Unleashed: Declan & Kara (Unleashed #1-4; Beg for It #1) (74 page)

“Excellent. Now
Richard’s widow, Brandi, absolutely detests your very existence.
Almost as much as his first wife, Bebe, does, though she won’t be
in attendance at either Friday’s reading of the will or at
Saturday’s party.”

“Detests?” I
repeated the word, looking to Declan for confirmation or at least
explanation of what she was talking about.

But he simply nodded
his head briefly at Margaret. “Go on.”

“Richard’s eldest,
Colton, is taking this rather hard as well. He’s taken on a great
deal in his father’s wake. Far too much, if you ask me.”

“Colton’s the one
who…” I trailed off, not knowing how to put it delicately to this
elderly British woman. But I remembered who Colton was. He’d been
the newborn baby back home while his dad had gone off to Montana and
had himself a wild time.

“Yes,” Margaret
finished for me, tactfully. “And he’s none too pleased at your
emergence.”

“I didn’t ask for
any of this,” Declan protested, his pride rearing up.

“Unquestionably,”
Margaret soothed him.

“And I’m not trying
to get any money out of this.”

“Oh, no.” Margaret
shook her head as if she found even the word “money” distasteful.
Dreadful business, money. “Mind you, Colton’s not overly
concerned with your portion of inheritance. It’s his mother he’s
concerned about. You see, when Richard’s first wife Margot learned
about your existence she took a bit of a…turn for the worse, shall
we say.”

I could read a world of
hurt between her words. I bet she’d fallen completely apart when
she’d learned not only of her husband’s infidelity, but of his
out-of-wedlock child. Conceived while she’d been home with an
infant. I knew I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but what an
asshole move.

“Colton is quite
protective of her. He bore the brunt of her collapse. And your
re-emergence, well, it has him worried.”

“I’m not going to
mess with her.”

“Of course not.”
Margaret smiled reassuringly. “It’s simply a matter of putting
these old, painful emotions to rest. They’ve been stirred up again
with your discovery.”

“Again, I didn’t
mean—”

“Declan, dear, I’m
absolutely thrilled that you’re in our lives. And people will come
around. I simply want you to be prepared for the landscape into which
you are about to set forth.”

I loved how this woman
talked. I’d never met anyone like her.

“Colton’s a proud
man, like his father before him. They’re so alike. He’s inherited
the title, you know. Baron of Warwick.”

“What?” I dropped
my fork. It clattered loudly against the china.

“Yes, my late husband
bore the title. In the House of Lords, you know.”

No, I did not know. I
needed to fan myself a bit with my hand. “You’re royalty? Do you
know Kate and William?”

“Yes, I have had the
pleasure of meeting the Duchess of Cambridge. She’s lovely.”

“You’ve met her!”

“On a few occasions.
And Princess Charlotte.”

“You’ve met their
baby girl!” Now I knew my voice was reaching an unnaturally high
octave as I clutched the arm of my chair. Declan placed a hand at the
middle of my back, maybe recognizing he might need to hold me back
from leaping up into the air. “She’s so cute!”

“That she is. And I
know you’re going to have one just as sweet.”

“I can’t believe
it!” I’d joked with Declan about him being related to royalty,
but he was. He actually was. I turned to him, my hands clasped
together at my heart. “Maybe we can have play dates with the
princess!”

“Hold on, now. Settle
down.” Declan spoke to me the way I’d heard him speak to skittish
horses, talking them down, soothing them so they didn’t go so wild
they broke their leg.

“You are a peach,”
Margaret declared with a smile on her face.

“And here I thought
the most exciting thing about this family was Ash Black! A real live
rock star!”

“Oh, Asher is
terribly exciting,” Margaret agreed, taking another sip of her
water. “He never fails to entertain.”

“Will he? On Saturday
night?” I didn’t think my heart could take much more of this. Was
I about to see Ash Black perform?

“Would you like to
see him sing a song?”

“Yes!”

“Keep it calm, now,
honey.” Declan rubbed my shoulder.

“Then I’ll see to
it that he does. Perhaps some Frank Sinatra.”

I had no words. I might
actually explode from glee. And just when I thought it couldn’t get
any better, a gorgeous young woman floated into the room with a
welcoming smile on her face.

