“Trey was a decent stepfather,” Briony said, a hint of defense hardening her voice. “He treated me well, especially since I wasn’t really his daughter.”
“After all he’s done, you still defend him.”
“He is...was family. You love family no matter what.”
Cass swore in French. “Loving family isn’t a requirement, especially when someone treats you the way he did. Your mother never should have married him if he didn’t show himself capable of that.”
Briony looked away. “Trey was more involved when they dated. He wanted to be what my mother wanted him to be. It wasn’t until after they were married that he realized he couldn’t. I heard him and my mom arguing about it once, so I told her things were better.”
“To protect your mother?”
She nodded once. “I wanted her to have her fairy tale.”
“What if her fairy tale didn’t have to involve a Prince Charming? What if it meant her daughter was happy?”
Judging by Briony’s wide eyes, the possibility had never occurred to her. Part of him wished he had left her stepfather in his decrepit house to drown himself in beer and debt.
“He should have treated you like his daughter, regardless of genetics, Briony. That is a failing on his part.”
The tremulous smile she gave him warmed his chest.
“Thank you.”
He leaned back in his seat, this time allowing silence to fill the space between them. Briony surprised him by not rushing to fill the gap with inane chatter. Instead, she focused on the scenery they were rushing over thirty thousand feet below.
His father, Leo, had taught him patience. Patience was a valuable asset that, despite their family’s billions now, could not be bought and few possessed. Yet Briony’s quiet dignity stirred him in a way that was both new and unsettling.
The plane shuddered. The captain’s voice filled the cabin.
“Sir, we’re experiencing some minor turbulence. Please fasten your seat belts.”
Briony rode out the bout of shaking with a slight tightening of her lips and a firm grip on her armrests. Another point in her favor. The last woman he’d traveled with, an actress, had shrieked and afterward sought solace in his arms, big crocodile tears sliding down her face as she’d pressed her ample and barely covered bosom against his chest.
Once the turbulence abated, Cass leaned back in his seat.
“Do you have any other questions for me?”
“Where will we live?”
“Linnaea. We’ll stay in Tulay for extended periods, and of course we can visit Kansas as often as you’d like, or anywhere else you’d like to go. But there’s too much to be done, especially in these first few years, to be away for long.”
“So we’ll raise our children in Linnaea?” she asked softly.
An image flared in his mind of a little redheaded girl with brown eyes, or perhaps a little boy with eyes the same vivid green as his mother. He’d known children were in his future. But knowing who their mother would be made the concept more real. And, he acknowledged as his eyes caressed Briony’s face, more enticing. Briony had already proven herself to be a strong and patient woman. While she overindulged those two bratty stepsisters of hers, he had no doubt she would excel as a mother. And she had proven that she wouldn’t abandon her family when things got rough.
“At least two.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. That wasn’t just a ploy to get you to say yes.”
She nodded, but a frown still lurked on her face.
“What is it?”
“It’s just...weird. Talking about this lifelong commitment so factually.”
“More marriages would be successful if the parties involved approached it pragmatically.”