Page 4 of One Weekend in London

A sly smile curves my lips.

With my suffocating panic soothed into submission, I start my SUV and pull away from the curb, whipping around on the magnolia and shop-lined downtown street, leaving Papaw to drive himself home.

A black truck I’d recognize anywhere comes within inches of sideswiping me before hitting the brakes.

Weston, one of my older cousins, pops his head out his lowered window, looking irate. “What the heck, Sadie?” he hollers, unaware of the defiance taking root inside me, refusing to let go. “Pay attention, for Pete’s sake! If I had hit you, Papaw would’ve skinned me alive!”

I don’t yell back in reply.

Instead, I blow him a kiss and stomp on the gas, my tires screaming in protest as I take off, headed north, to the very place where the promise of vengeance and freedom reign supreme.

The airport.

CHAPTER 1

Rhys

LONDON, ENGLAND

Loneliness intrudes like an unwelcome guest.

It clings to me like a thick overcoat, weighing heavily on my shoulders as I sit in the lounge of The Opulence Hotel, the crown jewel of my London real estate acquisitions, swirling a glass of aged whisky.

The room buzzes with the city’s high society, all cut from the same expensive cloth: tailored suits, polished shoes, and conversations dripping with hidden agendas.

I grew up far from this gilded world, in Tower Hamlets where luxury was a roof that didn’t leak and a working heater come winter. My fortune may have changed; I haven’t. Private suites and velvet ropes? I abhor them. On the rare occasion I drink in public, I prefer being among people.

Understanding people’s strengths and weaknesses is how I’ve turned struggling businesses into million-pound enterprises. Crunching numbers? That’s the easy part. The real challenge is deciphering human emotions.

In the cutthroat world of business, getting a proper read on your opponents isn’t just useful—it’s essential. It’s my sharp insight into human nature and all its quirks that turns potential into prosperity.

And as they say, practice makes perfect.

Glass taps against the table when a blond waitress sets down two fresh glasses of alcohol—one for myself, the other for the insufferable bloke opposite me.

Unlike some of her more discreet counterparts, her agenda is transparent. She leans forward, offering a rather conspicuous view of her tits, making it clear what she’s angling for.

But she’s barking up the wrong tree.

Casual hookups and one-night stands aren’t part of my repertoire. They’re simply not in my playbook. My time is valuable; if I’m going to invest it, it won’t be with some passing fancy from a hotel bar.

It’ll be with the woman I intend to give my last name.

My late mother taught me to respect women. Not to use and toss them in the rubbish like yesterday’s copy of The Times, as many guys in affluent positions are known to do.

What I’m searching for is something concrete. Enduring. It’s not about superficial allure; it’s about an instant connection that will hit me in the gut and seize my soul, never letting go.

When I find the woman who’s meant to be mine, I suspect there’ll be no mistaking it. Without trying, she’ll knock me sideways. Instantly. Not just with her appearance, but also with her compassionate heart and resilient spirit, her kind nature matched with a backbone of steel.

Her walking into my life will be a game-changer.

My future love won’t just eventually bear my name. She’ll have my unwavering loyalty and protection, in addition to my endless adoration and obsession. Things my utter tosser of a father never offered my beautiful mother.

To him, she was nothing more than his used-up ex. An undeserving tart he made the mistake of getting pregnant. While he bathed in gold and jet-setted around the globe on a private plane, we lived under his constant threats and in poverty, sheltered by council housing.

But in the end, he paid for his sins.

An excruciating demise at the karmic hands of bone cancer was only the beginning. Watching helplessly from his deathbed as I dismantled his empire with the help of his vengeful ex-business partner and a slew of jilted investors was the end.

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