Chapter 12
LENNOX
The dining room is designed to intimidate.
A crystal chandelier drips with what has to be thousands of individual pieces, casting fractured light across a long mahogany table. The china is so delicate I’m afraid to touch it, silver so heavy it feels like weapons. Everything gleams, polished, perfect.
A showroom, not a place where people actually eat.
I find my place card between Eleanor and Walker at one end of the table, while Sebastian is exiled to the other end between Caroline and Nathaniel, and James beside his mother.
I sit carefully, smoothing my navy dress and accepting a water glass from the staff member who appears silently at my elbow. Another person pours wine, red, probably older than I am. I take a sip to be polite, even though whiskey is my preferred drink.
“So, Lennox.” Eleanor settles into her chair with the practiced grace of someone who’s hosted a thousand formal dinners. “Tell me about your family.”
Here we go.
“Five siblings,” I say, keeping my voice steady and pleasant. “Three older brothers, two younger sisters, as I said. We’re spread across about ten years.”
“And they’re all still in Montana?”
“Yes. Two of my brothers work the ranch with my father; my other brother, Crew, is a vet and works in a town a few hours away from the ranch.” The unfamiliar ache of homesickness hits me unexpectedly.
I push it down. “My oldest brother, Cage, runs the day-to-day operations now. My father suffered a stroke last year and has been recovering.”
“It must have been difficult, leaving them to go to California.” Eleanor’s tone is sympathetic, but her eyes keep a sharp watch, waiting for me to mess up. “Especially for a ranch family. We’re usually quite close-knit.”
“It was.” The truth slips out before I can stop it. “But it was time to figure out who I was beyond my last name.”
“And have you?”
I think about the auction. About standing on that stage in lingerie while men bid on me. About trading myself to save Janie. About becoming Mrs. Sebastian Drake in a transaction that had nothing to do with love and everything to do with ownership.
“I’m still working on it,” I say carefully.
Walker snorts from my other side. “Aren’t we all? It took me fifty years to figure out who I am beyond being a Drake. Sometimes I’m still not sure.”
“Walker, don’t be dramatic.” Eleanor shoots him a look, then returns her attention to me. “Is your mother still active in the ranch operations?”
“She left our family fifteen years ago.” My voice is barely above a whisper. I hate talking about my mother; what she did is unforgivable.
Eleanor’s expression softens; genuine sympathy replaces calculation. “I’m so sorry, dear. That must have been terribly difficult.”
“It was. I thought she was the heart of our family. We all kind of fell apart after she walked out.”
Staff begin bringing out the first course, some kind of soup that probably has a French name and was made by the Drakes’ personal chef.
“What did you study at Montana State?” Walker asks. “You mentioned a business degree, but is there more to it?”
“Business administration with a minor in animal science. They were practical degrees for ranch management.”
“Smart. Too many ranchers’ kids these days just go on following what previous generations did and then can’t actually run an operation when they have to step up.” Walker attacks his soup with the same efficiency he probably brings to everything. “Your father raised you right.”
“He raised me to work,” I state. “The first time I rode a horse alone, I was four. The first time I helped with calving, I was eight. By twelve, I could run the whole morning routine myself.”
“That’s proper ranching.” Walker looks at Eleanor pointedly. “None of this keeping kids away from work because it’s too dirty or dangerous.”
“Our children were perfectly involved in the ranch,” Eleanor says coolly. Apparently a nerve has been touched.
“Caroline never was involved, Nathaniel was my shadow. Now, Sebastian tried to be, but you kept pulling him away for social events and etiquette lessons. And James is feral.”
“Thank you, Father.” James laughs as he reaches for his glass. Even with the laugh, I sense his father’s words cut him deeper than he lets on. That maybe the jokes and easygoing attitude are to cover up for the hurt of never being Sebastian or Nathaniel.
“Sebastian needed both,” Eleanor says coolly. “We needed one child to be as comfortable in a boardroom as he is on horseback.”
“And look where that got him, running resorts in California instead of ranching in Texas.”
