Page 71 of The Imperfect Marriage

"Hey, hey, chill out, you two."

I shake off his hand, then walk around to stand behind my chair. Knox looks at me with a furrowed brow. "You okay, ol’ chap?"

"The fuck wouldn’t I be?" I grip the back of my chair.

"No reason." He peers into my features. "It’s not like you to lose your temper, is all. I understand that Arthur being unwell is not great news, but"—his brow furrows—"is there something else that’s bothering you?"

"There isn’t." I hesitate. Now is not the time to lie. Not when I called this meeting with a view to uniting the family. If I expect them to put aside their differences and come together, then I owe it to them to be honest. I owe it to myself to be honest at this stage. "Actually, there is something that’s on my mind."

"The wedding?" Knox guesses.

"The postponed wedding?—"

"You postponed the wedding?" Connor asks from the video screen.

"Not anymore, apparently."

"So you didn’t postpone it?" Tyler frowns.

"Bet Arthur used his ailment to emotionally blackmail you." Knox smirks.

I shoot him a dirty look, and when that has no effect, I rub the back of my neck. "The old man seemed to think if I did, he wouldn’t be around for it," I say with reluctance.

"Knew it. In fact, I’m sure Gramps came up with this condition so he could coerce you into not postponing the wedding," Knox bursts out.

I hesitate. "It’s true that all of it came to light only after I mentioned my decision to put off the wedding, but remember, it’s not he who told me. If Imelda hadn’t barged in, then thrown her bike helmet at him..."

This time Tyler chuckles. "I need to meet this woman!"

The expression across their faces varies between admiration, surprise, and amusement.

"Maybe he timed Imelda’s entry. Perhaps he arranged for her to find out before you met with him?" Connor offers.

A headache begins to drum behind my eyeballs. "Not even Arthur would fake a serious illness to get his way." I tilt my head. "Also, I confirmed with his doctor."

"He must have paid off the doc," Knox snorts.

It’s sad that we have such a low opinion of the old man, but Arthur’s previous machinations in getting first Edward, then Nathan married off, mean all his actions are taken with a healthy dose of skepticism by all of us. "I wish that were true, but I had Dr. Weston Kincaid reconfirm the diagnosis."

Tyler sits up straight. "So, it’s true?"

I nod.

Knox places the fingers of his palms together. "The old bastard is unwell?"

"It would seem that way. He’s on immunotherapy and is responding well, apparently. His prognosis is good, but it’s definitely impacted his energy levels. Of course, at his age"—I raise a shoulder—"there’s no telling how things will change for him. When he asked me to not postpone the wedding, I didn’t have a choice but to agree. I?—"

There’s a noise behind me. The hair on the back of my neck rises. At the same time, Knox’s gaze is fixed on a spot behind me.

I know who I’m going to see before I spin around and spot her at the doorway to Sinclair’s study.

She firms her lips. "You decided not to postpone the wedding and didn’t think to tell me first?"

I wince. "I was going to, but?—"

She turns and walks off.

"Shit, I’m sorry, man. Summer messaged me to ask if you were here. Apparently, Vivian was looking for you." Sinclair walks over to me and touches my shoulder. "I gave her your whereabouts. Hope this doesn’t fuck up things for you?"

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