Thank God this hotel was half-way up a mountain.
Ash sipped his whisky and then huffed out a dry laugh at my announcement.
"You don't seem surprised?" I observed, my eyes narrowed in irritation.
"Ronan's obsessed. No way is he letting her go that easily."
"And Conal?" Ash spent more time with my brothers than I did. I trusted his observations.
"Yeah, he's…" He scratched his head while searching for the right words. "Half in love with her."
Shit. This was worse than I thought. How had this happened under my nose?
"And you?" Ash's question took me by surprise. My brow furrowed.
"What about me?" Ash and I had known each other since we were kids. He and Connor were my closest friends. I trusted them with my life. If I had my back to the wall, I knew I could rely on them. What I didn't expect, however, was Ash asking me questions I wasn't comfortable answering.
"You seem veryinvestedin her safety."
"She's part of our family, not to mention Thea Orliov's sister. Of course I need to keep her safe!"
He smirked. "Seems like you've gone the extra mile tokeep her safe. You could have sent me and Connor out here without getting involved. Or the twins, like you did last time."
"As you already pointed out, the twins are in too deep with her." I swallowed the last of my drink and poured a fresh one. "I'd have done the same for my sisters."
"Oh, so she's like asisterto you?"
From his knowing grin, he saw way more than I wanted him to see, but I squared my shoulders, shrugging off his insinuation. He knew nothing.
"Of course. Besides, she's way too young for me." Maybe if I said the words, I might actually believe them.
Ash watched me for a moment, an inscrutable look on his scarred face. "You deserve to be happy, man."
"I am happy!" How had this turned into a fucking counseling session?
"No, you're not. All you do is work. It's not healthy."
I snatched his glass from his hand. "If I want fucking life coaching, I'll pay an expert. Now get back to your fucking job, which I reward you handsomely for, by the way."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. If you decide you want to talk about shit, you know where I am." We both knew this was me deflecting. I was angry at myself, not him.
"Fuck off." I shoved him out of the suite, resisting the temptation to slam the door in his face. Doing that would wake Verity up, and God knows I'd had enough temptation for one night.
Instead of heading into the bedroom, I poured a fresh drink, settled down on the sofa, and searched for something mindless to watch.
Maybe Ash was right, and I needed to find a wife. Someone to come home to. Ma had always been there for Pa. Even when they fought, they still loved each other. I wanted what they'd had. A woman who understood our life. A woman who wasn't career oriented or driven by money.
Someone soft and empathetic.
Someone to care for, treat like a queen, and be the center of my universe.
A woman who'd fit into our fucked-up family dynamic without causing friction with my brothers or sisters.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized Verity was the only person who came close to meeting those exacting requirements. Except she was also the one person off-limits to me.
It was going to be a long night.
43
