Page 106 of The Bossy One

I reached for her. “Wait. Let me explain.”

But she was already scrambling out of bed, clutching the sheet to her chest. “How could you, Declan? Is this true?”

Something cold and heavy settled over my chest. She was looking at me in horror. Like this was the one thing she might not be able to forgive.

She was waiting for an answer. Waiting for me to deny it.

Unfortunately, a denial was the one thing I couldn’t give her. “It’s true.”

34

DECLAN

Ibraced for Olivia’s anger. But it was worse than that. She didn’t look angry.

She looked disappointed.

She turned away from me to tug on the shorts and T-shirt she’d discarded on my floor last night. “I don’t understand, Declan. Without that house, there’s no summer festival. And without that festival, half the town’s businesses will close.”

“Those businesses will be fine,” I insisted, “once they pivot to a new business model.”

Olivia whirled to face me. “Whatnew business model? According to Molly, Ballybeith gets smaller every year. And you’re killing the last thing that was bringing outsiders in.”

I threw the covers off and stood, yanking my trousers on. “Sure, blame the shrinking town on me too. Not on Mark O’Rourke, who’s been raising rents so high he’s been driving people out for decades.” I jabbed a finger to emphasize my point. “I did this town a favor, getting that mansion away from him. Now he can’t hold the festival over the town’s head. Someone had to stop him.”

“I get that.” Olivia stepped toward me, her hands spread in supplication. “I get it. You did a good thing buying the mansion. But you don’t have to raze it. Let it stand, and let people use it for the festival.” She walked closer, her hands settling lightly against my chest. “You already won. You beat Mark O’Rourke. You can stop now. You don’t have to hurt the town. You don’t have to hurt Catie.”

I flinched away from her touch. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? God forbid I piss off the man who abandoned Sinead. The man who abandonedCatie.”

I should have known Olivia wouldn’t understand. Like everyone else, she saw Seamus’s charming smile, heard his friendly words, and didn’t look any deeper. But still, Olivia choosing Seamus over me felt like a knife to the belly.

Olivia crossed her arms. “This isn’t about Seamus. It’s about Catie. She deserves to make her own choices when she grows up. And you’ve just made it all but impossible to have a positive relationship with half of her family.”

“They’re not her family,” I snarled. “They killed her family.”

Olivia stepped back under the force of my rage. Some distant part of me noticed she looked scared.

Ashamed, I stepped back, trying to get control of my emotions. “Olivia. I want you to believe me that I am doing this not despite the town, or Catie, butforthem.”

“But what if you’re wrong—”

“I’m not done yet,” I said, my voice brooking no argument. “I believe destroying that mansion, destroying the O’Rourke legacy, benefits everyone. But even if I didn’t, I’d still fucking do it. Because he killed my da. And no one in this town, this town of people you’re so desperate to save, held him accountable for that.”

Her chin quivered.

My voice dropped, deadly quiet. “If no one else will punish Mark O’Rourke, then I will. And damn the consequences.”

Olivia stared at me, eyes bright, face flushed. She started to walk out the door, then stopped and turned back to me. “I was going to stay in Ireland for you,” she said. “After last night, I thought…I thought it was okay that you weren’t brave enough to ask me to stay, because I could feel it in your touch, in your heart that you wanted me to—and that maybe we could have a future together. I thought I could be brave for both of us.”

She was going to stay?Everything in me leapt at the idea.

“But I can’t do that,” Olivia said, an awful finality in her voice. “I can’t risk my future on someone who’s so set on revenge, no matter the cost.Please, Declan. Stop living in the past.”

I felt my anger start to turn on her. How dare she tell me she was considering staying right when she was making it clear she’d changed her mind? Did she enjoy toying with me? “At least I learn from my past,” I said. “You’re so scared to look at what you’ve lost, what youwant,you’ve spent your whole career running from it. Hiding in other people’s lives, in other people’s families—”

“Stop,” Olivia said, covering her face. “I can’t do this.”

“Oh, that’s mature. Check out of the conversation.”

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