“Gigi!” Margaret
exclaimed, rising to greet Declan’s half-sister.

“Oh, no, don’t get
up!” Gigi hurried to her side, greeting her warmly with a kiss on
each cheek. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I hope there’s still time
for me to say a quick hello!”

She was as friendly as
you could imagine. Only about 20 years old, but she spoke just like
her grandmother. Minus the British accent, but more vocabulary words
than a dictionary. Neither of them sounded stuck up, though. They
really put me right at ease.

Declan, he didn’t
seem as at home, but he wasn’t what you’d call a relaxed man in
general. Only I got to see that side of him. It made me smile, seeing
him so gruff and stiff. He was a good man, as protective of me as a
bear.

“And so you live in
Montana? I’ve heard it’s absolutely gorgeous there.” Gigi
turned her charming attention to Declan and even he warmed up a bit.
He invited her up to one of the ranching properties he owned.

“The one in Bozeman
is my favorite,” I told her.

“Maybe during my
summer break,” Gigi agreed. “Thank you for the invitation.” She
explained that she was studying at Vanderbilt University, which
apparently was down in Tennessee. She was in a sorority there and had
declared her major as English. No wonder she had a way with words.

“You’re going to
have a lovely time Saturday night,” Gigi assured me as we made our
way to the door. Lunch had been so pleasant, but I knew Declan wanted
to get out of there. I wanted to be alone with him, too.

“And you’re sure
Ash Black will be there?” I had to ask. I knew I was sounding
starstruck, but that’s because I was.

“Yes,” Gigi assured
me with a laugh.

“Everyone will be
there.” Margaret joined in. The way she said it made it sound like
there was no alternative for family members. Again, I wanted to ask
her her secret. She was so pleasant but I also had the feeling that
absolutely nobody crossed her. How cool was that?

“Not everyone,”
Gigi added in a quiet voice I wasn’t sure anyone else could hear.

“No?” I asked,
suddenly wanting to give her a hug. She looked sad. Maybe she was
thinking about her father.

“He’s received an
invitation, dear.” Margaret murmured to her. Apparently she had
heard her. “But you know his work takes him overseas.”

“Yes, of course.”
Gigi recovered herself, giving her shoulders a small shake as if to
rouse herself from her momentary slump.

Naturally, I was full
of questions, but even exuberant me knew when to hold my tongue. It
was hard, though. I figured I’d get it out of Gigi at the holiday
party. I couldn’t drink anyway with a baby on the way. What better
way to dig up a few family secrets than stay sober at a party with a
free, open bar. At least I figured it would be a free, open bar. This
family didn’t seem to stint on anything.

A servant of some kind
brought us our coats. Over the past six months with Declan he’d
taken me to some awfully nice places, but I still wasn’t used to
having people paid to wait on me. Even waiters and waitresses still
seemed more like my kinfolk than my underlings. Declan seemed to have
grown accustomed to it all, without ever seeming dismissive or
spoiled. I guessed maybe I’d work my way there, but maybe not.

In the car back to our
hotel I took the opportunity to snuggle into Declan. The heater was
on, but the seat still felt chilly. He radiated heat, though, my big
man.

“How’d that go?”
I asked him, admiring his handsome profile.

“You tell me.”

“Oh, you know I had
fun. I can’t believe your grandmother has met the baby princess.”

“Yes, because what’s
better than a princess?”

“A baby princess!”
I elbowed him in the ribs because I knew he was trying to get a rise
out of me. He didn’t go gaga over celebrities or royalty, but I was
a mere mortal and, yes, I got excited over all those kinds of things.

“Do you think I can
ask for Ash Black’s autograph Saturday night?”

“Just don’t ask for
it on your boob.”

“Declan!” That
earned him another elbow to the rib. “I know I’m sort of hyper
over all of this. But honestly, it’s like this extra bonus gift.”

“You sound like he’s
a prize at the bottom of your Cracker Jack box.”

“Yes! That’s
exactly it!” Declan hadn’t actually meant it, but that’s really
how I felt.

“OK, but let me just
ask you this.” He sounded serious. I turned to him, looking into
his eyes. “Are you or are you not going to sew the family tree onto
a pillowcase?”

I burst out laughing.
“Don’t be ridiculous. The family tree is clearly a needlepoint
project! And you wouldn’t put it on something you’d sleep on.
You’d want to frame it.”

