For a second, I wonder what he's talking about, then my shoulders begin to shake, and so do Hendricks’s. Everything about this is funny. The sub-context of me being the most unmarriable Burlington, picturing the look on Lando’s face, the fury I’ll be subjected to, has me doubled over, wiping tears from my eyes.
“I should have put money on it.” I laugh as I finish buttoning up my shirt. “They’re going to freak, aren’t they?”
Hendricks’s smile drops, and he nods slowly. “I'd say of all of the stunts that you've pulled, this is probably up there with the night you spent in jail.”
“Hey,” I object, because the two situations are vastly different. For one, I was drunk then, whereas for this current situation, I’m as sober as the judge who’ll be marrying me in a couple of hours. Second, I thought I was rescuing some cows, when it turned out that I—we—were, in fact,stealingthem. “You were there too.”
“True.”
I’d never seen my mum so angry, and I don’t think I’d ever seen Lando so angry either. He was twenty-four, six years into running Burlington and still trying desperately to prove himself to all the detractors who thought he was too young to be taking over a Dukedom and multibillion-pound empire after our father died. He had to spend the morning apologizing profusely to one of the local farmers who’d woken up to find that a herd of their cows had been relocated.
After that, I was sent to Argentina for the summer to play polo.
Slumping down on the chaise longue, I peer out of the vast window overlooking Aspen Mountain. It’s no Valentine Nook, but the view is stunning nonetheless, and I feel my anxiety dropping the longer I stare. The niggle in the back of my mind questioning whether getting married is too far even for me quiets down.
But my twin senses weakness. “Sure you want to go through with this? You could just fly back engaged.”
I shake my head. “They’d sniff it a mile away. Especially after what happened with Caroline.”
The year before last, Lando, our eldest brother, was due to marry his long-term girlfriend, Caroline. It was no secret that we all hated her, but Lando was love blind. Fortunately, it ended before they made it down the aisle, though not without drama. The night before, Lando found her fucking his best friend. The wedding was called off, and Hendricks, Alex, and I scooped him up, and we flew here to Aspen.
If I think about it, it’s what started this journey for us all in the first place. If we hadn’t returned last winter, I wouldn’t have run into Ruby.
I wouldn’t have obsessed over this woman who hated me, and I wouldn’t be marrying her now so she can fly to England and play on my team.
But I will have to face the consequences. I know that. It’s partly why I was so insistent that Arthur send the prenup and legal documents over, so I can at least wave them in Lando’s face when he accuses me of irresponsibility for the millionth time. If I had a penny for every time he called me irresponsible, I wouldn’t need a prenup attached to my family trust.
“It’s not a big deal, like Arthur said, it’s my MO, a classic Miles Burlington fuckup. No one will bat an eyelid when it gets annulled.”
“Milo, c’mon?—”
Turning around, I look at my staunchest defender. But rehashing the myriad times I’ve been called irresponsible by my family is not something I wish to do. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point. They think I’m reckless, therefore I am.
Except I can’t quite bring myself to put Ruby in that category.
“Last week, I found out Torres has been signed to a new team playing out of Buenos Aires.Los Tigres Luchadores?—”
“The Fighting Tigers?”
I nod. “They’re playing in England for the summer schedule. Their fixtures haven’t been announced yet, but I know they’regoing for the Cup. Why wouldn’t they?” I don’t need to voice aloud my deep-seated need to beat him. Hendricks knows. He can feel it in his bones as profoundly as I can. Ihaveto win. Ihaveto beat him. “It’s why I want Ruby. She’s going to make an excellent reserve once I’m done with her, but she’s worked for him. She’s got the dirt.”
“Did she tell you she has?”
“No. I haven’t asked, and I’m waiting until we’re back home. But I heard on good authority that she worked at his yard in Florida.”
Hendricks nods, though I know he doesn’t approve of my plan for revenge. He doesn’t want me to get hurt again.
“Have you spoken to Clemmie about this?”
“About what?”
He shrugs, brushing some lint from his jeans. “Just the whole Torres situation.”
My brow creases as I peer at my twin. I can’t imagine any scenario where I would have discussed polo with my younger sister. Beyond attending the matches with my family at Foxleigh, she has absolutely no interest in the game and never has.
“Why would I have?”
“Dunno,” he replies, swinging his legs off the bed. He gets up and walks over to the bathroom, where I soon hear him pissing, then the flush of the toilet and the tap running.
