“No.” Something catches in his throat. “My family and his go way back. He was supposed to marry my sister, Norah. But she died.” He chokes on his words.
“I heard the story from my dad. I’m so sorry.” I stroke my neck, feeling sad for a relative I never met. Another relative I’mnottechnically blood related to.
Like Ewan.
“It was a long time ago. Kieran is a good man. He deserves a good wife. You’re a Quinlan. You’re of my bloodline, and he wants to marry within our family.”
Our family, oops…“Why, exactly?”
“Political reasons. A position my da holds, which I plan to take over. Kieran needs us. An alliance between our families is mutually beneficial.” His words sound forced, practiced. Like this is a long-held belief he’s been repeating to himself, but deep inside, he’s questioning it.
I can read his face so well, and I’m not sure why. Other than that brief night between us, I know nothing about him. But as I stand here with this stranger, I feel connected to him. Like I can see into his soul.
“And if I don’t want to marry him, or he doesn’t want to marry me?” I ask on a harsh swallow, wondering which is more likely. A good man wouldn’t care that I had a daughter and would respect that I brought a child into the world, despite the challenges. That I’m a good mother. Loving and honest. Loyal.
“I’m not following you.”
“Are there any other female Quinlans of marrying age to make that alliance you want so badly?”
“No,” he admits quietly.
I wave my phone at him again. “Let’s end the mystery right now. Get him on the phone. Ask him. Save us both a lot of trouble and a long journey.”
Ewan stares at me, hope dying in his eyes that Kieran isn’t the man he thought.
“Do you have any whiskey?” He brushes a hand through his hair that looks as thick and rumpled as I remember. “I’ve been traveling for almost twelve hours.”
Exhaling, I amble to my father’s liquor cabinet and pour Ewan a glass of whatever is open. It may be cheap, but it’s authentic, distilled Irish whiskey that packs a punch.
“Thank you.” He takes a swig, and I feel pangs of sympathy for him. He’s been thrown for a loop.
“You’re welcome.” When I was a just a distant thought, a childless one at that, this was easy.
Now it’s real.
After finishing the drink in two harsh gulps, he says, “If you’re willing to come with me, I can promise you, Kieran will accept you.”
“And Sadie?”
“Yes.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ll demand it.” He levels his gaze at me, and butterflies go crazy in my stomach.
It’s hard to breathe with him looking at me like that, and then I remember what we’re talking about.
“No. That’s not the life I want. It’s bad enough to have a wife forced on someone. But a child?” I shake my head, and it’s very clear to me all of a sudden. “Sadie already had one man abandon her.” That’s not exactly true, but I go with it. “I’m not subjecting her to live with a man who is being forced to accept her. No. Sorry. I won’t go with you.”
CHAPTER SIX
Darcy
“ItoldhimI’mnot going,” I say to my mother, who’s making warm milk for Sadie in the kitchen.
“Where are we going?” my daughter asks, her little legs kicking in the kitchen chair while nibbling on snickerdoodle cookies she and Mum baked yesterday.
“Nowhere, sweetie.” I still smell cinnamon in the kitchen as I glance around, feeling the fear of leaving. This is the only home I remember, and the only one Sadie has ever known.