31. Cian
Chapter 31
Cian
I watch as the kids file into class on Thursday.
Leah ignores me as she walks past though I say, “Good morning. Good job on the quiz yesterday.”
She just keeps walking.
Still, it’s true. The quiz was practice for the big test tomorrow and she aced it. She’s not only strong willed, but she’s incredibly bright. I can only hope that she starts thinking for herself a little.
Mariah and I exchange a smile and nothing more as she comes through the door.
It still makes my day just a little better.
I think it just makes sense to like my future step-daughter and to know she likes me in return.
Right on Mariah’s heels is Henry.
Mariah turns to see who I’m frowning at and Henry nearly plows her over.
“Oh! Um, hi, Hen…” She clearly forgets his pseudonym in her surprise at seeing him.
“Miss Gale,” he says. Then he looks at me. “I need to speak with you. Immediately.”
He looks serious. That combined with the fact that he’s here at school is cause for alarm. Henry hasn’t come up to the building once this entire week while I’ve been here. There are no security threats and the two times that he’s needed to ask me something, he simply texted, and I’ve gotten back to him during my break. I’ve been having dinner with Scarlett and Mariah each night, but I get back to the B&B in time for him and I to chat. Last night was the only night Scarlet and I have had sex since coming back from New Orleans.
We haven’t wanted to sneak around anymore. Now that we’ve been able to experience being together fully again, the laundry room and patio aren’t enough. But as soon as I finish this teaching gig, we’re coming out. And we’ll deal with the consequences. Somehow.
“Everyone take your seats,” I tell the class. “I’ll just be a moment.” I step into the hallway and Henry pulls the door to the classroom shut. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Diarmuid.”
I freeze. My entire body gets cold. “What?” I ask. “What happened?”
“The king had a heart attack early this morning.”
I stare at him.
I try to make the words make sense.
A heart attack? The king? My grandfather?
A heart attack ?
Fuck. Fuck . No.
I run a hand over my face. “How bad?”
“Bad. He’s in serious condition. We need to go.”
My head is swimming a little, but I feel myself nod. Henry puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes.
“Cian. We need to go now .”
It’s a very long trip to Cara. Hours. If it’s serious we might not make it…
I look up at my best friend. “Yes. Okay.”
“The Autre group is chartering a plane out of New Orleans. We’re going to do the same in Columbus. We don’t have time to wait for the plane from Cara to come.”
That would double the flight time. That makes sense. “Okay,” I say again. I glance at the door to my classroom. “I need to?—”
“I already told Mrs. Brown,” Henry said.
The sound of shoes on the linoleum reaches me and I look around Henry to see Amanda coming for us. “I’ll cover your classes today,” she says. “We’ll get a sub for the rest. Go.”
I don’t know what to do.
My grandfather had a heart attack. His fourth. It’s serious. It will take us nearly eight hours to get there. He could die before then. I might never see him again.
I suddenly feel sick.
Henry squeezes my shoulder again. “Come on. Let’s go.”
I suck in a breath. “I need my bag.” My phone is in there. It’s probably blowing up with messages from my siblings. Fuck.
Amanda opens the door and the sound of twenty high school sophomores all talking at once hits me.
They quiet when they see the principal.
“Get it,” Henry says shortly.
I step into the room. My gaze immediately finds Mariah. She looks scared. I grab my bag from behind the desk and make a decision. It’s probably a bad one, but I can’t just leave. “Miss Gale?” I say. “Can I see you in the hallway, please?”
Her eyes get wide, but she immediately stands. “Y-yes.”
There is a murmuring of conversation and I’m sure there are all kinds of rumors now spreading in room two-oh-eight.
I can’t worry about that now.
We step into the hallway. Henry frowns at Mariah but I turn to her. “I have to go to Cara. My grandfather had a heart attack.”
“Oh my God,” she says quietly. “Is he okay?”
“We… don’t know.” I swallow hard. “I’m sorry. I… I just didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”
Her face is etched with concern. She nods. “Thank you.”
It’s killing me not to hug her. I can’t believe I have to say goodbye to her like this. I can’t tell her when I’ll be back. I can’t tell her that I love her. I can’t say we’ll talk soon. I don’t know if that’s true and I’m just her teacher here. And I don’t know when I’ll be back.
