived at the party and tucked me into his side. Now, though, I didn’t feel the need to pull away. In fact, I quite liked it here.
“So, you trucked on with the Constipated Wonder, hoping he’d grow the fuck up. Then what? Your mom got sick, he cheated, and you dumped him?”
I nodded, sober again. “That’s about it.” He made it sound so simple, but it hurt. All of it still hurt so much.
Ronan’s hand curved over my shoulder and squeezed. “Figures. Narcissists can’t hear the word ‘no.’ Trust me, I’m an expert. I was raised by one.”
I looked up. “Your father? Niall Black, right?”
“That’s right, she Googles. Yeah, that would be him. I keep thinking he’ll drown one day in his own image, but he just keeps swimming in it. Even a quadruple bypass couldn’t take him out.”
He was joking again. Sort of. Even Ronan’s mask of humor couldn’t quite hide the bitterness in his speech. I had to wonder if the vitriol he bore against his father was quite so simple. Family dynamics rarely were. I could testify to that.
“And now you have to take his place?” I wondered.
He didn’t even bother to hide his surprise. “How do you know that?”
I shrugged. “I overheard you talking in Vegas when I woke up. You said something about your brother leaving the company and that you never wanted to be CEO. Then, like you said, I Google. I also can put two and two together.”
For the first time since I met him, Ronan looked genuinely uncomfortable. “Ah. Well. I would appreciate if you would keep that information to yourself, please. It’s not exactly public knowledge. Won’t be for a while. Have you told?—”
“No one,” I finished for him. “I’ve told no one.”
He blew out a long breath. “Well. Okay then. I suppose I’ll just have to trust you.”
I had a feeling that wasn’t something he did often
The thought saddened me. “Can I ask you something else?”
We stopped again and separated. Somewhere above us, a seagull gave a mournful call, and the sound of waves lapping at the rocky shore filled the space between us.
He looked handsome in the moonlight. Well, he looked handsome all the time, but right now, with his suit jacket and tie undone, mussed curls waving slightly in the breeze, there was something otherworldly about the way the light cast his eyes in shadow, dipping the rest of him in silver.
“What’s that, my Ariadne?” Ronan asked softly.
I didn’t know what to think about the name now that he obviously knew I understood its meaning—and now that I knew he understood it too. It was one thing to allude to a Greek myth about a Greek god falling in love at first sight with his future wife when he was drunkenly cavorting around Vegas with a strange girl. It was another completely to use it with someone he knew to be a Classics scholar.
“Does your magically appearing in Seattle have anything to do with the fact that you’re expected to be married?”
Now that he knew I had overheard him on the phone, I wasn’t going to pretend I hadn’t heard that other throwaway comment. Especially since once the thought occurred to me, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to ignore it.
So, what, am I supposed to get married now?
