Page 20 of Keep Me

Another young woman comes bounding out of the bedroom. Her cheeks are still flushed, and her hair is messy with knots and tangles in the back, which is a pretty good indicator of what they were just up to.

That explains all those giggles.

“Excuse me,” she murmurs sweetly to Anna and me as she scurries past us, still buttoning up the top of some sort of black shift-dress-style uniform.

Anna glares at Killian, and then she glances softly at me. “Don’t worry, Sylvie. We’ll be hiring a new cleaning staff.”

I press my lips together. Somewhere in the distance, I hear a door closing.

Which means I’m now alone with my soon-to-be husband and his sister. Killian saunters out of the bedroom, running his fingers through his long brown hair as he pulls it into a bun at the back of his head.

“You again,” he says to me.

I square my shoulders as I turn to face him. “I was invited thistime,” I reply.

“I’m surprised you came.”

“Well, I’m just full of surprises.” I cross my arms in front of my chest and glare up at him.

“We’ll see about that.”

His green eyes are so fierce it becomes hard to stare at them for too long. His heavy brows hang over his eyes in austere contemplation. It’s almost like I start to shrink under his gaze, and it grates on my nerves to feel that way.

But I don’t back down. Soon, we’re in a heated staring contest, and it’s Anna who finally breaks it up.

“Killian, get this mess cleaned up. I’m going to show Sylvie her room, and we’ll meet downstairs for tea in thirty minutes. I expect you to be there. We have some things to go over.”

The corner of Killian’s mouth lifts in a crooked smile. “I look forward to it.”

Without a response, I turn away from him and follow Anna down a long hallway to the left, opposite from where the giggling girl emerged. The entire time she gives me a tour, I try to shake the feeling of irritation from that short interaction with Killian.

I realize he was trying to get under my skin. He was trying to assert dominance by mocking me and making me uncomfortable. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

The truth of the matter is, I want this money. Ineedthis money. Which means I have to make this work one way or another. Whatever this family plans to do to Killian when all of this is over isn’t any of my business. I don’t care about him or the house he wants to keep.

I’m in this forme.

Which means over the next twelve months, I’m about to become this man’s worst nightmare.

Chapter Seven

“There will be a full staff on hand…once we replace them,” Anna says as she pours hot water into my cup. I pick up the string from the tea bag and dunk it a few times as she continues.

It’s still so odd to me that she is so involved in her brother’s life. He’s thirty-seven. Why is she even here? My parents practically wrote me off once I turned eighteen. Pushed me right out of that nest, and I would never expect them to put this much effort into getting me to fix my life. The only effort they’ve ever shown is by calling their accountant to have them cease my allowance deposits. I’m sure that took a phone call. It’s so endearing to think they took the time to do that for me.

“What kind of staff?” I ask as I reach for the sugar.

“You’ll have a cook, someone to clean, and a driver if you need to go anywhere.”

“Seriously?” I ask with a perplexed expression. “So there will just be people here all the time?”

“Not all the time,” she replies. “They keep basic hours, and they don’t live here. But if you need them, they’re available. There is a groundskeeper who lives in one of the houses on the property.”

“Can’t I just…drive myself?”

I see the corners of her jaw click as she presses her teeth together. “You can go anywhere you’d like. I’m not holding you here, but for your safety, we’d prefer if you’d use the driver.”

My hand stills mid-dunk. I’m not an idiot. I know what she means by mysafety, and it means I’ll be watched. Wherever I decide to go will be everyone’s knowledge. The reminder that I’ll be someone’s wife, regardless of howfakeit is, makes me shudder with apprehension.

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