“Naturally,
naturally.”

We teased and laughed
as the city blocks passed, but as we drew closer I had to ask.

“You’re sure you’re
OK? Was that strange for you?”

“Sure, it was
strange. I’d never have been there if not for you. And none of it
feels like it’s my life.”

“I know, I mean, how
crazy nice was her place?”

“Crazy nice.”

“They’re, like,
billionaires.”

“And royalty.”

“I mean…” I
didn’t really have words. I’d certainly never rubbed shoulders
with the likes of the baroness.

“But I’m glad we
did it.” Declan clasped my hand and brought it to his lips for a
gentle kiss. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do
anything.”

“You’ve done
everything.”

He ushered me upstairs
to our hotel suite. He’d booked us at a boutique place that had
such charm. Having grown up around rough-hewn wooden planks, all the
lavish detail wowed me, the crown moldings and ornate carvings along
the fireplace mantle.

“What do you think
these are?” I asked, tracing the carved decorations with my finger.
To me, they looked like dancers but I couldn’t decide if they were
supposed to be people or some kind of mystical creatures like
fairies. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

Declan wrapped his
large, strong hands around my waist. “You’re beautiful.”

“Wasn’t Gigi
pretty?” She had light strawberry blond hair and a petite figure. I
had to have a good 20 pounds on her, easy. But that was true of a lot
of women in New York City.

Declan grunted. “I
guess.”

“It’s so crazy,
she’s your sister! Half-sister, I mean.” I had to watch my words
with Declan.

But then he started
kissing my neck. “Mmm.” I leaned into him, loving his touch. I’d
craved it for so many years, longed for it, and now I had him
whenever I wanted. I wasn’t used to it yet. I still marveled over
the ability to reach out, touch him, tell him exactly how much I
loved him. And then get all the same right back from him.

“How are you
feeling?” He rubbed my stomach and I smiled.

“Great, honestly.”
No sign of sickness at all. Of course, I wasn’t even a full eight
weeks along yet. It might be right around the corner.

“Let me bring you
some water.” Declan headed off into the bathroom and I had to smile
again. He was so solicitous, so concerned about my health even though
you couldn’t even tell I was pregnant yet.

I did wish I had my
mother still alive to talk about it all. She’d died in childbirth
with me. You’d think that might make me more nervous about going
through labor, but I didn’t worry that history would repeat itself.
My mother had been out on our ranch, far from a hospital when she’d
gone into labor. She’d lost too much blood by the time EMTs
arrived. I knew Declan would ensure I had the finest round-the-clock
care, and as I drew near to full term we’d both make sure that I
stayed within a quick drive to a full team of doctors.

But it would have been
fun to talk to my mother about what her pregnancy had been like.
Maybe she hadn’t been sick at all, not a single day? But now my
father had passed along with her, so I couldn’t ask him, either. It
made me sad that he never got to see me properly settled. He’d
cared so much about me marrying well. Funny, he’d chased off the
one man I truly loved—a man who it turned out loved me back. And
that was worth all the money in the world.

It just so happened
Declan also was worth a lot of the green stuff, too. A ton he’d
made on his own, and now a bundle from his crazy wealthy biological
family.

The baroness. Thinking
of her perked me up. I bet I could talk to her about pregnancy. Maybe
not about all the details of physical changes, but about the feelings
and the process. I bet she’d be great at offering guidance. And
maybe support, too.

And maybe arrange
playdates with Princess Charlotte!!!

“Here you go.”
Declan handed me a glass of water. I took a sip even though I wasn’t
particularly thirsty. Drinking for two and all that. And it was so
nice of him to think of me. I’d always known a kind man lurked
underneath all that glowering. Turned out I’d been right.

He started to make a
fire in the fireplace, and had it crackling in no time.

“Come here.” He
beckoned me over in front of it. Enveloping me in his huge arms, he
kissed me. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” I
admitted. For a girl born-and-bred in Montana, it seemed a silly
thing to admit. But in New York today it was in the 20s, and I wasn’t
dressed for it like I would be at home on the ranch. In place of wool
socks and work boots, I had on pretty little shoes with high heels.
They looked great with my slim-cut black pants and soft black
cashmere sweater, but they didn’t exactly provide warmth.