Page 1 of Obsessed Heir

Chapter One

Abigail

My first glimpse of theIce Maidentriggers flashbacks to history class.Luxury liner. Maiden voyage.Iceberg. Watery grave.

The inevitable end does a replay, the waves splashing against theTitanicas it sinks into the depths of the ocean. Much the same way what’s left of the scrambled eggs and toast I had for breakfast slosh in my stomach.

I collapse against the backrest, blinking away the terrifying image. Miss Opal follows my line of sight, studying the massive ship as our driver maneuvers through dense Seattle traffic.

“She’s a sight, isn’t she?” The jitter in my boss’s voice makes me second-guess sending her out on her own.

“Yes, she certainly is a sight,” I agree, doing my best to act cheerful.

If I was heading on the Alaskan cruise with her, this would be a different conversation. I’d be dreading every mile taking us closer to the ship.

“We’re almost there, ladies.” The driver smiles, though the rearview mirror shows he keeps his attention on the road ahead.

“I can hardly wait,” she adds, as if she hadn’t resigned herself to this trip. She’s put up a brave front, but she’s nervous about a much overdue visit with her estranged son, Barron.

I have a vivid memory of him from eight years ago. Tall, imposing, with his face set in a perpetual scowl. The total opposite of his petite, older mother.

He’s the spitting image of his father.

The words were clearly spoken, and full of pride. I had to let them sink in. To this day, it still blows my mind to picture her with an older, gruffer version of Barron.

The click of the turn signal startles me. Each tick echoes in my head, making my tummy somersault.

“You all right, miss?” our driver asks, glancing in the mirrors as he starts to inch into the next lane.

The steady roll of the tires makes a distinctthunk-thunk,thunk-thunkas he maneuvers into a gap in traffic so we can take the exit ramp.

Miss Opal turns to me, her eyebrows steepled in concern as she waits for me to answer.

“Yes,” I reply, painting on a smile for her benefit. “I’ll be fine.” Of course I’ll be fine. I’m returning to the hotel with him, not sidestepping icebergs for the next week.

“You really should reconsider coming along, my dear.” She leans toward me. “You’d hardly take up any room in my cabin.”

I coordinated the flight from Texas to Seattle, the hotel where we stayed last night, and this morning’s shuttle service to the dock. But there’s no way I’m setting foot on that ship, much less sailing to Alaska with her.

Apart from my thing about open water, the trip would be thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Then there’s Barron…

“I’m only here to see you off safely,” I remind her, trying to shake off my unease. “I can only go with you as far as the area where visitors are allowed.”

“But you’ll be all alone, in a strange city.”

“I’ll be waiting at a safe, well-equipped hotel on dry land.”

Technically, I’ll be at a different hotel. She insisted on paying for the room and meals since I’m waiting for her. The least I can do is find a cheaper place so she doesn’t have to spend more than she should.

Though she won’t know until she gets back. Otherwise, she’ll worry about my safety.

We come to a standstill and there’s no traffic light in sight. Miss Opal cranes her neck to look past the headrest in front of her.

“Is everything all right?” she asks, clutching the handles on her overstuffed purse.

“Morning traffic doing its thing. You don’t need to worry,” he adds. “You scheduled the drop-off with plenty of time to board.”

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