Ian (Las Vegas Sidewinders Book 15), page 11
“Exactly.”
“Do you think he’d show me his birds?”
“I think, if you have any intention of winning over his stodgy old heart, that is one hundred percent the way to do it.”
“Oh my god!” Though her voice was filled with excitement, she kept the volume low and leaned up to kiss Ian’s cheek as she whispered, “That’s almost as exciting as making love with an earl.”
He chuckled and kissed her lightly on the lips. “It’s a relief to know I rank above bird-watching.”
They were seated around a huge, formal dining table and Everly was a little relieved to see that even Dax and Zaan seemed a little intimidated, though Tore was his usual jovial self. Ian’s friends from the team were seated closest to the duke, who was at the head of the table, while Constance sat at the other end. Ian was on her right, with Everly to his right, and the rest of the family filled in the seats, including what appeared to be Mac’s new girlfriend. She was a pretty brunette who seemed even shyer than Everly, sitting close to Mac’s side and not really interacting with anyone. Everly hadn’t noticed her when she’d first arrived, but now she was curious.
Before she could ask Ian, he turned to her and whispered, “Mac’s brought his new girl to dinner… I don’t think she’s uttered a word the whole time she’s been here.”
“Is that good or bad?” she whispered back.
“I’ll let you know later, after the family weighs in their thoughts in private.”
She grimaced. “Then they’re probably going to weigh in on me too, right?”
“You’ve been here most of the week—you’re already old news. If they didn’t like you, you wouldn’t be here for Saturday night dinner.”
Hearing that his family liked her felt good, and for the first time as an adult, she yearned for something like this. She hadn’t had a normal family life since she was thirteen. Her stepfather was nice enough, but he hadn’t married her mother until she was almost sixteen and now that she was on her own, it wasn’t like this when she visited. Not that they’d ever been this formal, but the camaraderie and banter between the siblings was fun, and she hadn’t realized how much she missed her family until now.
“You okay, love?” Ian was watching her face and she nodded quickly.
“Just a little homesick, I guess. My younger brother is only eight, so I don’t have this type of relationship with him. I’m more like another mom than a big sister, though I try.”
“You seem to mother people a lot,” he said gently. “Your brother, your friend Margot, Gracie… Even me last night, when I was frustrated with my life.”
“My mother isn’t very…nurturing,” she said slowly, unsure how much she could say without giving away things she didn’t want to talk about. “So I took on that role.”
“Shall we have a toast?” The duke got to his feet and held up his glass of champagne.
Everyone lifted their glasses, watching him.
“To the Las Vegas Sidewinders, on another championship-winning season. I couldn’t be prouder to have these four fine young athletes in my home this evening, including my eldest born grandson. To Ian, Dax, Zaan and Tore—congratulations on another fantastic season.” He paused. “To the newcomers here tonight, the lovely Everly and Layla. And to welcoming my grandson into the family business in the coming months—cheers!”
Everyone took a sip as they murmured words like “congratulations” and “thank you,” but there was no doubt Ian was furious, while his teammates looked confused. They were astute enough to know better than to say anything, and Constance quickly moved the conversation on to other things, but Everly slid her hand under the table, squeezing Ian’s thigh. He was even more tense than last night and she hated it for him, but what could she say? Her job right now was to distract him until he could either approach his grandfather or explode in private.
Ian was mad as hell. At his grandfather for putting him on the spot like this and at himself for not standing up to the old man sooner. Yes, they’d been busy with all the celebrations, but he’d had ample time to sit down with him. He hadn’t done it because he was dreading it, and now it appeared every day he waited would only make the situation worse. The old man was crafty, that was for sure, and he’d backed Ian into a corner now by making such a public toast. He probably thought his teammates would go home and spread the gossip, or something equally ridiculous, but Ian wasn’t worried about that. If anything, they would want to know what was going on right away, and they wouldn’t say a word if he asked them not to.
Everly looked upset too, but she was also intuitive enough to refrain from reacting, answering politely as Finn asked about the type of camera she used and keeping her hand firmly on Ian’s thigh.
Dinner was strained despite multiple bottles of champagne, good wine, and an incredible meal prepared by Merrie and the staff she brought in to help for bigger groups like this. The duke liked to make big productions out of things, even family meals, something Ian had forgotten he hated. Isla kept shooting him sympathetic glances but he was too mad to pay much attention. He wanted to get out of here, perhaps go back to the bed and breakfast with Everly, even though he couldn’t really leave.
By the time dessert was served, Ian was steaming, and he pulled Everly aside.
“I’m not going to be able to spend the night tonight,” he told her as they sipped an after-dinner cocktail. “I have to be up early to get the boys to the airport and I’m going to try to talk to my grandfather, once everyone has gone home.”
“Okay.” Her eyes met his worriedly. “Are you sure you want to push the issue tonight?”
“He’s the one who’s pushing the issue. He knew we had a meeting Monday and it was manipulative as hell for him to make a toast like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” He slid his hand up her leg, squeezing lightly. “I’ll be in a better mood once he and I have talked, so I’ll make it up to you.”
