Page 73 of Releasing 10
“Your house is huge,” he told me. “Like seriously huge.”
“Yeah.” Standing in the hallway, I clasped my hands together and stared at him. “It’s really old.”
“Yeah, it looks it.” He seemed interested in the walls of our entryway. “It’s really cool.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” His eyes met mine for a moment and my face grew hot again. “My dad’s an architect, so I sort of love these kinds of places.” He turned around slowly, eyes focused on the carvings in the ceiling. “Georgian?”
“Uh, my dad’s name is Michael,” I corrected. “And he’s in the kitchen.”
Hugh frowned at me for a brief moment before a huge smile spread across his face. “You are so cute.”
My eyes widened. “I’m cute?”
His lips twitched but he didn’t answer, deciding to change the subject by asking, “So, how about it, milady? Fancy giving your brave knight a tour of the palace?”
“You’re so weird.” Snickering, I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the staircase. “Let’s go.”
“Hey, did you know that your mother’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather fought in the Siege of Cork in 1690?”
“That’s a lot of greats, Hugh.” Sprawled out on my bedroom floor, I rested my chin in my hands, while I watched Hugh comb through a book he’d found in the library room.
“And your family is one of the few Catholic-Irish families to retain their land and wealth during the plantation?”
“Did he die?”
“Who?”
“My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.”
“Nope, but it says here that he lost a leg.” Carefully turning the dusty page, he continued to read. “Liz, your mam is wealthy.” He leaned in closer to read the handwritten diary entries. “And not just regular wealthy.” He turned his head to look at me. “She hasgenerationalwealth.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what any of that means.”
“It means her children’s children won’t ever have to worry about money.” He frowned before chuckling to himself. “I guess that means your kids.”
“But I don’t have any kids?”
“Not now, but when you’re a grown-up, you’ll have a bunch” he explained, returning his attention to the book. “And they’ll be filthy rich.”
“Oh.” I thought about it for a moment, decided I didn’t care, and went right back to staring at him. “I think I like being around you more than your sister,” I admitted. “Does that make me a bad friend?”
“Nah,” Hugh replied, turning his head to look at me again. “I get it.”
“You do?”
“Yep.” Nodding, he closed the book and rested his chin on his hand. “You like the peace and quiet, and my sister is the opposite of quiet.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Idolike the quiet.”
“Me, too,” he agreed. “Besides, you’re the baby of your family, aren’t you? And Caoimhe’s way older than you.”
“Yep.”
“So quiet is what you’re used to,” he continued to explain. “I’m the oldest of the four of us, so I’m used to the noise, but I don’t like it.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “But there’s only two of you.”
