by Douglas, Michelle; Gordon, Lucy; Pembroke, Sophie; Hardy, Kate
‘No.’
Was Isabella just saying that to convince her to marry Flynn? Didn’t she know that if she’d thought Helena wanted him she’d step aside in an instant? Probably not. Isabella had spent so many years watching Ezekiel drive a wedge between her sons she probably believed everyone wanted what their sibling had.
‘I’d look closer, then.’
Thea shook her head. ‘You’re imagining things, Isabella. And it doesn’t matter anyway.’
‘Oh? Have you found a magical third path, then? Other than my original suggestion?’
‘No.’ Thea stared down into her teacup. If she was honest, she’d known all along what she really had to do. For her future and for her family. ‘I’ll marry Flynn, just as we’ve always planned.’
Isabella watched her for a long moment, then nodded. ‘Good. Now, more tea?’
‘No. Thank you.’ Thea pushed her chair away from the table and stood. ‘I need to go to bed. Lots to do tomorrow.’
Starting with explaining her decision to the one person in the world who would never, ever understand it.
* * *
Zeke woke early the next morning. He’d waited up for Thea on the terrace until he’d realised all the lights inside had been turned off. Helena had kept vigil with him for a while, before patting him on the shoulder and bidding him goodnight. When he’d finally given up and gone to bed he’d lingered outside Thea’s door for long moments, contemplating knocking and going in. But Thea had to make this decision for herself—even he knew that much.
In the end he’d headed to bed alone, for a night of restless dreams and uncertainty. And now it was the morning of Thea and Flynn’s wedding, and he still didn’t know her decision.
From the moment he woke he felt panic surge through him at the realisation that he was alone again. Why hadn’t she come? He’d been so sure... Flynn must have said something. Threatened her, perhaps... Except that wasn’t his style. No, he’d have baffled her with logic. Probably had a spreadsheet of reasons they should get married as planned.
Just what Thea didn’t need.
Sitting up in bed, Zeke stamped down on the fear creeping across his brain and contemplated his next move. He could still fix this, still win, if he played the right hand. Did he wait for Thea to come to him, or did he seek her out? There was always the chance that she might not come at all. If she’d made her decision—the wrong decision—what would be the point? But Zeke knew he couldn’t live with the not knowing.
So what other choice did he have? He could just cut his losses now. He could go and say goodbye to Thea, give her one last chance to go with him, then leave if she said no.
In the end the choice wasn’t his or Thea’s. As he exited his bedroom, freshly showered and casually dressed—no way was he getting stuck in a tux this early in the day, even if the wedding went ahead and he actually attended—he saw Flynn, marching towards him.
‘You and I need to talk,’ his adopted brother said, face solemn. ‘And then you need to talk to Thea.’
‘Okay.’ Zeke fell into step with Flynn, his heart rising slightly in his chest. Maybe he wouldn’t need to convince Thea again after all. If Flynn wanted him to talk to her surely that meant he didn’t approve of her decision. Well, he was damned if he thought Zeke would try to persuade her otherwise. ‘What exactly do we need to talk about?’
Flynn gave him an exasperated look. ‘Thea, of course.’
‘Right.’
Zeke waited until Flynn had yanked open the door to the library and impatiently motioned him in before asking any more questions. Settling down into a wingback chair, he suddenly remembered Helena’s words from the night before. This was where Flynn and Thea had talked after the interlude on the terrace. How he wished he could have heard what they’d said...
Maybe Flynn would tell him. If he asked right.
‘So,’ Zeke said, folding one leg up to rest his ankle on the opposite knee. ‘What’s up? Last-minute nerves?’
Flynn glared at him. ‘In precisely six hours I’m supposed to marry Thea. If you have any interest at all in that event, however twisted, you need to stop playing now. I need you to be my brother, for once, and I need you to be honest with me.’
Zeke flinched under his brother’s gaze. How had he become the kid brother again, the screw-up, the one who couldn’t be serious about anything that mattered? Especially when he’d worked so hard to get away from that. Away from the bitter rivalry for something that had turned out not to matter at all—their father’s approval.
‘Fine. Then talk.’
‘Thea told me that she slept with you last night.’
‘She said she was going to.’ Zeke looked Flynn right in the eye as he talked. He wasn’t ashamed, even if he should be. Thea belonged with him, not in some soulless, loveless marriage of convenience. Getting her out of that was not a sin. Trapping her was.
‘I still plan to marry her.’
‘For the love of God, why?’ Zeke grabbed the arms of the chair and sat forward. What else did he have to do? ‘You don’t love her—I know you don’t. You couldn’t be this calm right now if you did. And she doesn’t love you!’
‘Do you think she’s still in love with you?’
‘I know she is. And I know she deserves a lot better than what you have to offer.’
‘And what, exactly, are you offering?’ Flynn asked, staring at Zeke. ‘The chance to say screw you to our father?’
‘That’s not...’ Zeke sank back down into his chair. ‘That’s not why.’
‘Are you sure?’ Flynn tilted his head as he considered his brother. ‘It’s been eight years, Zeke. Why come back now, if not to prove a point?’
