Maybe I’m a bit of a fuckup like he said…
No, let’s not go down that road.
Shifting on his feet, Father gives me that questioning stare that says,I don’t believe a single word that’s coming out of your mouth, which of course only fuels the fire.
Because there is something foolish about the Williams family: we are stubborn, hardheaded, and we won’t go down without a fight—even if it’s an absurd hill to die on.
“You’re looking for a fiancée? You, the guy with lipstick all over his face?”
Fucking hell, keep forgetting about that.
“It was a farewell fling to my bachelorhood.”
“I see.” His jaw clenches. “So you’re going to just get married now?”
I stick my hands in my robe pockets, grounding myself on this fiancée hill I’ve climbed, and say, “Correct. Can’t wait to find the woman of my dreams.”
“And you thought going on a website, publicly, where everyone could see your…endeavor, you thought that was a brilliant idea?”
“Have to broaden my horizons.”
“To America?”
I slowly nod. “Yes, because someone from America is not going to know who I am or what I have to offer.” I stand a little taller, running with this lie. “They’ll fall for who I am and not the title. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some bride hunting to do.”
I spin on my heel and start back up the stairs as my father says, “I’m holding you to this, Theodore. You won’t pull a fastone over on me. I expect to see you engaged by the end of the summer.”
My arse clenches in fear, because fuck, that’s quick.
“And if I don’t?” I ask.
“Then I’ll find you a bride. Neil’s daughter has had her heart set on you for years, but we’ve tamped that down, knowing the lamentable man you are. But if you’re ready to settle down like you say you are, then I have no problem offering her hand to you.”
Neil’s daughter?
The talker?
With the shrill voice?
The one who once sniffed my armpit at a garden party and told me I smelled nice? Legit stuck her nose right up there.
Oh fuck no.
Not happening.
Smiling coolly, I say, “No need to bother Neil, Father, I’ve got this. Already have someone in mind.”
“Oh?” Father asks, totally not buying it.
“Yes. By the end of the summer, mark my words, Father, I’ll be engaged.”
Chapter Five
THEO
“Open the fuck up,” I yell, pounding on the door to Rupert’s flat.
Once my father left, I sprinted up the stairs and threw on a pair of trousers, a T-shirt, and a hat. Then I hopped into my Aston Martin and drove like a bat out of hell to Rupert’s place. My tires screamed down the dirt road, all the way into the city until I pulled up to his flat, where I illegally parked, not giving a shit, because this was urgent.
