“We married because we wanted to marry,” I lied. “The money is just a bonus. She wants to help.”
He huffed in disbelief. “You think for one second I’m going to believe you’ve been shagging Sorcha all the while you’ve had Allegra Howard in your bed? Do you think I’m daft? You did this for money, and she’s getting something out of it too.”
Expression hard, I replied, “Georgie, all you know is that I married Allegra and that I’ve been secretly seeing her for a year. Do you understand me?”
He opened his mouth to argue.
“Georgie. That’s all you know. Right?”
Understanding finally donned. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Aye, that’s all I know. But I hope you know what you’ve done here, Jar. And I hope this farm is bloody worth it.”
“It is.” To protect this land from my arsehole of a father, I would have done much worse than marry a woman who was practically a stranger. “Now that we’ve got money coming in, I’m going to buy some sheep, hire a shepherd. But I’ve got bigger plans than that.”
Georgie studied me hard for a wee bit longer, then shook his head with a wry grin. “What are you thinking?”
“Caledonia Sky.” I referred to one of my fields that had far-reaching views of the North Sea. It was currently a meadow.
“What about it?”
“Have you heard of glamping pods?”
A slow smile lit Georgie’s face.
A few hours later, I returned to the farmhouse, annoyed about the nervous churning in my gut as I strode in through the mudroom. As I took off my boots, I couldn’t hear anything. A glance out the front window as I headed upstairs told me Allegra’s rental car was still here. Passing what was Sarah’s room, I heard the low murmur of Allegra’s voice as if she was on the phone to someone. Hurrying by, I strode into my bedroom and closed the door behind me.
The room had once belonged to my grandparents. While Granddad was alive, I’d roomed in the attic conversion, but it was sweltering hot up there during the summers. When Granddad died, Sarah had surprised me by having his old room redecorated for me. New furniture and all. It had been bittersweet to take over the room, but I’d gotten used to it in the last five years.
I’d left Georgie out in the field because Allegra and I had a video call appointment with Sarah. We’d asked Aria and North not to tell Theo or my cousin before we had the chance to.
Last night had been pretty shitty lying to Allegra’s sister, but I suddenly understood how she must have felt about it. I hated lying to Sarah. My cousin might be older than me, but she’d always feel like a younger sister. She was the kindest person I’d ever known, and I wanted to protect her from anything that might hurt her. Even me.
After a quick shower, I changed into a clean shirt and jeans. Then I stared down at my grandfather’s wedding ring where it laid on my bedside table. I hadn’t put it on this morning because jewelry and farm work were a terrible idea. Now, however, Ireached out and slipped the cold metal onto my finger. It was a wee bit big, but my knuckle stopped it from slipping off.
I didn’t know how to feel about the sight of it on my hand. It was a claiming, after all, and I’d spent my whole adult life avoiding any woman’s attempts to claim me.
Shouldn’t I feel trapped? Suffocated?
I didn’t.
Probably because I knew it wasn’t real.
Stepping out into the hall, I came face-to-face with Allegra.
“Oh!” She startled at the sight of me as she closed her door. “I didn’t know you were back.”
I tried not to look at her too long as I strode by. “Aye. Just needed a shower.”
At the sound of her following me downstairs, I tried not to tense.
Repugnant.
The word hit me again, not for the first time, since she’d said it yesterday.
This woman actually thought I found her repugnant.
It was baffling. But I hadn’t corrected her. If she knew how much I’d wanted to turn that phenomenal kiss yesterday into multiple rounds of energetic fucking, it would complicate this thing between us. She was better off thinking I didn’t want her.
She was out of my league, but I’d fucked women who had more money or higher social status than me. It wasn’t about that. The fact was that she made me feel something more than attraction. I couldn’t explain it. Had never been able to figure out that spark between us from the moment she sat down next to me in the pub five years ago.
