Page 172 of Reluctantly Rogue

Why didn’t I see that this might happen? How did I not anticipate this?

Because this is nuts.

But they changed Declan to Torin on you.

But that was because Torin was in line for the throne!

Yes, I truly thought it was about me marrying the future king.

But…it’s far more than that.

I know that Diarmuid and my grandfather were as close as brothers. Closer, really. My grandfather had two brothers and he never saw either of them as far as I remember.

They’re not dukes. They don’t have any titles. That title, the land, the influence and power were given to my family by Diarmuid. My grandfather moved my family to Cara. The rest of his family is still in Denmark.

Diarmuid is the king. He could have chosenanyoneto be his advisor, to bestow titles and power, to confide in. But he chose my grandfather. And my grandfather chose Diarmuid, chose to be close to the O’Gradys, over his own flesh and blood.

So he and Diarmuid came up with a plan to actually create a shared O’Grady-Olsen bloodline.

Oh. My. God.

This isn’t about the throne. This isn’t about leading Cara. This isn’t a ‘job’ for me.

That was all just a perk.

What they really wanted was for me to become themotherof an O’Grady-Olsen child.

The first.

The beginning of an entirely new branch of the family tree. A powerful one, for sure. But also, a very meaningful one. One that mattered deeply to these two men whose bond was purely in heart and that they wanted to, somehow, make more.

I’m stunned.

I have no idea what to say.

This is so much bigger than me. This is really, in some ways, bigger than leading Cara.

Clearly, someone else can do that. Abigail can do that.

But not just anyone can create an O’Grady-Olsen heir.

"Come. We have to reassure everyone else."

My mind is spinning.

I let him turn me and lead me into the dining room. What am I supposed to say? How can I tell him no? Alfred is gone. His friend isgone.

This is his only hope for hanging onto that bond and for fulfilling that promise. That dream.

I feel like I’m moving in slow motion. The sounds around me are muted. I feel like my body is detached from my thoughts.

Diarmuid leads me to the head of the table and everyone slowly quiets. Oh, God. This is going to be so bad.

Finally, I look at Jonah.

The man I love. The man I want. The man who I can see an entire future with.

The man who knows me, cares aboutmeand what I want. Who sees me. Who has always seen me.

---