Anxiety knotted my gut. “Ari?—”
“I don’t want him to hurt you when this is … when it’s done.”
It took a great deal of acting, but I managed an insouciant shrug. “The key is to never give anyone too much power over you. Not even my husband. Jared can’t hurt me.”
My sister winced. “No matter how your marriage came about, I assure you, the one person in the world who has the power to hurt you more than anyone is your husband. That’s why your choice of husband was always going to be one of the most important choices you’d ever make.”
Fifteen
Jared
My fields were grateful for the break in the weather. It had rained for two days straight, and the skies were dark and overcast as I drove Allegra to Sloane and Walker Ironside’s home. I knew the couple fairly well as I’d been drawn into a friendship with them through Sarah. It was hard to believe the cousin who’d been so shy she barely had any friends was now in a book club with the wives of the family who owned most of Ardnoch.
None of the Adairs would be at this dinner tonight. Sloane had assured Allegra that it was just us.
A tense silence existed between Allegra and me as we pulled up outside the bungalow in the quiet cul-de-sac. Everyone knew, because it had been all over the news at the time, that Sloane Ironside had inherited a fortune from her dad. It made the news because her stepmum had hired Sloane’s ex-boyfriend to kill her so she’d inherit instead.
Yet, she’d moved into Walker’s unremarkable bungalow when they married. It wasn’t so unremarkable inside, but still, I liked her choice. She knew what really mattered in life, despite her privileged upbringing. The thought made me glance atAllegra as we got out of the car. Allegra didn’t seem to be missing the luxury of her family’s beach house, but I wouldn’t know for certain. We’d barely spoken in days.
My doing.
After the way I’d reacted to her coming home late, I knew I needed to put even more distance between us. To make matters worse, my father had called me, but I hung up at the sound of his voice. He sent a text before I could block him.
Heard u married money. That wont stop me frm takin whats mine.
I’d blocked the bastard, knowing he was just trying to mess with my head. He knew now I could best him in court if he took it that far, but he didn’t have the cash flow. It was a bluff. Didn’t mean it didn’t fuck with me, the reminder that I was the son of a piece of shit.
Locked in my head, I barely said a word to Allegra for the rest of the week.
And she’d finally stopped trying to get to know me. The questions about my life before the farm, about why I loved the farm, what I wanted for the future … I didn’t respond to them, and she stopped asking.
It was a bit twisted, but I hated the cool silence she treated me to now.
I hated the sadness I caught on her face when she thought I wasn’t looking. I just didn’t know how to fix it without complicating things we had no business complicating.
“Ready?” I asked as we approached the house.
“Sure,” she replied tonelessly, refusing to meet my gaze.
She hadn’t looked at me in days, and it made me realize that I liked the way she looked at me. Allegra always gave you her fullattention and seemed to find me genuinely interesting. Funny how I’d unconsciously taken that for granted.
A burn flared across my chest, and I ignored the sensation as I knocked on the door. It flew open as if Sloane had been waiting for us. The blond was a few years older than me but looked about the same age as Allegra. As the women embraced, Sloane’s sunny blond prettiness only highlighted Allegra’s dark beauty. My wife took my fucking breath away just standing there. Possessiveness curled in my gut.
Sloane turned to me. “And here’s the husband.”
Allegra allowed her smile to drop while Sloane’s attention was elsewhere. She walked away as I embraced Sloane, and I fought the urge to go after her. To tell her I was sorry for being such a prick. For years, I’d watched my mum let men treat her like shit. Whether they shouted at her constantly, bullied her … or ignored her. I’d vowed never to treat a woman like that. And I never had. Until her. Until my wife.
Covering up my gloomy thoughts of self-reproach, I gave Sloane a tight smile as she led me into the dining room.
Where I discovered Allegra hugging her sister and greeting everyone else.
As in more than just me and her and Walker and Sloane.
Sarah and Theo and North and Aria were also in attendance.
“Regan and Thane are babysitting Harry.” Sloane referred to Regan and Thane Adair. “And Callie’s staying at a friend’s house tonight, so it’s just us adults.”
“If it’s just us adults, why is Jared here?” Theo drawled in his posh English accent.
