Page 57 of Killian

He nods. “She’s safe. I’ll take into consideration the plea you have made on her behalf. I can’t let her around the children. It would be careless, but maybe a home somewhere so she would have others to talk to. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.”

“What was the second thing?” he asks after a moment.

I clear my throat. This is almost as hard as admitting our mother’s secret.

“I heard there was a fundraiser this weekend in Chicago. I want to go.”

His eyes widen slightly. “May I ask why? I thought you didn’t want an arranged marriage.”

I shrug. “I don’t, but I want to know my options. Besides, I’ve never been there. I think it would be nice to see the city.”

His eyes narrow slightly now. “You do realize I will receive offers for you.”

I swallow hard. “Yes, and we will decide together if I want to accept any of them.”

“There’s no other agenda?”

I school my features. There is only one agenda, which is to see what Killian is up to.

“None. I honestly just want a break. I’ve been working so much that I think I’m starting to go blind and not see what’s right in front of me. The sooner I figure it out, the faster I can go back to Italy.”

He nods. “Okay. You take Enzo and one other guy. I don’t care who, even if it is Giovanni or Lorenzo.”

I bite my lip. I don’t want to take either of them.

“Would you rather I go?” Bash asks softly.

“No. I was thinking about who would be best to take. Can I let Enzo choose? He knows the men better than me.”

More like he will know who he can distract to allow me some private time.

“That’s a good idea. I know I haven’t said it yet, but I’m proud of you.”

My heart warms at the compliment. I almost feel bad for lying to him.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

He nods. “Anything else?”

“No. Thank you.”

“Good. I’ll arrange it and make sure they know you are not on the immediate table. That should limit the number of offers.”

“Thank you.” I stand and walk away, but stop when I make it to the door.

Turning back to him, I say, “Bash, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you ever force me into one of these fundraisers before?”

He leans on the desk in front of him, steepling his fingers in front of his face.

“We were never close, but I still wanted to take care of you. Father would have had you married off on your eighteenth birthday like Karrisa. I never wanted that future for you. Look how that turned out for her. I wanted you to live your life. You condemn me for sending you off and that’s okay, but I did it for you.”

That wall around my heart crumbles a little at his admission. Even hearing Karrisa’s name doesn’t bring that immediate pain I’m used to feeling.

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