Page 49 of Adrian

“You and me, of course.”

“Are you listening to yourself? We’ve never even been on a date, and you’ve certainly never asked me to marry you. Why would we want to do such a thing?”

Adrian grabs my hips and moves me in front of him, keeping one arm around my waist, holding me close. He hasn’t interrupted. Neither has anyone else. They’re letting me handle this. So far.

“Don’t be glib, Blair. We’ve always been destined to be together.”

My face heats. I’m trying to control my reactions. How did it take me so long to realize how ridiculous that plan was? It’s like I was buried in my old life. I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t question it either.

Merging our companies has been a given for years. A plan set in place by people who were not me or William. I don’t know what jolted me out of the fog, but I’m glad it happened. Everything that has happened since the moment I made the decision to leave New York has been refreshing.

The storm may have been fucking scary, but it brought me to Gallant Mountain and the man behind me, who is now my husband. Bless him for letting me deal with this. He’s not the one treating me like I’m too stupid to make my own decisions. William is.

“William, it’s not going to happen. Marriage should be for love. A partnership. Someone you can come home to at night who holds you in their arms and makes you feel special.”

He rolls his eyes. “You sound like a Hallmark movie, Blair. Have you been reading romance novels?”

How dare he diss romance novels. It’s almost comical now that I know an author.

I’m oddly calm. I didn’t expect things to go like this. I thought my father would have sent one of his men to argue with me. This is better. William sounds like a moron. He’s not even ruffling my feathers.

“I’m sorry you expect your life to be so boring, William. I wish you luck. I truly hope you find love along the way.”

Adrian gives me a squeeze and kisses my neck.

William ignores him as if he’s not standing at my back, wrapped around me. I don’t think William cares. “Love? Who cares about love? The world doesn’t revolve around such nonsense. The merger of our families is a wise business decision. It’s worth billions. You can’t honestly say you’re planning to throw all that away to work on a potato farm in the mountains.”

I laugh. That’s how he sees my life from where he’s standing? “Go home, William.”

He steps closer, but he looks a bit less confident. His gaze shifts around to everyone and then lands on me again. “No, Blair. It would seem you’re having a mental breakdown. Perhaps the stress from working long hours has gotten to you. You need help.”

I shake my head. “I don’t need help, William. I’m perfectly healthy and sane. I’m happy for the first time in my life. I’m where I want to be.”

“Be reasonable. Your parents will cut you out of their will if you don’t get in the car and come home with me.”

“That’s fine. Let them cut me out. In fact, I love that idea. Tell them to please do so. Then I won’t have the family business hanging over my head for the rest of my life.”

William’s jaw drops. “You don’t mean that, Blair.”

“Oh, but I do.”

“Your paltry inheritance from your grandparents isn’t going to last forever.”

I narrow my gaze at him. He’s so fucking pretentious. How did I not see this sooner? Not from him. I barely know him, but this is the attitude of everyone I know in my parents’ high-society circles.

For one thing, entire families could live comfortably on my inheritance. It’s substantial. But not snobby assholes who want to own a personal jet and driver. Not people who think roughing it is spending a week on Martha’s Vineyard with only six staff members instead of ten.

“I think I’ll get by,” I inform him. “But thanks for your concern.” I know my voice is sassy. I don’t care. When I try to step forward, Adrian tightens his hold on me. He’s not going to let me get one inch closer to William. He’s right. I don’t blame him.

“You’re forgetting that I’m not just some trust-fund girl. Or maybe you never cared. I have a brain. It works well. I have a master’s in biology. I can do anything I want. It just isn’t going to be in pharmaceuticals.”

He smirks and glances toward the garden I came from. “What are you planning, Blair? You thinking you can grow bigger potatoes if you genetically modify them?”

Rebekah gasps somewhere to the side of me. I’m not sure there are even potatoes in this garden. I bet she’d like a piece of William, and I don’t blame her. What a tool.

“Maybe I will.” I shrug.

William groans and rolls his eyes. “Get in the car, Blair.” His abrupt change of tactic startles me.