‘Oh, I don’t know—maybe to stop Thea making a huge mistake.’
‘And you think you’re the best judge of Thea’s mistakes?’
‘Better than her, at least,’ Zeke said, thinking about Helena and all the guilt Thea carried on her behalf.
Flynn shook his head. ‘You’re wrong. But I told Thea last night she had to decide for herself what to do. I told her to think about it overnight, then talk to us both this morning. She’ll be here any minute.’
And just like that the decision about how to approach Thea was taken away from him.
‘Good,’ Zeke said, hoping his surprise didn’t show on his face.
He didn’t want to have this conversation in front of his brother. Flynn made him a different person even now, after all these years. He needed it to be just him and Thea, so they could just be themselves, the people he remembered so well. But apparently his love life was now in the public domain. And before he could even object the library door opened and Thea was standing there, looking pale and lovely—and determined.
Zeke stood up. Time to win this.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THEA SUCKED IN a breath as she opened the library door and saw Zeke and Flynn waiting for her. This was it. The moment that decided the rest of her life. Whatever she’d told Isabella, whatever she’d told herself in the dark of the night, her decision couldn’t be final until she’d told the two men in this room. This might be the biggest choice and possibly the biggest mistake she’d ever made as an adult. So of course it involved Zeke Ashton.
‘Thea, you’re here. Good.’
Flynn gave her a gentle smile that made Thea’s insides tie up in knots. She didn’t want to be there so much.
But she was, and she was out of other options, so she moved to the centre of the room and took the chair Flynn indicated. This was his condition: he’d marry her today if she talked things through with both of them and still decided it was the best option. Since she’d slept with someone else the night before their wedding, Thea had to admit that this was more than fair. That was the thing about Flynn. He was always scrupulously fair. Even when she wanted hi
m to just yell, or walk out, or make a decision for her.
‘Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking.’ Flynn settled into his own chair, looking for all the world as if this was an everyday meeting or discussion. As if they weren’t debating whether or not to get married that afternoon. ‘We all know the situation. And we all agree that Thea has to be the one to make a decision about what happens next—correct?’
He glanced between them, focussing first on Zeke, who eventually nodded in a way that made it very clear he was doing so under duress, and then at Thea, who whispered, ‘Yes,’ even though she didn’t want to.
‘So... I think the best way to proceed is—’
‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ Zeke interrupted. ‘This isn’t a board meeting, Flynn.’
‘No,’ Flynn replied, his voice calm and even. ‘It’s a meeting about my future. And since you’re the one who’s put that into the realm of uncertainty, I think you should just let me deal with it my own way, don’t you?’
Zeke settled back into his chair at that, and Thea risked a glance over at him. His eyes were dark and angry, and she could see the tension in his hands, in the way they gripped the arms of the chair, even if his posture was relaxed. How he must hate this—must hate waiting to see if Flynn was going to beat him again. Because of course that was how Zeke would see it, even if it wasn’t true. This wasn’t about either of them, really, even if only Flynn seemed to realise that.
It was about Thea. About her making the right decision for once. Whatever that might be.
‘So, here’s what I propose,’ Flynn said, and Thea tried to concentrate on listening to him instead of watching the way Zeke’s jaw tightened with every word. ‘Zeke and I will both lay out our arguments for why we feel you should choose our proposed course of action. You can listen, ask questions, and then we’ll leave you alone to make your decision. The only thing I ask is that you decide quickly; once guests start arriving it will be a lot harder to cancel this thing, if you choose to.’
Thea nodded, and stopped looking at Zeke altogether.
‘Okay. Shall I go first?’ Flynn asked, and when no one answered he continued, ‘Right. Thea, obviously I want to marry you today. I understand what happened last night, and I think, after talking with you yesterday, I can see why. But I don’t believe that one impulsive action has to change the course of your whole life. We agreed to a contract—a marriage between us based on very sound reasoning and mutual desires. Everything we discussed and decided still stands. I can give you the security, the business, the future that you want. And marriage is only a small part of our lives; we have to consider the other people we love—what they want. I think we both know that everyone in this villa except Zeke wants a future with us as a couple in it. We can do so much together, Thea. And, quite honestly, I’d worry about your future if you left with Zeke today.’
He got up from the chair and came to stand by her side, gently taking her hand in his.
‘Because, Thea, I care about you. Maybe we don’t have that grand passion. But we have more. Mutual respect, caring, common interests and values. They matter too. And I suggest to you, right here, that they matter more for what we want to achieve in life.’
He wasn’t just thinking about the business, Thea realised. He was talking about kids. Flynn would be a great father—calm and fair. And she was pretty sure he wouldn’t ever sleep with his best friend’s wife. Unlike her own father. Unlike Zeke, she thought, stealing a glance at him. Hell, he’d slept with her the night before her wedding. Morality had never been a strong motivation for him.
Or for her this week, it seemed.
Flynn seemed to be waiting for an answer, so Thea nodded and said, ‘That all makes a lot of sense,’ even though her poor muddled brain could barely remember what he’d said.
Maybe it didn’t matter, she realised. Maybe, whatever they each had to say, it all meant nothing in the end. She couldn’t weigh up the pros and cons of two people, could she?