“You’re fine. Don’t worry about me.” She rested her hand on his, wondering how she’d wound up in the middle of family drama that had nothing to do with her, but also somehow completely at ease because it involved Ian. She sensed what he was feeling instinctively, like they were old friends and had been lovers for much longer than one day. And yet, a twinge of guilt trickled through her subconscious as she recognized how open he was being with her while she was as closed off as ever. He didn’t know anything about her life, not really, and she tried not to think about how he would react if he found out before she worked up the nerve to tell him herself.
“Excuse me.” He kissed her cheek, got up and walked over to his grandfather, speaking quietly in his ear. The older man seemed to be putting him off, but Ian persisted, and a moment later, both of them scowling, they left the room.
“What is my brother up to?” Isla murmured beside her.
“He’s really pissed about the toast.”
“Indeed. Granddad got him good.” Finn had joined them. “There are going to be words tonight, no doubt about it.”
“Let’s not make this a spectacle,” Constance said, coming up behind them. “Everly, dear, would you like to see the original fireplace in the kitchen? It’s been here since the twelfth century.”
“I don’t have my camera,” Everly said, her eyes widening.
“No, but we’ll see it again when you do. For tonight, I thought I’d take you and Layla.”
“I’d love to see it.”
“Let me speak to Layla.” Constance approached the other young woman and Isla shook her head.
“What I would do to be a fly on the wall in Granddad’s den about now.”
18
Ian followed his grandfather into his private den and shut the door. He was even madder now than he’d been half an hour ago and wasn’t sure where to start. Coming out of the gate with accusations and harsh words never worked, so his best bet was talking about how his grandfather had embarrassed him. There was nothing worse to the duke than doing something inappropriate.
“I’m disappointed in your tactics tonight,” he said finally. “What did you think you’d accomplish by making a statement like that in front of my teammates? Now, instead of me approaching them with a decision I feel good about, you left them feeling uncomfortable and made me look like I’ve been lying to them. What a way to ruin the ending of our trip.”
His grandfather looked surprised for a moment and then shook his head. “I didn’t think of it that way, but your five years is up, Ian. Why wouldn’t you have told them about your plans?”
“Because I haven’t decided anything yet,” he snapped. “It might be this fall, or it might be next spring—I’m still thinking about it and you and I have a meeting Monday. Did you have to make me look foolish to my mates tonight?”
“Ah, they’ll get past it if they remain as close to you as they’ve been the last few years.”
“They will.” Ian shook his head, resting his hands on his hips. “You also know I don’t do well with manipulation.”
The duke sighed. “Ian, the time has come. We had a deal. Five seasons. Not another five months, not another five weeks. Five full seasons.”
“I’m making a hell of a lot of money to walk away from, especially with one year left on my contract. That’s two million dollars. That’s a lot of zeroes, even for you.”
“Have a drink.” His grandfather poured two fingers of scotch and handed it to him. “Calm yourself. Do you want your pretty, new lady friend to see you all worked up like this?”
“Everly is fine,” he muttered, accepting the glass and taking a swig. It burned on the way down. He was a terrible Scotsman when it came to the drink—he’d never acquired a taste for it, though he pretended to.
“Still not a scotch drinker,” his grandfather chuckled. He sat in his chair and motioned for Ian to sit across from him. “Talk to me, Ian. Is this truly about money?”
“To be honest, that’s part of it.” Ian sat down. “Why would I want to leave my multimillion-dollar contract to work for a fraction of that at the Ember Group? I don’t mind paying my dues once I’m done with hockey, but I’m twenty-seven. I’m thinking about a wife, children…and I’m going to move backward financially? What kind of financial decision it that?”
“You’ve put money away, haven’t you?”
“Of course, but not enough to live the lifestyle I’m accustomed to. Especially not if I get involved with a woman. I like the finer things in life and I intend to continue to have them. You want the truth? I don’t want to move home to my parents’ house and take a small allowance from my grandfather, while proving myself to a group of men I don’t particularly like, doing a job I don’t like at all.”
“This again.” The older man looked disappointed. “We discussed it when you were in school. You and Liam flipped a coin and you chose law while he chose finance. I asked you multiple times if you wanted to change that and you said no. Now you suddenly don’t enjoy the law?”
“I love the law, but not freakin’ contracts and shit.” He scowled. “I’d like to do something a little more interesting.”
“Before I get into that, I’m curious about something else you said… Are you already so enamored with Everly that you’re thinking of marriage and children?”
Ian had the grace to flush. That had been an impromptu comment without much merit other than the fact that he did want to see where things went with Everly. He wouldn’t tell the old man that, though. “No. I mean, yes, but no. I’ve been thinking for the last year that I’d like to settle down because I’m tired of casual relationships and meaningless sex. I hadn’t met anyone I would even remotely consider settling down with until Everly came stumbling into that pub the other night. She’s not like any other woman I’ve ever known… Beautiful, smart, and independent but also sweet and a little shy. I’m crazy about her, but no, of course I’m not ready to marry her. I’m impulsive, not an idiot.”
