Page 99 of The Proposal

“I found a copy of Papa’s will when I searched his room.”

“Searched his room? Why were you searching his room?”

I pick up the scotch I just poured and down it in one gulp before refilling it. I’m not looking forward to this conversation; it’s about to open up a whole can of worms I’m not ready to deal with.

After handing Alexander his drink, I settle into one of the wingback leather chairs.

“I was looking for a photograph of Arabella.”

“In Papa’s room?”

“I found out when I was in Italy that Arabella was set to marry Papa … you know, before …” I let the rest of my sentence die off because he can fill in the blanks.

“He was going to marry Arabella?” he asks with shock lining his voice.

“Apparently.”

“How old is she?”

I wince. “Twenty.”

This has his eyebrows jumping again. “Twenty. Fucking hell, she’s even a bit young for you.”

“I know. She’s mature for her age, though.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t seem that young.”

“Her mother died when she was ten. She basically had to take over the running of the house, as well as look after her little sister.”

“Poor kid.”

“Please don’t refer to my wife as a fucking kid; that makes me feel predatory.”

“Sorry,” he says, taking a sip of his drink. “Did you find the photograph? Because I’m having a tough time digesting that Papa was set to marry a woman a third of his age.”

“No, I didn’t. It’s what started off the whole clusterfuck that followed.”

“What clusterfuck?”

“Me whacking Edoardo.”

“What?” Alex asks as he starts to cough and splutter on the liquid still in his mouth. I probably should’ve waited until he swallowed. “You whacked Edoardo?”

“I had no choice.”

“I’m not exactly upset about the fact that he’s out of your life. I never liked the guy and always felt like he was a bad influence on Papa.”

“If only Papa was able to see what you saw … maybe he’d still be with us. They both would.”

“They?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose as Alexander takes the seat opposite. Telling him this isn’t going to be easy.

“I’m going to give you the CliffsNotes version because it’s Christmas Day, and I’ve had a great time here with you guys … we should do this more often.”

“I agree, we should.”

“Please know, what I’m about to tell you will ruin your Christmas. If you want to wait until tomorrow to discuss it, I’ll understand.”

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