Page 157 of Rags to Royals

“You could have just kidnapped him. Knocked him out and tied him up in a closet,” my oldest brother tells Henry.

“I was going tomarryhim.Thatwould keep him from being available to marry Astrid,” Henry insists.

“That’s ridiculous,” Declan says. “We would still have the same situation.”

I blink at my brother. I haven’t seen him in five years. He hasn’t been back to Cara in seventeen. When he left home, abdicating the throne, he fuckingmeant it.

But he’s here now. Standing right in front of all of us.

Standing in front of our grandfather.

“Well,Cianwouldn’t be a part of the situation,” Henry says.

“Declan,” my grandfather’s weak, hoarse voice makes us all turn.

“Your Majesty.”

To my shock, my brother bows to my grandfather. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

The king gives him a single nod. “You… came.”

My grandfather seems as stunned as the rest of us. And King Diarmuid is almost never stunned.

“Of course. I wanted to check on you. And—” Declan looks around the room. “I have a problem to solve.”

His gaze stops on Astrid.

My eyes widen and I look at Henry. He seems just as out of the loop as I feel.

I look at everyone else. All of my siblings and their significant others are here. My mother and grandmother are seated on one of the settees. The only person in the room who doesn’t seem completely shocked to see Declan is Iris Lee, his assistant and bodyguard, who is standing just inside the door. She obviously came with him. And she looks…resigned.

Declan starts across the room toward Astrid.

What the hell? I follow him.

Everyone in the room has, of course, been watching Declan, the prodigal son, so they all move closer to him and Astrid as well.

Except, I notice, for my grandmother. She goes to my grandfather and takes a seat in the chair next to him. She takes his hand and leans in, blocking his view of Declan and Astrid by the windows.

I frown and turn back to my brother and my sort-of fiancée.

Astrid looks surprised when Declan stops right in front of her.

“Cian won’t be marrying you today,” Declan tells her.

Astrid smiles brightly. “Okay.” She picks up the skirt of her dress and starts for the door.

“Astrid.”

She stops and looks back at Declan. “What?”

“You and I will marry.”

Chapter 35

Cian

Astrid drops her dress. She stares at Declan. She looks at the rest of us, then back up at him. Then she starts laughing. “Um. No,” she says. “But gee, thanks for asking.” She picks up her skirt again and turns, but she hesitates when she sees the rest of us just standing there, staring.

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