“That’s good to hear.” The elder Ian sipped his drink thoughtfully. “Ian, I’m not sure where you’re going with this. One more season? Five more seasons? Will you ever be finished with hockey? I knew, from the time you first discovered it, hockey would be your passion. I tried to discourage it, but your father wanted it for you…and no one was prouder than he was when you were drafted. Except maybe me.” He smiled, his thoughts somewhere far away. “You and Isla set the bar so high for the others. So clever and hardworking and athletic. You were going to do great things and I feared I would lose both of you. Family is all we really have, Ian. Do you understand that? We talk about it in our family a great deal, but without a great deal of emotion. I wonder now if that has been a mistake.”
“We’re Scottish,” Ian responded curiously. “Of course we don’t use a great deal of emotion.”
“But we still feel it, no? I wasn’t sure I would recover when I lost your grandmother, and then losing your father, well…I won’t ever recover from that. I merely learn to live with the pain.”
Ian had never heard his grandfather talk this way and it was a bit unsettling. Where was all of this coming from? Whether it was another way of manipulating him, this time emotionally, or an attempt to genuinely connect with him, he couldn’t tell. He thought he had a good grasp of the man his grandfather was, but this was a new side to him. Either he was playing him or he was getting a little soft in his old age.
“Granddad, what are you trying to say? I’m not going anywhere, I’m just not ready to leave my very lucrative job.”
“But don’t you see? You’ve already gone. You left when your father sent you to that fancy school in Switzerland. Then university in the U.S. Now hockey in the U.S. I don’t have that many years left, even though I’m in good health. I’m seventy-two this year—how long do you think I can hold down the fort?”
“You have Liam and Lachlan at your side, learning from you.”
“Perhaps I’m selfish, but I want all of you at my side.”
“Except Isla.”
To Ian’s surprise, his grandfather’s eyes watered slightly. “That’s not true. Legally, a woman cannot take the title of Duke, so I have no choice but to pass it down to you or one of your brothers. I would love to have Isla in the company but that was never going to happen. Her love for science was too strong; she wouldn’t be happy working with numbers.”
“And yet, you have no trouble forcing me to work with law in a capacity I don’t enjoy?”
“So what will you do then?” he demanded.
“If I play another five or six years, between my savings and the trust Dad left for me, I’ll be set up for life. I won’t have to work.”
His grandfather scowled. “I can’t believe my ears.”
“What? You don’t have to support me and I’m happy to sit on the board of directors, take over duties as the Duke of Halloway, which, to be fair, entail almost nothing. You’re too far down the bloodline to be part of the royal family, so this is all just tradition.”
“I spent a bloody fortune on your education!” the older man hissed.
“And I gave up every summer since I was fifteen to get it. This is the first summer of my adult life that I’ve had any kind of holiday. I live in a rental house with a roommate even though I’m a titled earl—you want to talk to me about sacrifice? I haven’t had a life! What do you think I do for fun during hockey season? Well, I’ll tell you—almost nothing. I work out, I practice, I play. There have been no serious girlfriends, no fun trips other than a couple of long weekends, and certainly no extravagant purchases. I save more than fifty percent of my salary in order to prepared for the future, so please, don’t preach to me about how much it cost you, since we both know you can afford it.”
“It’s not about money.”
“Of course not. It’s about you getting your own way and I’m tired of it. The guilt, the manipulation… I love you, Granddad. You’ve been my greatest mentor, someone I look up to, but I don’t want to spend the best years of my life writing contracts for corporations and their rich CEOs. Frankly, I’d rather spend my time doing something for the good of humanity. Charity work.”
To his surprise, a smile played on his grandfather’s lips. “You are your father’s son, there is no doubt about that. He never enjoyed working in finance either, though he did his duty in expectation of his title.”
“Yeah, and it killed him.” Ian had never said it out loud before, but his mother swore his father’s heart attack had been brought on by the drudgery and stress of the job he hated, and judging by the stricken look on his grandfather’s face now, he’d struck a nerve.
“Is this how you feel about me? That I killed my own son? My only child?”
“You didn’t kill him, but you didn’t make it easy for him to be his own man. He just wanted to please you.”
“And you don’t.”
“I do, but not in the way you’d like.”
“You should go,” his grandfather said abruptly. “We have guests this evening and I have nothing else to say about this matter tonight. We’ll meet on Monday as planned. Until then, I suggest you think long and hard about what you want because there are always consequences to the decisions we make.”
Ian got to his feet. “If you’ve already made up your mind about taking the title away from me, why are we meeting Monday?”
“Have you already made up your mind?”
“I hadn’t, but it feels like you’re pushing me to make a choice right now, and if that’s the case, I have.”
“We have a party to attend.” The elder Ian got to his feet. “I’ll see you Monday morning.”
19
Everly didn’t sleep well that night. The party had been fun but Ian had been quiet and hadn’t wanted to talk about his short meeting with his grandfather. At the end of the night he’d walked her to her car, kissed her softly and said they’d talk after he dropped his friends off at the airport. And she hadn’t heard from him yet today, even though it was after noon and he’d dropped the guys off several hours ago. She didn’t have the luxury of sitting around moping, so she’d arrived at Edinburgh Castle about an hour ago and was enthralled enough to not think about anything but the beautiful scenery and gorgeous history all around her.
