Page 40 of Rebellious Hearts

Richard looked surprised. I glanced at Sofia, her eyes widened in shock, lips parted. Hurt flickered across her face, followed by anger, and then she controlled herself. A mask slipped back into place.

“Married, you say?” Richard’s eyes were bright now. “My boy, that changes everything!”

“It does?”

Sofia looked unsure but that was exactly what I’d hoped Richard would say. My heart hammered in my chest, and guilt tugged at me. I was putting Sofia on the spot and dragging her into a lie without a heads-up.

Smooth move, asshole. That wasboundto get her to like me.Not.

“I must admit, this revelation gives me pause, Ben.” Richard looked contemplative. “I have to admit to you that I thought the Blackwoods were just about business and making money and nothing else. You four boys have quite the track record in the boardroom but in your personal lives… well, I will tell you that I believed you were lacking. But now… I’m inclined to reconsider my stance on the investment.”

I blinked at him. He’d been right about us four brothers, of course. Except Alex, who was married and had a little boy now, but that wasn’t public news.

“I wasn’t aware that you’d already settled on a stance,” I said carefully.

“Hmm,” Richard said, and I wasn’t sure what that response meant.

Sofia was quiet, but I felt her frustration from here. When I glanced at her, her eyes shot daggers at me.

I looked away.

“I’ll need some time to process everything,” Richard said. “Maybe we should continue this conversation over dinner later this week. In a more relaxed setting.”

I nodded. My mind reeled with what I’d just done.

“That sounds like a plan,” I said. “You let us know when and where, and we’ll be there.”

“I’ll send an invitation.” Richard stood, dusting off his pants, ironing out invisible creases. He held out a hand to me, and I took it. “It’s refreshing to see this side of you, Ben. I mean it.”

I smiled. “Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again.”

Richard turned to Sofia. He held out his hand, and she took it, covering her hand with the other.

“Now that you’re in a better space, I hope your wishes come true, my dear. We can place our hope in more things than one.”

“That means a lot to me,” Sofia said warmly.

When Richard turned away, her warmth bled out as quickly as she’d managed to muster it.

Yeah, that had all been an act for Richard.

I was lucky that she’d played along, but the moment we were sure that Richard had left, she turned to me and all the warmth and control was gone.

She glared at me, and she looked like she was going to explode.

12

SOFIA

“What the actualfuck, Ben?” I exploded when I was sure that Richie was gone and he wouldn’t see it. “Married? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was just thinking that he wants a family. He’s serious about that, and we can give him that.”

“What do you mean, ‘we can give him that’?” I hissed. “We can’tgivehim anything! We’renotmarried and there’s no way in hell that we’re doing this.”

“I can’t tell him it was a lie,” I said quickly. “If we tell him now, then he’ll drop the project for sure. But if we keep pretending…”

“You want me topretendto bemarried?” Sofia asked, her eyes narrowed.