Page 84 of Broken Dreams

“Good questions,” he says. “There’s a very good chance she may be taking her father’s place when it’s proven he sold his own daughter. She’s going to need to solidify her place amongst the families before that happens.”

Huh. I didn’t think that he would admit what we’ve all been thinking about on my side of the table. Hudson Hughes is acting way too guilty to not have been involved.

“Okay,” I say, deflating slightly. I was really working myself up.

Adira smiles, leaning forward with her arms on the table. She’s wearing a white linen dress that makes her dark brown hair stand out as it curls around her face.

“You’re worried about her,” she says. “It’s understandable that you’ll ask the hard questions. Callum and Duncan have already been through these meetings that are really just an excuse to find allies before we kill someone off.”

Quinn cracks a small smile at her words, forcing herself to take a deep breath. She’s also been working herself up, and I wish I knew how or why. Her father is using her mother against her for the party, but I don’t know if she’ll be there for the dinner.

“Is her mom going to be at the dinner?” I ask for Quinn.

Adira’s face goes from pleasant to fucking scary so quickly, I flinch in surprise.

“Down girl,” Callum murmurs. “You’re going to scare everyone.”

“He’s refusing to let Ayla see Quinn until the party, which is bullshit. It simply shows he’s willing to use any bargaining tool he can to bring Quinn to heel.”

I’m not a dog,Quinn writes, her lips pursed.

“No, you’re not, which is why this pisses me off so much. It’s at his home, it would cost him nothing to allow you two to see each other,” Adira says. “I could be projecting, but I would be pissed if it was my mother.”

This is about control,Quinn says.Who has it and a reminder of who doesn’t.

The pad has a stylus as well as a keyboard, but she seems to prefer the stylus. I wouldn’t be able to have much speed on a keyboard myself anymore.

“Yes it is,” Adira says. “He should enjoy it while it lasts, because I don’t believe he’ll be able to keep it for long.”

The rest of the lunch is spent both planning and getting to know each other, with Cian paying special attention to both Quinn and I.

“Outside of all of the political bullshit,” Cian says, “what do you want?”

I want to code and dance,Quinn says with a small sigh. It speaks volumes to me, because the world seems to want to get in the way of those simple pleasures.

“Computer coding?” he asks. At Quinn’s nod, Cian grins. “Well, you’re in a good place for it. Callum is one of the best, and then my daughter’s mate has been talking about teaching someone that he knows. There’s nothing electronic that’s safe if he’s near it.”

The pride in his voice is endearing, despite the criminal activity he’s describing.

“Caelin is looking to teach someone?” Duncan asks. The way he asks makes me wonder if this guy may be a bit surly.

“I’m not going to look that gift horse in the mouth,” Callum says with a smirk. “We’ll start coding lessons then, Quinn. We can see how much you remember, updating it with what’s changed. You were always a natural.”

The pride in his voice makes Quinn’s cheeks blush, but it may be well placed. She’s really smart, I have no doubt she’ll be able to catch up quickly.

Finishing up lunch, we stand and say our goodbyes. Adira comes around the table to face Quinn with a smile.

“I really am so happy they found you,” she says, holding out her hand to see if Quinn will take it.

Hesitantly, she does, and Adira takes a deep breath.

“I also want to tell you something you already know. Your boys are so special, Quinn. They’ll get you through whatever you need,” she says, her green eyes shining. “There’s a lot of hard parts to get to your happy ending, and there’s always work to be done. I can say for a fact that it’s worth it.”

Quinn’s lip quivers as she nods, and Callum practically tackles them in a hug.

“If you get weepy, I sure as shit will too,” he murmurs into her hair.

Adira gasps in a laugh as the tears escape, and Quinn leans into Callum’s embrace.

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