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“A person can change.” He strained a smile. “And I didn’t expect to fall hard for someone.”
His blood-freezing chuckle made me want to stick my hands down my throat.
He fluttered his hand like a king might to his servant. “Now, off you go and get that wedding party set up. Let’s go all out, shall we?” He grinned. “Maybe a spread in Vogue?”
Drunk on anxiety, I felt my head spin out of control. “And if I say yes, Drake will be safe?”
“Totally safe to enjoy his farming life with Declan and keep fucking rich older women.”
“But I want to be with him.”
His mouth turned down with patronising sympathy. “Oh, dear girl, he’s too nice for you.”
“Then you fucking young girls at My Cherry won’t go down well, if you’re married, will it?”
“That’s about to move somewhere away from prying, puritanical eyes.”
That news would at least please everyone, I thought, leaving with a heavy heart.
What the fuck am I going to do?
Chapter 12
Drake
Whileonmydailyrun up to the cliffs, I bumped into Theadora with her son and their Jack Russell.
“Hey there.” She waved.
Julian, who looked more like Declan each time I saw him, tossed a ball to the dog.
Wiping my brow, I pointed at the frothy waves pounding against the towering chalky cliffs. “Nice view, isn’t it?”
“Stunning. I never tire of coming here. Any excuse. And the steep ascent is a good heart work out.” She giggled. “Look at you, running all the way up. I’d need constant breaks.”
“I’ve trained myself. In the beginning, I had to pause for the odd breather.”
Her face sparked up. “Hey, it’s Declan’s birthday, and we’re having drinks at the Mariner tonight. I wanted to throw a proper party, but he didn’t like that idea.” She rolled her eyes. “In the end, he agreed to drinks at our local instead. Mirabel’s performing a set.”
“That sounds great. I have noticed that the Lovechildes throw lots of parties.”
“It’s fun, though. I enjoy being social. I never used to, but since joining the family and becoming one of them,”—she raised an eyebrow as though that had taken work—“I rather enjoy them. As next week is Manon’s twenty-first party, I don’t think Declan felt like combining the events.”
I remained tight-lipped despite Theadora pausing for a response. Maybe she noticed me flinching at the mention of Manon. I couldn’t exactly hear that name without a bodily response.
Her constant text messages with the occasional sexy image of her in a skimpy bra kept this thing between us bubbling away, or more like steaming.
Crisp demanding that I stop seeing her still made me anxious, and I’d knocked back a load of cash too. But a deal with the devil wasn’t on my bucket list.
“Are you going to Manon’s twenty-first?” she asked.
I nodded.
She tilted her head. “You’re still seeing each other?”
“It’s kind of complicated.” Switching the subject, I asked, “So, what time are the drinks tonight?”
“Around eight. I hope you can make it. Should be fun. I might even play a tune or two.” She smiled shyly.
