Heirly Ever After, Vernon, Magan [best thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

to happen in my life, this had to be the most chaotic of them all. Hadn’t we agreed to keep things quiet for now? Although it wasn’t exactly his fault for being recognized. But holy heck, what a mess.

“What did he just say?” my sister whispered.

“Bloody hell,” Gavin mumbled.

I tried to think of the right thing to say.

Hell, I’d only found out not even an hour before that the guy from the train who I thought just wanted in my panties was the odd duck long-lost cousin of this noble family.

Well, at least it would take the heat off what I had to tell my family.

I’d spent the last hour furiously sketching in the bedroom, trying not to think about everything going on. Yet every time I tried sketching the hills outside my window, I kept getting the outline of a dragon.

That damned family crest.

I should have seen it sooner.

Or asked.

And now…well…here we were.

“My stars. It’s been so long. How’s your family, dear?” The old woman cooed as if everyone’s world just hadn’t been shifted on its axis. As if everyone was not staring at the two of them while they got lost in their own conversation, not even stopping to acknowledge everyone’s WTF faces.

Okay, so maybe it was just my sister, Gavin, and me who had that look.

“Did you know your boyfriend or friend or friend with benefits or whatever he is was a MacWebley? Or did Lady Elizabeth just drop a bombshell on all of us now?” Natalie whispered, leaning in close so her words were a harsh breath against my cheek.

“I didn’t know either until just a few moments ago,” I muttered, heat rising to my cheeks as I fidgeted in my seat.

Natalie tilted her head. “I feel like I’m missing a lot of you two’s story here.”

Before I could even think of a way to answer that, Gavin stood, the sound of his chair scraping against the wood floor echoing throughout the room.

“Lachlan, wish you would have just said that in the first place,” he said, putting his hand out. There wasn’t a smile or any crack of anything other than that stern look.

Jacob stood and turned away from the old woman, Lady Elizabeth, only a slight quirk to his lips as he shook his cousin’s hand. “My father and great-grandfather go by Lachlan. Much easier to go by Jacob.”

“So, was it your great-grandfather who got the invitation I sent, or did you just take it upon yourself to find my future sister-in-law to be her plus one?” Gavin asked, their hands still shaking between them.

Jacob smirked, glancing at me and shooting a wink.

A freaking wink.

If my face hadn’t been hot before, now it was smoldering.

I hoped no one else noticed as he faced Gavin. “A little bit of both. Great-Grandad couldn’t make it, so he sent me with his invitation. My plan was to come here and introduce myself, but that was before my good friend, Miss Madison, told me she was attending this wedding and needed a date.”

Gavin quirked an eyebrow as he dropped his hands then crossed his arms over his chest. In his jacquard vest, button-down oxford, and charcoal trousers, he looked like he’d stepped straight out of a magazine. Or a boardroom from Hell, when he gave that damn cold stare.

“So, it’s not just a story. You did know Miss Madison before this and weren’t just using her to get into the wedding? Because you could have just asked. We are family, after all. Maybe estranged, but still family. The invitation to your great-grandfather was an olive branch. Not even Lady Elizabeth knew.”

Neither glanced at the old woman, but I snuck a peek to see her looking between the two men with her eyes wide, her mouth in a perfect O as if she was waiting for something to go down.

“Like I said, Madison and I have known each other for a while, and I took the chance to help out a friend and see my family at the same time. I was hoping I could get a tour from Lady Natalie, since Madison tells me she’s quite the historian,” Jacob said with a broad smile on his face as if he was just repeating back instructions and didn’t drop a bombshell on the family.

Lady Elizabeth finally spoke, putting her hand on each of the boy’s hands. “I’m just so happy you both are here. However it happened.”

“Yes, however it happened,” Gavin repeated with much less muster.

“Lachlan…I mean Jacob…come sit by me. We need to catch up,” the old woman said, putting her hand down to pat the arm of the chair next to her.

Jacob’s gaze went across the table until it landed on me. “Ah, only if it’s all right with my date.”

I wished I knew Morse code or something so I could blink “I am going to kill you,” but of course I didn’t. I really couldn’t do anything other than gently nod. At this point, we were both drowning, with no lifeboat in sight, so it was everyone for themselves.

Jacob took the seat, the old woman waving her hands then clasping them on his arm as they started talking.

Gavin sat down next to Natalie, and the two whispered among themselves, their narrowed gazes flicking toward mine every few minutes.

“Did you really know that about Jacob?” Mom asked tentatively, suddenly at my side, her voice so low that I barely heard. I hadn’t noticed her moving from her seat across from me and taking the one Jacob was supposed to be occupying at my side.

“I didn’t until recently,” I admitted.

She nodded. “Gavin’s grandmother does seem very happy to have him. But are you okay with him here, honey?”

I tried not to wince at her words, knowing where this conversation was going. “He’s a friend, Mom. A friend who helped me out by being my date for this wedding.”

“Did you have another motive when you asked him to be your date?” she asked pointedly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking