Page 2

But Declan left. My oldest brother abdicated and left for the US fifteen years ago. He hasn’t returned to our tiny, remote island country in all that time. Not once. He’s built several wildly successful businesses in the US and is now one of the richest men on the continent. Probably in the world. He hasn’t once looked back at the throne. He barely keeps in touch with the family.
There was no question Declan wasnotgoing to be Cara’s king. So when Torin returned to Cara, Linnea becamehisfuture queen.
But now that he’s married, the arrangement will move to Diarmuid’sthirdgrandson?
Wait a fucking minute.
I’m not the third grandchild, but…
“Hey,I’myour third grandson,” I say out loud.
My grandfather meets my gaze and nods. “Yes.Youand Linnea will marry. We’ll announce the engagement in three months.”
Three months?What?
Linnea Olsen is amazing. She’s intelligent, classy, kind, gorgeous. But…I’mgoing tomarryher? Just because our grandfathers got drunk while playing poker twenty-some years ago?
“I’mgoing to marry Linnea?” I repeat. “Just like that? Are you kidding?” I quickly meet Linnea’s gaze. “No offense.”
I like her just fine. I can think of worse things I suppose, but I don’t think Linnea and I have had a conversation one-on-one, just the two of us, in probably close to ten years. Yes, we knew each other growing up but she was abrat. She took the I’m-going-to-be-queen-someday thing seriously and acted like she was in charge of everything, even at a very young age.
Diarmuid nods his head. “Yes. The O’Gradys and Olsenswillbe united.”
“That’s cra—” I start.
“No.”
Everyone looks at Linnea as one.
I feel relief rush through me.
Okay, Linnea is going to take care of this. Awesome. Diarmuid listens to her. This is good.
I smile and settle back into my chair.
“No,” she repeats as she pulls her hand away from Diarmuid’s.
My grandfather looks completely confused. “Linnea?”
She takes a deep breath and looks up at him. “I adore you,” she says, sincerely. “You aresoimportant to me.” She turns to look at all of us in the room. “All of you are. The O’Grady family is so important to me. I’m so happy to be a part of it. And I hope I always can be, in some way, but…” She takes another deep breath. Then she lifts her chin, and her voice gets louder. “You all make mecrazy. You have been messing with my life for…well, my whole life. Everything abouteverythinghas been about you all. What you want. Or don’t want. One minute I’m engaged. Then I’m not. Then I am again, but to someone else. Now I am again toanotherone of you? No. Justno.”
Thata girl,I think. But I keep quiet. My grandfather looks stunned.
But thank God, Linnea is handling this. I take zero offense that she doesn’t want to marry me.
She looks at Diarmuid again. “I know what you and my grandfather wanted. I understand. And I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me until now. I’ve made Cara better. I’ve helped you. I’ve helped Torin. I’ve helped Abigail. And it’s been my pleasure. It always will be. But…no. I’m not going to marry Cian. I’m not going to be an O’Grady. I’m in love with someone else and I’m going to marryhim.”
Oh, fuck yes. Even better. She’s in love with someone else. No way will Diarmuid insist she marry me.
I let out a long breath and reach for my wine, taking a long gulp.
“I’m finally going to do whatIwant,” Linnea says. “And…I want Jonah. I love him and want to marryhim.”
Oh. She’s in love with my brother’s bodyguard. That’s nice. A little scandalous even.
I lean forward to look down the table at Jonah. I’ve known Jonah Greene for twelve years. He was hired as Torin’s bodyguard at the same time Henry Dean was hired as mine. The men joined us within months of our abdications and move to the US. Colin Daly was assigned to my sister, Fiona, and her daughter, Saoirse, as well.
They all came on board to keep track of us and, I guess, keep us alive and out of trouble while we were “having our tantrum” as our grandfather initially referred to our abdications.