“How is getting your ass kicked on purpose better?”
“It’s not. But at least it was my choice.” He shrugs. “In this family? That’s worth something.”
I turn onto his street and pull up to the curb outside his building.
“Thanks for the ride,” he says with his hand on the door handle.
“Thanks for finding me.” He pauses to look back at me. “And Loch?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think Mom would’ve liked Adriana?”
Mom had such a sharp wit and zero tolerance for bullshit. And Adriana is so strong and driven and fearless in the way she refused to back down from my father.
“Yeah,” I say with a nod. “I do think she would’ve.”
“Good. Don’t fuck this up. Whatever this thing is… don’t let Dad ruin it before it even starts.”
He pushes open the door and steps out before I can respond.
I watch him walk into the building, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched forward.
My little brother. Not so little anymore.
I sit there for a minute, engine idling. So many fucking secrets, ones that could destroy everything.
Gavin wants the truth about Mom. Fine. I’ll help him find it.
But the truth about the gala? About what I knew and when I knew it? About the damage Eamon did and can still do?
That one stays buried.
For now.
CHAPTER 7
ADRIANA
The office feels different today.
Or maybe it’s just me feeling detached from everything I worked so hard to build because tomorrow, everything in my life changes, and I’ve never felt so uncertain about my future.
I swivel around in my chair and stare out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the sun rising in the early-morning sky.
Tomorrow, I marry a stranger. And nothing will ever be the same.
I got here at six since I couldn’t sleep. Jesus, am I ever going to be able to sleep again?
But it turned out to be a good thing since my inbox was full, and I want to handle as much business as possible before walking the plank… or rather, the aisle, tomorrow.
I’ve been surprisingly productive, too. I answered forty-three emails, reviewed two contracts, and stress-eaten half a box of granola bars I keep in my bottom drawer for emergencies.
And my looming reality definitely qualifies.
Jayne appears in my doorway at eight with a coffee in one hand and an expression that tells me she’s done biting her tongue. My lips pull tight.
It was only a matter of time before I had to come clean. Imean, she does manage every aspect of my life. And so far, she hasn’t asked any questions. But after the “contract negotiation” the other day with Lochlan, the extended block on my calendar for tomorrow had her raising her eyebrows.
