“You get it when you’ve proven yourselves worthy of home ownership. A responsible adult able to pay the upkeep and utilities.”
“Yes, but . . .” He taps his fingers on the desk. “It’s also a bribe, of sorts. We grow up being told this will be ours when we have, as you say, proven ourselves. It’s also a method of control. And a potential punishment, if we don’t like up to expectations.”
“Rian had a house, didn’t he.”
“He did.”
“Do I want to ask what happened to it?”
“He was given five years to change course and enroll in college. After that, they . . .” He shoves his hands into his pockets and looks away. “They demolished it.”
My mouth opens, but I clamp it shut as my mind boggles at the sheer vindictiveness of that. Rian grew up with the promise of a house, a specific one they’d probably shown him a hundred times. Instead of just reselling it, they destroyed it.
“I am becoming aware of how that may have affected him,” Connolly says slowly. “I should have understood before now, but you know Rian. He acted as if he didn’t care. And while I admired this house, I didn’t grow up dreaming of what it would be like to live here.”
I move closer to him. “Rian did.”
Connolly is quiet long enough that I think I’ve guessed wrong. When he speaks, the words come thick. “He used to draw pictures of his house, with his wife and his kids and his dogs. Two dogs. Two kids.” A short laugh. “When he was little, there were two wives, too, until I explained that wasn’t legal and he had to look it up. He was very disappointed.”
I laugh under my breath. “That does sound like Rian. Not so much the kids and dogs, though.”
“That was Rian . . . when he was little. He dreamed of things I never did, like pets and children and houses with big yards for them to run around in.” He shoves his hands into his pockets. “He changed when he got older.”
“Did he really?” I ask softly.
His words come even thicker as he turns to look out the window. “No, you’re right. I think he just found weapons to protect himself, and those weapons were sarcasm and indifference, and I believed the charade. I believed he didn’t care about college. Believed he didn’t care about his house. I know better now, but I can’t figure out how to tell him that. If I tried, he’d blow me off, make a joke of it.”
Connolly inhales sharply. “But we aren’t talking about Rian. We’re talking about this house. My parents gave it to me when I started my business, and my name is on the deed, but theirs is too, which is why I can’t sell it to repay the debt. Rian used to draw pictures of his family living in his house because that’s what it is. A marital home. It’s part of the contract. When I marry, I receive full ownership of this house.”
He glances at me. “That’s why I didn’t want to bring you here.”
“Because it’s the house you’re supposed to bring your wife to.”
“What?” His brows knit. “No, no. As I said, I never thought of it that way. I didn’t bring you because . . . I behave as if I lead a fully independent life. That wasn’t an act. I feel independent, compared to my brother and my cousins and friends. I am the one who broke away early, and everyone is so proud of me for that, especially my parents.” He pushes back the sheers again with one finger and gazes out.
“They want you to feel as if you’re free, so you won’t notice the invisible chains binding you to them.”
“Yes.” He stares at the yard. “It’s like looking out this window and making the mistake of thinking I’m outside, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. I’m not free. I am nowhere near free.”
He drops the sheer again and turns to face me. “This isn’t my house. That’s a joke. My business may be mine, but even that’s a sham. If I default on the contract, my parents can legally take it from me in payment of my debt, and even that wouldn’t cover it. If it would, I’d sell it myself.”
“You aren’t going to sell your business, Aiden. That’s yours.”
He starts to turn, as if he wants to look out the window again, not to see the view but to break eye contact. He’s more comfortable talking while looking out there, and if that’s what helps, I’m going to pretend he just wants to look outside. He doesn’t, though. He keeps facing me.
“I’ll work this out,” he says.
“I know you will, and on that note, there’s something I need to tell you. I had a visitor today.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Twenty-three
I tell Connolly about Theodora’s visit. I make it clear that she was kind and friendly, but with each word, he seems to age a year.
“I am so sorry,” he says. “She didn’t mean any harm, but I cannot imagine how awkward that was. I hope she didn’t suggest I’ve said that you and I are anything more than friends.”
“She didn’t.”
“I’ve been clear, no matter what my parents think.”
“I know. Speaking of awkward, there’s something else I need to tell you. I’m sure with all her calls, it seems as she agrees with your parents and is happy to be the, uh, forerunner in this, uh, competition, but she actually isn’t.”
“She doesn’t want to marry me?”
“Er, uh . . .” That’s when I see his lips twitch. “You already knew that.”
His lips twitch again. “You thought I’d be disappointed?”
“No, just, well . . .”
“Offended, then. I may not want to marry her, but naturally, she’ll want to marry me. No. I’ve known Theodora since we were children, and I think she’s a fine person, but I have never been interested in her that way.”
“I’d understand if you were. Or had been. She’s, well, kinda perfect.”
His brows knit. “In what way?”
I laugh at that. “Uh, every way, Connolly. She’s gorgeous, and she dresses like she’s headed to the runway, but instead she’s actually headed to court. Because of course she’s a lawyer. Smart, beautiful, stylish, rich and nice. I can see why she’s your parents’ top choice.”
“Theodora is a lawyer for the same reason I run my own firm. Because our parents could afford the best tutors and best education. She dresses well because—like me—she can afford to indulge in fashion. I agree she is kind, and that is, in my opinion, her most remarkable trait, only because it’s so rare in our circles. There are several young women on my parents’ list that I hope you never meet.”
“They wouldn’t have been nearly as respectful.”
“I’m afraid not, which is what makes this all . . .” He exhales and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I will resolve this.”
“So if Theodora isn’t interested in marrying you, and you know that, why duck her calls? She wants to resolve this, Aiden. She says she has a plan.”
“I know.”
I throw up my hands. “Then why dodge her? You two can figure this out together.”
“Her plan is for us to get married.”