An old argument that clearly has deep roots. I focus on my soup, not wanting to be dragged into family politics on my first night.
“Sebastian’s built an empire,” Nathaniel says from the other end of the table, his voice carrying clearly. “Different from Dad’s empire, but just as impressive. We should be proud, not critical.”
“I am proud,” Walker replies gruffly. “Just wish he’d come home more often.”
“I’m home every month, and drop everything when you call,” Sebastian shouts down the table. “With my wife. Who you are all questioning instead of welcoming properly.”
“We’re getting to know her,” Eleanor says. “There’s a difference.”
“Feels a lot like interrogation from here,” James mutters, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Caroline laughs. “That’s what we do, James.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t.”
“Quit being so sensitive,” Caroline barks. I know siblings squabble, but this is over the top.
“Caroline,” Nathaniel starts.
“What? We’re all thinking it. I’m just saying it out loud.
And can we stop pretending this is anything but an auction marriage?
She’s in trouble somehow and now it’s our problem.
So what is it? Did you get into the wrong crowd?
Borrowed money you couldn’t pay back? Are you pregnant and needed a way out? What?”
The room goes silent.
“Caroline.” Sebastian’s voice is dangerously quiet. “That’s enough.”
“I’m protecting family interests—”
“You’re insulting my wife.” Sebastian stands, and even from the other end of the table, I can feel the threat radiating off him. “Apologize. Now.”
Caroline holds his stare for a long moment, then turns to me. “I apologize if my directness offended you. But I’m not sorry for asking questions that need to be asked.”
“I understand,” I say, surprising myself. “If my brother came home married to someone none of us had met, I’d have questions too. Probably ruder ones than you’ve asked.”
That seems to catch Caroline off guard. She blinks, reassessing.
“However,” I continue, “I’m not pregnant, I have no debt that needs to be paid off, and I didn’t borrow money.
And the only arrangement between Sebastian and me, besides the two-year contract, is the one all married couples have: we’re building a life together.
If that benefits me, good. It should. That’s how marriage works. ”
“If you have no debt, how did you end up at the auction?” Caroline’s questions are relentless.
“Caroline, stand down. The girl’s answered every question you’ve lobbed at her and she’s got her own voice and mind, and she’s not afraid to use it. That’s all we need to know,” Walker says as he reaches for his glass.
Caroline studies me for another moment, then nods slowly. “Fair enough. Welcome to the family, Lennox. May you survive us.” She lifts her glass and downs the remainder of her wine.
“I’ve survived Montana winters, my father’s irrational temper and my mother abandoning our family. I think I can handle you.”
James laughs, the small boy gone, and the jovial man returned. “Oh, I like her. Sebastian, you did good.”
The tension breaks, and conversation resumes as the staff clear soup bowls and bring out the next course. Eleanor turns to me with something that might be approval in her eyes.
“You handled that well,” she says quietly. “Caroline can be intense.”
“She’s protective, I can respect that.”
“Can you?” Eleanor studies me. “Even when she’s questioning your motives, your character, your place in this family?”
“Especially then.” I meet her eyes. “It means she cares about Sebastian. About the family. I’d rather be questioned by someone who cares than welcomed by someone who doesn’t.”
Eleanor’s expression softens fractionally. “You’re more perceptive than I expected.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s an observation.” She pauses. “Sebastian hasn’t brought a woman home in over ten years. The last one was, well, unsuitable. Weak. She lasted two days here before running back to California crying.”
“What happened?”
“She realized what being a Drake meant. She couldn’t handle it.” Eleanor’s eyes find mine. “Can you?”
I think about the auction. About Margaret’s examination. About being fucked against a stone wall an hour before dinner. About the next seven hundred and twenty-eight days stretching ahead of me, with no escape.
“I suppose I have no choice, since I already am one,” I say.
Eleanor smiles, yet this time there is no hint of warmth beneath it. “Yes. I suppose you are,” she rasps.
The meal continues through multiple courses I couldn’t name if someone held a gun to my head.
Rich food, expensive wine, conversation that flows around and through me.
Walker tells stories about the ranch’s history, about droughts and booms and the time a tornado took out half the original barn in 1987.
James makes everyone laugh with an impression of their father during a particularly disastrous cattle auction.
Nathaniel talks about his daughters, and the love in his voice when he mentions Harper and Hadley is genuine and deep.
Caroline stays mostly quiet after her earlier outburst, but occasionally I catch her scrutinizing me, still deciding if I’m worthy of her brother.
And through it all, Sebastian watches me from the other end of the table. Every time I look up, his eyes are on me. Possessive. Satisfied. Claiming me even across twenty feet of mahogany and crystal.
By the time dessert arrives, something chocolate and French that I barely taste, I’m exhausted. Deflecting questions and navigating family dynamics I don’t understand has drained me completely.
“Coffee?” Eleanor offers as staff clear dessert plates.
“No, thank you.” I smile politely. “It’s been a long day.”
“Of course. You must be exhausted from traveling.” Eleanor stands, signaling the end of the meal. “We’ll let you and Sebastian get back to your house. But I’d love to show you around the ranch soon. And as you’ve been told, the girls are desperate to meet you.”
“I’d like that.” Another lie, but a necessary one.
Sebastian is already at my side, his hand gentle on the small of my back, which he seems to find with ease every time I’m near him, guiding me away from the table.
We say our goodbyes. James hugs me warmly, Nathaniel shakes my hand with quiet approval, Caroline offers a nod that might have been respect, and Walker claps Sebastian on the shoulder with gruff affection.
Eleanor escorts us to the door, and as we step into the Texas night, she catches my hand.
“Thank you for tonight,” she says quietly. “For handling Caroline’s questions with grace. For giving this family a chance.”
“Of course,” I answer, because what else can I say?
“Sebastian chose well.” Eleanor squeezes my hand once, then releases me. “I look forward to getting to know you better, Lennox.”
Then she’s gone, the door closing behind us, leaving us alone in the warm Texas darkness.
Sebastian’s truck sits in the circular driveway, and we walk to it in silence. I’m too tired to talk, too wrung out from performing for three hours straight. When he opens my door, I climb in gratefully, leaning my head back against the seat.
He starts the engine but doesn’t immediately pull away. Instead, he reaches over and takes my hand, his thumb stroking across my knuckles.
“You were perfect.”
“Was I?”
“You handled Caroline like a pro. Charmed Dad. Won over James. Even got Mom to soften.” He brings my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles.
I stare out the windshield at the palace lit up against the night sky. “Is that really all that matters?”
“For now, yes.” He lets my hand go and starts driving, heading back toward our ranch house.
We drive in silence back to his house, the lights of the main house fading behind us. When we crest the ridge and the original stone house comes into view, I feel something in my chest loosen slightly.
Sebastian parks and comes around to open my door, helping me down. I stumble slightly. He catches me, his arm around my waist, supporting me.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
We walk to the door together, his body warm against mine in the cooling night. Inside, the house is quiet, dim, welcoming in a way the palace never could be.
“I’m going to make some tea,” I say quietly.
“Go ahead. I need to make a few calls about the resort.” He lifts my chin and places a gentle, almost tender kiss on my lips. “I’ll join you in a bit.”
I nod and head toward the kitchen. I unbutton the high neck of the dress and roll up my sleeves. I’d kill for a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. The kettle boils while I find a tea bag, drop it in the mug, and head up to our room.
I don’t find yoga pants, but Sebastian’s T-shirts are massive, so I slip one on and climb into bed. My book is on the table, and I settle in and try to relax.
My tea is long cold and barely touched when Sebastian finally comes up the stairs and stands in the doorway, looking at me.
“Now this is a view I can get used to.” He smiles and moves toward the bed. His T-shirt has slipped off my shoulder, and he runs his finger lightly across it. The look in his eye is pure lust. I close my book and toss it onto the table beside me as he leans over and kisses me.