London Dynasty (The Dynasties #1) - Geneva Lee Page 0,70
the courses was Holden. The most he offered was a few poisoned glances thrown at me from across the table.
I excused myself as the group finished dinner and the men headed off to the study for brandy. I needed a moment to compose myself. I was on my way back from the loo when Caroline cornered me in the corridor. “A word?”
“Of course.” I forced a smile. It would only make things more difficult if she decided to cause trouble. That didn’t mean I liked her, though.
“You need to know what you’re getting into.” Her tone was surprisingly gentle, conflicting with the aggressive authority she usually displayed. “You’re here because your father and my father-in-law arranged this, which means you have some sense of how deep familial obligation can run.”
“I do,” I said warily.
“But you need to understand that once you’re a member of this family, that’s it. You will always be a member of this family.”
“That’s what I want.” I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say exactly. On the surface, her words might have sounded like a threat, but they were anything but. It was a well-intentioned warning, pure and simple.
Caroline inhaled sharply, her face clouding with pain. “When Jack died, that was it for me. I had my children to raise, and now that they’re grown, I will stay here and be the lady of the house until it’s your turn, and then I will sit in a chair as I pass my days until I draw my final breath.”
“I don’t want that,” I said. “I don’t want to take your place.”
“You won’t have a choice,” she informed me. “It’s the expectations. When my father-in-law dies, Spencer will be the Duke of Wellesley and you will be the Duchess and that’s that.”
“But why do you have to…?”
“Because once you become one of us, there’s no turning back. No remarriage. No divorce. No second chances. Remember that.” She patted my arm, leaving me with the weight of her words, as she returned to her guests.
I don’t know how long I stood there, but for the first time in weeks, I felt a familiar panic pressing down on me, suffocating me until I didn’t think I could breathe. I was drowning, pushed below the water’s surface, unable to reach air. I stumbled in the direction I had come from, ignoring concerned comments from the staff as I rushed past them. I let myself out a door onto a large balcony that overlooked the gardens. As soon as I stepped outside, I gulped the night air. Tipping my head back, I breathed deeply until the anxiety began to slowly ebb away.
“Beautiful night,” a caustic voice broke the silence.
I opened my eyes to find Holden. It was strange how easily I could tell him apart from Spencer now. Whatever had changed between them, had changed for me as well. I just couldn’t put my fingers on it. I swayed on my feet a little, still recovering from the sudden attack.
“Are you okay?” He sounded genuinely concerned. I took an unsteady step forward and his arm shot out to catch me. “Whoa, there.”
I gripped the balcony’s stone railing, pulling away from his touch.
“So you’re ignoring me, too,” he said bitterly.
“I’m not ignoring you.” I shook my head, feeling tired from all the questions and the people. “I just don’t think you should touch me.”
I didn’t bother to mince words, because I needed Holden to know where I stood. I’d chosen Spencer. He could punish me for it all he wanted, but it wouldn’t change that fact.
“I belong with your brother.” It felt right to say it. Good even. I ignored the tiny voice inside my head reminding me that I was a placeholder. For the moment and for whatever time I had left, it was the truth.
“You belong to my brother,” he corrected me. “Think of what he made you do and tell me you’re more than a toy to him.”
“That was done of my own free will.” My heart started to hammer in my chest. Holden wasn’t going to let this go. Somewhere inside me, in a place I tried to ignore, elation thrilled through me.
He smirked, his eyes focused on some shadow in the distance. “That’s the thing about lies. Sometimes they get mixed up with the truth, don’t they?”
“What are you getting at Holden?” I was tired of the subtle innuendos and flirtations. I didn’t want to be part of their rivalry, and I refused to play their game.
“He won’t be enough for you. He’s jealous and controlling.”
I flinched but held my ground. “You didn’t seem to mind when he told me to get on my knees for you.”
“Neither did you,” he said pointedly. “Are you really going to claim you love him when I can feel what’s happening between us?”
“Happened,” I cut him off. “One time. We were drunk. It won’t again.”
Holden looked at me, wearing his brother’s face. It was surprisingly soft even as an arrogant smile rolled across his mouth. “Who’s lying now?”
“I’m marrying your brother.” I took a step away and he grabbed my wrist. “Let me go, Holden.”
“Never.” In one swift movement, he caught my waist and dipped me backward.
I ignored the way his breath tickled my ear, the tempting scent of his cologne, the way my body tightened at the suggestion in his words. How could he be so like Spencer and so different? How could I want Spencer for being everything Holden wasn’t? And want Holden for being Spencer’s mirror opposite?
I pulled free of his arms, backing a few steps away, as we glared at one another.
“Kerrigan!” Spencer’s voice sliced through the air, and I twisted to face my fiancé, who was watching us from the door. An unreadable expression on his face. “Are you ready to leave?”
“Yes,” I called back. “I’m coming.”
He nodded, still eying Holden with apprehension before he stepped back into the house. I hadn’t imagined it. Something had changed between them, and I suspected it had to do with the five-carat diamond on my ring finger.
“Good night, Holden,” I spoke as firmly as possible as I turned to go back inside—back to his brother.
“You aren’t marrying my brother.”
His words stopped me cold. I answered with an icy glare. If he thought he could win my heart away from Spencer, he was going to be disappointed. The more time I spent with Holden, the more layers I peeled back, the less I trusted him. “I am marrying your brother.”
“No, you aren’t, dirty girl.” Holden leaned closer, lowering his voice so I was forced to hold my breath to hear him. “Kerrigan Belmond is.”
The story continues in
Cruel Dynasty
Available July 27, 2021
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Acknowledgments
It takes a village to write a book, and I so blessed to have a supportive team and family.
Thank you to my agent, Louise Fury, for being a force of nature and to my foreign teams for going above and beyond.
Thank you to my team on the ground. Shelby, what would I do without you? Let’s never find out. Natasha, I’ll forever be grateful for our accidental meeting. Thank you for everything you do to keep me on track and sane.
Thank you to the team at Grey’s Promotion for being on top of everything and providing another stellar release.
Thank you to my author friends for providing inspiration, especially during these strange times.
Thank you to my readers, especially my ARC Team! And thanks to Geneva Lee’s Loves and all the incredible women who help me keep it fun and sexy in there!
Thanks to Elise for being team London Dynasty from minute one. Some people have a sister. Some people have a best friend. I get both rolled into one.
Thank you to my family for putting up with deadlines and word lag. I could not do this without your constant understanding and support.
And as always, thank you to Josh for having all the layers I could ever want to peel back. I’m so grateful to build this life with you. You are my greatest adventure.
About the Author
GENEVA LEE is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including the Royals Saga which has sold two million copies worldwide. She lives in Poulsbo Washington with her husband and three children, and she co-owns Away With Words Bookshop with her sister.
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