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“We’ll see,” is all Griffin says with a dismissive shrug.

I’m worried about Charles. When I was younger, we were closer, but it’s hard to be close to anyone in your family when you’re sent away to school. He looks as though he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I’m pretty sure he’s drunk today. Actually, I think he has been for the past few days. I know everyone processes grief differently, but I can’t help but think something else is going on.

“Charles should stay at our house. I should stay with him. It makes sense. So why not?” I suddenly feel very lost. Unsure of where I belong now. I have no control over my life. Not that I had much before, but I thought I was about to. That I was going to get a chance to break free of the hold my parents have had on me for so long. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. Griffin stares at me for a long moment. I fold my arms over my chest and wait. I don’t think he’s used to being questioned.

“I only just found out that I’m your guardian and trustee. I would like to read over the paperwork.”

“Then I should wait back at my parents’ home until you’ve done just that.” I raise my chin, trying to seem strong. My hair falls back out of my face. His lips twitch, and I almost think he’s going to smile, but it’s gone as quickly as I thought it was there. He leans down closer to me. My heart starts to pound at his closeness.

“You’ll do as you’re told. Understood?”

My head nods on its own. What the heck?

“Meet us at the house,” he tells Frank before taking me by the elbow.

“You’re taking me now?” He leads me to a black SUV. A man in a suit gives us a curious look but opens the back door for us.

I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a home with a man that wasn’t related to me. That was far from allowed.

He turns me to face him, his dark gaze eating me up. “You belong to me now, Vivian.”

3

GRIFFIN

She fidgets, her fingers straying to the hem of her dress and smoothing it, then back up to her lap as if she’s making a conscious effort to stop fidgeting. Only a few seconds pass before they’re on the move again.

I reach over and capture both her hands in one of mine, holding them still as she turns her head sharply toward me.

“What are you doing?”

That’s a good question. What the hell am I doing? I don’t know how to look after another person. Hell, I rely on Linn for more things than I care to admit. Not to mention Mrs. Putnam. She’s the only reason my home remains in order.

“I’m going to take care of you.” It’s the only thing I can say for sure. Because when I look at Vivian, I have several ideas that veer far, far away from simply taking care of her. I want her in a way I’ve never wanted anyone.

Even now, I glance at her lips, at the forbidden fruit dangling right in front of me. She’s my business partners’ daughter. She should be off limits, especially now that they’re dead and made the foolish mistake of leaving her in my care. It’s as if they didn’t know me at all. But of course they did. They knew me better than anyone. We’ve been working together for so long that they became something of a … family. Not close, not sharing birthdays or holidays or anything so crass as all that. But we had an understanding of how our business functioned, each of us playing our respective parts.

“I don’t even know what that means. I’m an adult now. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.” She shakes her head.

“You’re mistaken.” Once again, I find myself staring at her lips.

“You can’t just say that.”

“Hmm?”

She rolls her eyes. “You can’t just say ‘you’re mistaken’ to someone like that and then offer no explanation.”

I rather enjoy her tone–pert with a side of schoolmistress. Amusement starts to bubble beneath my surface. “Why not?”

“Well, first off, it’s rude. Second off, you don’t know what you’re talking about, so when you say ‘you’re mistaken’”—she tries to drop her voice low, mimicking me—“with that tone of yours, it makes it sound very dismissive. But you don’t even know me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

I smirk. “Sounds to me like your two points all boil down to just the first point–you find me rude. And, no disrespect intended, Vivian, but there’s no way in hell you are capable of taking care of yourself.”

“What?” she asks sharply.

“Just look at you. A little lamb in a world full of wolves.”

“Does that make you one of the wolves?” she fires back.


Tags: Mink Romance