Page 28 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

“You may not.” She smiled and walked away.

Julian’s reaction made me shift my hand closer to my gun. As if sensing another predator, he looked directly at me, his expression morphing. One moment, he appeared ready to grab Kaylani and throw her out the window. The next, he was smiling, acting as if her words were humorous. But there was nothing remotely funny about what I saw.

Kaylani sat, and I took up my post right behind her seat, my back pressed against the wall. I became the statue, the shadow that would spring to life and kill anyone who so much as laid a finger on her in a way she didn’t want. I was already far too tempted to rip their eyes out for looking at her like she was food.

Dimitri arrived with Helena, and everyone stood for their entrance. Everyone except Kaylani. She didn’t acknowledge her father at all.

So much for not antagonizing him.

“Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much for attending this evening,” Dimitri said, making his way to the head of the table.

Helena stood by her chair, directly across from Kaylani, and I could see her pleading with her eyes for Kaylani not to start a fight. But I had a feeling that despite what Kaylani had said upstairs, she was going to create quite the stir.

Dimitri looked down at his daughter, but she was too busy buttering a roll to give him any attention. Internally, I cheered her on, though I worried what Dimitri might do in response to her blatant disrespect.

“Please, sit and let’s enjoy this wonderful meal that my lovely wife organized for us,” Dimitri said.

The man closest to Kaylani, who looked to be in his thirties, turned to speak to her.

“What are you taking at university?”

“I’m not,” she said, not sparing him a glance.

He looked caught between shock and approval, as if his brain couldn’t decide what she would want to see.

“Oh, I see.”

“No, I don’t think you do. I do not attend school because I work full-time for my brother Nathaniel.”

She didn’t mention that she was finishing the rest of her classes online and so far had received top marks, or that she was still taking extra art courses to further her skills.

“Oh, I see,” he repeated with a small smile.

A murmur of conversation rose around the table, but Kaylani grabbed her wine glass and tapped it with her knife. All eyes turned to her.

“Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We all know why you’re here. This charade is to see if I’ll agree to marry one of you. But before I can do that, I need to know what role you expect a wife to play in your life?”

The room went deathly quiet. It was obvious that none of them had ever been spoken to like this by a woman.

Then the floodgates opened, and each man took a turn, trying to outdo the others. There were promises of jewels and travel, requests for a dozen children, and offers to sit by their sides. One after the other, they tightened the noose around their own necks.

As the room quieted, Julian spoke.

“I don’t believe in ownership,” he said lightly. “Marriage should be about mutual respect.”

I didn’t believe a single word of it. He was a liar, manipulator, and I would bet my life that he was some sort of -path. Psych- or socio-, it didn’t matter. They were two sides of the same coin. Dangerous.

He stood and walked over to grip the back of her chair.

I saw red.

“Don’t you agree,” he asked smoothly.

Kaylani stiffened. Not enough for the room to notice, but enough for me. Violence surged inside of me. All I could picture was ripping his head from his body.

“I do, and yet you show me little by invading my space without my permission. I’d advise you to return to your seat before you’re the first I reject.”

“Your father said you were high-spirited. I can see that he was telling the truth. I quite enjoy a challenge.”