I sigh, leaning back to rest against the pillows. “I know. But I trust that the Sullivans will take care of him.”
“You do realize you just used the words ‘trust’ and ‘Sullivans’ in the same sentence right?”
I stare up at the stark white ceiling, trying to ignore the tightness in my chest.
If I close my eyes, I can easily pretend that Lucy and I are back in her tiny apartment, sharing a bottle of rosé as we catch up on trashy reality shows.
Only a few days ago, that was my reality, and my biggest worry was passing my finals. But now, my life has been handed over to a man I barely know, and yet I’m expected to blindly trust.
If I think too long about it, I’ll throw up. “I hope I haven’t made the wrong choice.”
“How did you even get them to agree to this? The Sullivans and the Walshes aren’t exactly...friends.”
My mind goes to the folder of evidence that I tucked away inside one of my college sweatshirts and placed at the back of my closet.
I might have agreed to hand it over to Ronan once I have a firm contract in place, but the thought still makes me feel uneasy.
This is the final move I have left to play. Once that folder is in the Sullivans’ hands, my fate is up to them.
“I can’t tell you everything. The fewer people who know, the better. But let’s just say... I have something Sean wants to keep buried, something bad. And it’s something Ronan wants.”
“Youblackmailedthem? Riles, are you sure that’s the right thing? I mean, are you safe?”
“Honestly, I’m safer here than I’ve been in a long time.”
“What about your uncle?”
“Rion? I don’t give a damn what he thinks. He showed up after my dad died, trying to act like he had authority over me. But my father hated him. He never trusted him, and neither do I.”
She hands me the wine. “Do you think Oscar does?”
I take a sip. “Fuck knows. Oscar’s desperate to keep the family name out of the gutter, and marrying me off was his idea of a solution.”
“Urgh, men are exhausting.” Lucy rolls her eyes as if we’re talking about nothing more than who got eliminated on the previous night’s episode ofThe Bachelor.
It’s so refreshing and brings me such a sense of normalcy that I almost start crying.
“Tell me about it.”
For a moment, we both lie there on the plush bed.
All of a sudden, Lucy springs to her feet and grabs her bag.
“Enough of the heavy talk. I want to talk about tonight. I mean, Riley Walsh is going on a date!”
“It’s fake, Lucy,” I remind her.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s still a date with an actual realman.”
The fact that my friend’s eyes are so lit up with excitement over the fact I’m going on a fake date has me cringing.
“Trust me, Luce. This is going to be hell. Kieran is cold and standoffish and extremely suspicious about me. He thinks I'm going to stab him in the back and hand him over to Sean.”
“Perhaps… But he’s still hot.”
“Oh, my god.” I groan, covering my face with my hands.
“What are you even going to talk about? Do you have anything in common?”