I collapse into my chair, not to accommodate his plea… or maybe that too, but mostly because the room continues to sway.
Liam unpacks the soup, rummages through my drawer to give me a spoon, and then walks to the window.
With a shaky hand, I pick up the spoon. When the hot liquid meets my tongue, I almost whimper.
Liam stands with his back to me, so I allow a tiny smile as the broth caresses my insides, providing more than nutrition for my body. Soups are life-savers.
“Have you lived here since you moved to Manhattan?” Liam’s words break the pleasurable moment.
“Is that what you want to talk about?” I deadpan.
He sighs and turns to me. His expression is marred with suffering and regret, and I have to look away, because he doesn’t deserve my compassion.
“I never planned to marry you, or your sister,” he says.
“Good to know,” I quip, and he winces.
At this point I’m just mean, because it protects me from… him? Us? The feelings I don’t want to name?
The hurt that is now mingled with them? The situation I don’t want to be in?
“Did you know your father tried to pawn Tawny to Xander first?”
It’s fucked up that the idea isn’t that far-fetched. “I didn’t know that.”
“Anyway, my brother took off and married someone else, and my father started forcing the union on me.”
Xander never mentioned anything. Did he know who I was? But that doesn’t matter.
I take a shaky sip of the soup. “It makes no sense. Tee isn’t even eighteen.”
“The engagement was to last until she turned eighteen. It made no sense to me that he would want to marry your younger sister, but then I met you, and it made more sense.”
I take another spoonful, the warmth making the conversation more palatable.
“Why would your father force a union with the Stones?” Liam asks.
“He has power. He has money. The only thing he doesn’t have is acceptance in high society. His only wish is to sit at the table with old money.”
“Fuck, I can guarantee it’s no picnic at those tables,but I guess it makes sense. What makes no sense is why my father would support that.”
“What does he have to gain?” I ask, intrigued. I didn’t want this conversation, but my curiosity spikes.
“Exactly. We don’t need a union with the Locks. Not for money. Not for prestige. Not for business growth. It makes no sense.”
“You think my father is blackmailing yours?”
“It is the only reasonable explanation.”
“And knowing my father, you’re probably right. So what? You wanted to marry me to find out? To protect your father?”
He bows his head, flexing his fingers. Is he deciding his next move? Or the level of honesty he’s willing to reward me with?
When he looks at me again, I look away because how dare he look hurt? He’s the one who caused the wounds.
“Roxy, I didn’t want to marry you or Tawny. And I definitely don’t want to protect my father.”
I snort weakly. “Okay, Stone, I’m too tired and too weary at the moment. You’re making no sense.”
