Page 104 of Illicit Temptation

So many wild thoughts run through my head as to what he wants and why it’s so urgent. I wonder if Kieran called and asked Da to talk me out of buying Lagerfeld Events.

Or...

Did he just see me kiss Trace? No. Trace would be dragged off somewhere and not the office. Da would have him in the old barn and threaten him with Ma’s cattle-gutting tools.

We reach the office and once I’m inside, Da closing the door feels so...final.

“Sit down, Shea-Lynne.” He points to the chair across from the desk that puts his ornately carved desk back at Divona, now Kieran’s, to shame.

When he takes out a stack of papers, I immediately wonder if that’s Ma’s will. Maybe he’s about to tell me what I’ll be getting, or possibly not getting. Maybe it will all go to my brothers, and he wants to lessen the blow.

It doesn’t matter. I don’t want any money. I want my mother. And I want Trace. I’m ready to fight for him. For us.

“When Lachlan told me you were coming, I did some thinking,” he says and sits back in his chair.

Hmmm. Doesn’t sound like a will reading.

“About what, Da?”

“I gave up my throne in Astoria a lot sooner than I had intended. I made your brother king, your other brothers step up to help him run it before they were ready.”

I clear my throat. “I don’t get involved in their business. They let me run mine in East Hampton.”

“I...let that happen.” He tilts his head. “But it wasn’t supposed to go on for this long. That’s where I failed you. Caring for your mother took away my focus from doing what is best for you.”

“Best?” My heart spikes. “You sent me to an expensive college. What did you think I’d use my education for?”

“A strong man, therightman, wants a strong, smart woman at his side.” He points to me. “One he won’t abuse or lie to.”

My throat goes tight. Oh crap, Kieran called him, allright, to talk me into this marriage deal he planned. Those papers. Is that it? Am I about to find out what the family has planned for me?

The room starts to spin, and I grip the sides of my chair. “What are you trying to tell me, Da?”

“I’ve known a lot of men who give their young, innocent daughters away to monsters. To me,they’remonsters. Do you think I’m a monster, Shea-Lynne? Have you ever felt that I didn’t adore you with every fiber of my being?”

There’s so much in his statement to unpack. “No, Da. I know you love me,” I say instead of turning it into a debate.

“Then you’ll accept that I know what is best for you.”

“I’m thirty-seven. I run a successful business. I know what’s best for me.” Even as I say it, I know Da doesn’t appreciate my success. All of a sudden, I can’t breathe.

“Now you listen to me, young lady.”

“Da...” I stand up. “Can we discuss this after Ma—”

I don’t get out another word. The door to the office opens, and Faolan Malone steps inside.

Blood whooshes through my ears, making me dizzy. Seeing Trace come inside right behind him as well calms me down. Only, Trace looks like he’s going to be sick. His eyes are wild, and his jaw trembles in a furious tick.

What the hell is going on?

“I understand you and Mr. Malone met this afternoon at Dunbar,” Da says, puffing his cigar.

“We did,” I reply, going breathless and wait for the hammer to drop on my head because this man also caught me kissing my bodyguard five minutes ago.

“Excellent.” Da smiles. “You’re going to marry him.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

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