“Was he in New York when he…?”
“Aye, he was there on business.”
It’s all sliding into place now. Ryan said that he was there on business when I met him. At least, he thought he was.“Long story, Amelia.”I can still hear his voice now. Declan said that he would have sent the private jet to collect me, but it was on standby for his son.
Ruairi Byrne is Ryan Connor.
The concierge in the Wraith addressed him as Mr. Connor; he was using an alias for whatever reason, and now he’s dead.
Eoghan is waiting for me to read his poem, and I can barely even see the words in front of me.
“It’s perfect, Eoghan.”
I shove the Order of Service into his hands. Go back to the counter and prepare dinner as if this were a regular day in the life of Amelia York, and not the day that I discovered I hooked up with Declanandhis son in the space of a week.
While dinner is cooking in the Aga, I go back to my room and stare out of the window without seeing anything. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to lie to Declan, but how do I tell him that I hooked up with his son three days before I left New York?
I forgot to mention that I had sex with your son—yourdeadson—before I came to Ireland. Oops.
I can imagine exactly how that’s going down. No. That’s a lie. I have zero idea how that’s going down because normal people don’t have sex with a guy immediately before embarking on an affair with his dad.
I could pretend it never happened, I guess. Declan will never find out. Unless he questions the concierge in the Wraith. Or Carol.
Fuck. Carol knows all about Ryan. Ruairi. If she ever found out the truth…
I can’t let her come here. She’ll ask questions. She’ll see the resemblance between Ryan/Ruairi and Declan, because now that I’ve seen his photograph, I realize why I thought Declan was so familiar. It’s so fucking obvious I must’ve been wearing blinkers this whole time.
My phone vibrates, and I check the screen to find an incoming call from Carol.
Perfect timing.
If I don’t answer, she’ll keep trying until I pick up because I’ve been avoiding her since Ruairi’s death. On the other hand, if I speak to her, I can sow the seeds for her not coming to visit any time soon.
I hit the green button. Smile. “Hey…”
“Hey, baby girl. You’ve been quiet. What’s going on?”
I swear my heart is riding a corkscrew roller coaster. “Where do I start?” I give a small smile to my reflection in the window.
“Try the beginning?”
Fuck no.
“Things haven’t been great here. Declan’s eldest son died last week.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry, Mia. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. But Declan and the family… It’s horrible, Carol. I feel so helpless.”
“Hey, I know it’s sad, but you’re only the housekeeper, Mia. I know you must feel bad, but just stay strong, okay, baby girl?”
“Okay.”
I chew my lip, wishing that I could come clean, offload the problem onto my best friend’s shoulders and wait for her to tell me how to handle it without hurting anyone. Which isn’t going to happen. It’s basically impossible to tell Declan the truth without hurting him, and myself, in the process. Because there’s no way that he’s going to hear me out, shrug, and say that it’s no biggie.You hooked up with my son—hey, I’ve heard worse.
“You could always come home,” Carol says while I’m imagining stabbing Declan in the back while his heart is already breaking.
“I can’t.”
