“Then why didn’t you send me on the cruise with my family?”
Declan sighs.
“Got ya there, bro,” Connor pitches from the sideline.
“Why?” I put my hands on my hips.
“Because.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is when I say it.”
“Oh, are you a big shot now?”
“I’m Declan Crossbow. I’ve always been a big shot.”
My chin quivers, so I poke his chest with my finger. “I’m going to the salon for ten minutes to load supplies. After that, I’ll drive to the hotel and spend a few hours doing hair with just usgirls. We’ll drink mimosas, paint nails, and gossip. It’s what girls love to do. I need this, Dec. I… Don’t clip my wings when I’ve just learned how to fly again.” My eyes fill with tears that I wipe away.
Declan Crossbow can leave whenever he chooses. And where will that leave me? My business is worth fighting for, dammit.
I can tell the moment he folds because he cups my face and wipes my tears.
“Con?” he says.
“Still right here, holding the candle.”
“You like mimosas, don’t you?”
Chapter 27
What Mimosas?
Dina
Connor drives confidently and steadily through the streets of my city as if he owns them. As we descend the slope from the mansion, we pass police cars parked on the sides. They make me nervous, but Connor doesn’t appear worried about anyone stopping us, his posture at ease.
He’s not slouching-type relaxed, but with sunglasses over his eyes and a piece of caramel candy in his mouth, I’d say the guy is chill.
This puts me at ease as well.
I take a sip of my water. “Hey, do you mind if I ask you a question? A personal one.”
Connor shrugs. “Shoot.”
“From what I understand about your family, which is only what I’ve read in the papers a long time ago, your dad is from Couldermouth.”
“Mmhm.”
“If your uncles are Macarleys, how come your dad’s last name is Crossbow?”
“Ah, yes. My dad was a bastard, born out of wedlock. My dad’s mother dumped him in a box on Donatella Macarley’s doorstep and left the Macarleys to care for him. Donatella raised my dad, but she looked out for her male heirs, you see.”
“Hmmm. Your grandpa didn’t mind?”
Connor shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know. While Donatella couldn’t have her sons sharing a throne with my dad, she also didn’t want him to carry the last name of the woman who abandoned him. So she gave him the name Crossbow, first of his name. She thought it would give him a clean slate, and he could build his life on his own.”
“Are the Macarleys royalty?”
