“Why not?” James stopped dancing. “Let’s get some fresh air.”
“What about the business side of this shindig?”
James made a scoffing sound. “This is about appearances.” He led her to an inner courtyard, complete with fountain and myriad flowering plants. Laura breathed in the scent of the flora and let the oasis of peace flow through her and loosen the tension in her shoulders.
“I’m waiting for the why,” James said. “It’s obvious Dallas is crazy about you.”
“I worry about the feud between our families. No matter how much we try to ignore both sides, we’ll get hurled into the middle. It’s starting already.”
“Do you truly love him? It’s that simple.” James glanced at his watch. “We’d better go back in for our main course.”
“Do we have to?”
James laughed and ushered her back to the function room. Laura took her seat and searched out her parents, her brother. Her gaze connected with her mother’s and the wealth of fury—the raised chin, the circles of vibrant color on her mother’s cheeks, the flat line of her lips—spelled out the bare truth. What Laura had done was unforgivable and she wasn’t fit to bear the Drummond name. Seconds later, the visual confrontation was over, but it left Laura shaky, conflicted by the pull of emotions. She’d done it now—crossed the line into the enemy camp, and there was no going back.
The sting of rejection shredded her, prickled tears into her eyes. Knowing something like this would happen was different from experiencing it firsthand. Her hand trembled when she reached for her wine glass.
“I’m sorry, Laura,” James said.
She glanced up to find him watching her, his blue eyes full of sympathy. “It doesn’t matter.” But her chest felt tight, and she had to force her words past the pocket of air that jammed her lungs.
James squeezed her hand, and his solid presence helped her get through the rest of the evening.
Later that night at the flat, Laura thought about James’s words. Did she really love Dallas? She’d chosen him over her family, but did it equate to true love? The forever kind. Was it enough? She tossed and turned on the couch in the apartment above the pub, sleepless, her mind busy as she grappled with the answers and what she wanted for her future. Her thoughts kept circling around the same thing, and by six the next morning, she’d come to a decision.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go up to the apartment and rest?” Laura asked.
Dallas scowled his objection. “No. I’m bloody tired of bed. I’m going to sit here at the bar, and when you take your break, we’ll have lunch together.”
Laura raised her hands in surrender when she wanted to laugh at his sulky expression. “I missed you.”
“Same goes,” Dallas said, snagging her hand with his uninjured one. He drew her closer, and Laura dipped her head for a kiss.
“My god,” someone snapped from behind them. “It’s true.”
They drew apart, both turning to face the newcomer.
“Aaron.” Laura stiffened. “What are you doing here? Dallas, do you know my brother, Aaron?”
Dallas gave a curt nod, and she sensed his tension coiling, his inner predator crouching, ready to explode into frenetic motion. She squeezed his hand in silent reassurance.
“You’re an idiot,” Aaron snapped. “If you’re trying to wind up Mother and Father, you’ve succeeded. Congratulations.” His rhythmic applause held distinct mockery.
“Is that what you’ve been trying to do?” Suspicion radiated from Dallas as his gaze traveled from her to Aaron and back.
“No, no, of course not.” Laura glared at her brother. “I don’t play games. I never have, and I never will.”
“I have a message from Father. If you insist on continuing with this charade, you will not be welcome at home. You willnotreceive monetary help, not even if you come crawling back on your hands and knees.”
Laura froze, sucked in a gasp at the stark utterance still ringing through the air. Dallas slipped an arm around her waist, the silent support lending her spine. “They couldn’t issue the ultimatum in person?”
“They wouldn’t want to soil their shoes by entering O’Grady property,” Patrick said from the other side of the bar.
“I’ll wait outside for five minutes,” Aaron said, giving her a hard look before stalking off.
Laura stared after her brother, anguish a hard punch to her chest. Even though she’d expected this too, facing reality stung. She took half a step and realized she was still holding Dallas’s hand.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “You’re welcome to make your own choice.”