Except she had to. And not just of the two men in front of her but of the whole lives they represented. She could see two futures for herself, branching off from this moment, and she simply didn’t know which one was more terrifying.
But she still had to decide.
Flynn gave a sharp nod, then moved away to his own chair, yielding the floor to his brother. ‘Zeke. Your turn.’
Zeke looked up slowly, his dark gaze finally meeting hers. ‘I don’t know what you want me to say.’
‘Neither do I,’ Thea admitted. Did she want him to talk her out of marrying Flynn—really? Or did she want him to say something so awful that she stopped feeling guilty about marrying Zeke’s brother in the first place? She wasn’t sure.
He blew out a long breath. ‘Okay. I don’t want you to marry Flynn. I think it’s a mistake.’
Thea flinched at the word, even though she tried not to. ‘It’s mine to make, though.’
‘It is,’ Zeke conceded. ‘I just... I really don’t want to do this with him in the room.’
‘He’s your brother. And he’s right—he does have kind of a big stake in this conversation.’
‘I know.’ Zeke took another breath. ‘Okay, fine. I know you think you’re doing this for the family, to prove yourself to them somehow. And I know you believe that everyone will be happy if you just go along with their plans. But you’re wrong.’
‘And our happiness is suddenly of such importance to you? Zeke, you haven’t cared about us for the last eight years. I find it hard to believe that we suddenly matter that much to you.’
‘Of course I’ve cared!’ Zeke yelled, and Flynn’s gaze shot to the door, as if he was worrying about who might be listening. It was a fear that seemed all the more reasonable when Zeke’s words were followed by a knock on the library door a moment later.
‘Ah, here you all are,’ Isabella said, giving them all her best hostess smile. ‘Thea, darling, there’s a small question about the table settings that we could use your input on, if you have a moment.’
Isabella’s eyes were knowing, but Thea refused to meet them.
‘I’ll deal with it,’ Flynn said, getting to his feet. ‘Thea and Zeke are just reminiscing about old times, Mother. Something they won’t have much of a chance to do once we’re married.’
She had to know it was a lie, but Isabella let it go nonetheless. ‘Come on, then. And once this is sorted, perhaps you can help me with the question of the gift table.’
Flynn shut the door firmly behind them, and Thea felt as if he’d taken all the air in the room with him. Now it was just her and Zeke and every moment of their history, weighing down on them like the books on the shelves.
‘That’s better,’ Zeke said. ‘Now we can do this properly.’
* * *
How could she look so poised and calm, when he felt as if his insides were about to combust? For Thea this might as well be just another business meeting. Maybe she was a perfect match for Flynn after all.
No. If this was his last chance to try and uncover the Thea he’d known and loved, the one he’d glimpsed again as he’d made love to her on the terrace last night, then he was grasping it with both hands. He had to make her see sense.
‘Maybe we should wait until Flynn gets back,’ Thea said, as if she truly believed that any part of this discussion really did involve his brother.
‘This isn’t about Flynn,’ Zeke said. ‘He could be anyone. Any poor bloke you’d roped in to try and make your life safe and predictable. Just like the last two. No, this is about you and me, and it always has been.’
Thea’s gaze shot up to meet his, dark and heated. ‘You mean it’s all about you. You proving a point to your father. Just like it always is.’
‘Last night wasn’t just about me,’ Zeke replied, enjoying the flush of red that ran up her neck to her cheeks. ‘In fact I distinctly remember i
t being all about you more than once.’
‘This isn’t about sex, Zeke,’ Thea snapped. ‘This is my future you’re playing with.’
‘Who said I’m playing?’ Because he wasn’t—not one bit. He knew exactly how important this moment was. But with Thea sometimes you had to get her mad to see the truth. To let her true self break out from all the rules and restrictions she’d tucked herself in with like a safety blanket.
Thea gave a bitter laugh. ‘It’s always been a game to you—all of it. You’ve always cared more about beating your father and Flynn than anything else. If you’d paid any attention at all you’d know that Flynn isn’t even competing. He’s just getting on with his life, like an ordinary, good man.’
‘And that’s what you want, is it? Ordinary?’ If she thought it was, she was wrong. Thea deserved much, much more than ordinary.
‘I want to not be a trophy! I want to not be one more thing you can use against your family for some misguided slight almost a decade ago!’
The words hit him hard in the chest. ‘That’s not what I’m doing.’
‘Isn’t it? Are you sure? Because it seems to me that coming back here—right when you’re about to sell your company to our competitor, just when I’m about to get on and make a success of my life—is far more about you and your need to win than anything else.’
‘You’re wrong.’
‘Prove it.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know, Zeke! But if you really want me to throw over all my plans for the future, to upset both our families, probably damage the company’s reputation...you need to offer me a little more than a cheap victory over your father and one night on a terrace.’
One night. Was that what it was to her? Was that all he’d ever been? A bit of fun, but never the one you chose for the long haul. No wonder she’d stayed eight years ago.
‘Helena must have been a real handy excuse that night,’ he said, letting the bitterness creep into his voice.