I dab at the corners of my eyes. “Excuse me. I’m just feeling so overwhelmed suddenly.”
Mr. Kane shakes his head as if he is truly disgusted by Declan’s life choices. He doesn’t have two legs to stand on given his history, but he puts on a good show. One almost better than mine. “My son should know better than to play with an innocent woman’s feelings. I thought I taught him better than that.”
I don’t even know where to start with that comment.
Don’t let him get to you. He’s only trying to scare you into calling off the marriage.
I steel my spine. “There’s only one person playing with my feelings, and I’m staring straight at him. Thanks for all the information though. I’m sure Declan will be interested in hearing all about your attempt to ruin our engagement.”
His face morphs into something straight out of a child’s nightmare. “You think you’re clever?”
“Oh, I know I am.”
“I was trying to save you from a loveless marriage, but it seems as if you two deserve each other.”
“I sure hope so, seeing as we’re getting married.”
“He will never love you. He is incapable of it.”
“If I wanted some fatherly advice from a deadbeat dad, I’d call my own father.” My dig is meant for him and all the shit he put his children through.
His jaw clenches. “This isn’t over.”
I offer him a beaming smile as a few guests walk past. “I sure hope not. I thoroughly enjoy watching you make a fool of yourself.”
I leave Declan’s father behind, stewing in the shitstorm he created.
* * *
“Your father knows,” is the first thing I say as Declan enters the car. Harrison, Declan’s chauffeur, shuts the door before entering the private driver’s cabin.
His head tilts. “What do you mean ‘he knows’?”
“Let’s just say he and I had a heart-to-heart after he cornered me near the bathroom.”
His look of disgust mirrors mine. “Tell me exactly what he said.”
I break down the entire conversation, from the assumptions his father made to the way he offered to pay me double to call off the engagement. Declan remains tight-lipped throughout the whole thing until I finish.
“He has no evidence.”
I twist my hands on my lap. “Doesn’t mean he won’t stop until he finds some.”
“Then we will give everyone a show they so desperately want.”
“But aren’t you worried he might do something irrational?”
His eyes light up with challenge. “I’d like to see him try. There is nothing I’d like more than to tear him down once and for all.”
A shiver skates down my spine. “So what’s our plan then?”
“Ourplan?”
I flash my ring finger at him. “This automatically makes you a team player.”
The muscles in his jaw clench. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into with this one.”
“If Cal’s stories are anything to go off of, I think I have a good idea.”