“Okay, so…”
“Are you going to tell Mom?” she asks.
“Of course.”
“Cian,” Henry says. “We don’t have much time.”
“I have to see Scarlett,” I snap.
His jaw tightens but he doesn’t say anything more. For now, anyway.
I focus on Mariah again. “Kick ass on the test. Make me look like a good teacher, okay?”
I see her eyes fill with tears. It’s clear she’s thinking about hugging me too. But she only nods. “Yeah. I will. You are a good teacher.” She drops her voice to a whisper. “And a good friend. I’ll miss you.”
Fuck. “Ditto,” I tell her. “Now get back to class.”
She does. I blow out a breath. Then start down the hall. We get in the rental car Henry has waiting at the curb.
“We’re going to the garage. I don’t want to hear any shit about it,” I say.
Henry doesn’t say anything at all, just turns the car in that direction.
We drive for about three minutes before I ask, “Should I ask her to go with me?”
“She can’t do that.” He doesn’t seem surprised I asked.
“Why not?”
He looks over. “We don’t have time to deal with all of this.”
That makes my chest hurt.I might lose my grandfather. And I don’t have time to make sure the woman I love is okay and understands why I’m leaving and that I don’t want to, but I have to.
“Are you taking her as a friend?” he goes on. “Your girlfriend? Your fiancee? How are you going to introduce her to your grandfather, who just had a serious heart attack and who wants you to marry Astrid?”
I nod. He’s right. This isn’t the time to introduce Scarlett to my grandfather. Definitely not. It’s not fair to either of them.
“What do I say to her?”
“Tell her that your grandfather just had a heart attack, and you need to get on a fucking plane now so you can start the hours-long flight to get to him,” Henry says, clearly beyond irritated.
I get it. I’m sure Iris is on his ass. Torin may be too. His entire objective is to get me home as soon as possible.
“Fine.”
“Don’t complicate this right now. For anyone,” he adds.
“Got it.” He means for him , but also for my family and for Scarlett.
I do understand. But I don’t have to like it. Leaving like this feels like I’m leaving in the middle of a movie where I really want to know how the story ends, or the middle of a conversation that has a lot still unsaid.
Henry pulls right up by the door to the shop and Scarlett is already walking out of her office when I stride through the bay.
“Mariah texted,” she tells me. “I’m so sorry.”
She wraps her arms around my waist, and I gratefully hug her tightly. I pull in a deep breath, taking in the scent of her hair. I absorb the feel of her against me.
I would really love to have her on this flight with me, holding my hand. Walking into the palace with me where I have no idea what might be ahead.
“Is he okay?” she asks against my chest.
“I don’t know. I’m on my way to the airport. We’re leaving right away. I just stopped by to…”
Fuck, I can’t even say the word ‘goodbye’.
She pulls back. “I know,” she says. “You have to go.”
“I’m sorry this is all such a rush.” I know without asking that Henry has all of my stuff already packed up and in the car.
She frowns. “It’s not your fault, Cian. I understand.”
“I just…”
But I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to go. But I do want to go. I need to get there. I have to be there. I need to see him again. I need to be there with my family. My grandmother. Torin. I’m sure he’s going to step up sooner than planned even if my grandfather pulls through.
Scarlett’s hand against my face pulls me back to the moment. I focus on her beautiful face. “Cian, I’m okay. I’m not upset that you have to leave. This is your family . Of course , you have to go. I’m fine. We’ll be fine.”
I nod. She will. Of course. She’s been more than fine without me for thirty-six years. She and Mariah and Ruby are amazing. They don’t really need me at all. I’m being ridiculous.
These are not the thoughts I want to take with me thousands of miles from here.
“Go,” she says softly. “You know where to find me now.” She gives me a little smile.
Fuck. I love her so much. But there’s not time to get into that either. I want to spend hours telling her how I feel, talking about the future, making plans.
Dammit.
Instead, I cup her face in my hands and kiss her, trying to pour everything I’m feeling into that.
She grips my shirt, kissing me back, and I tell myself I feel all of it coming from her too.
I let her go only when I sense that I’ve pushed Henry’s patience to the very edge.
I hold her gaze for a long moment, but neither of us says anything.
Then I turn and somehow walk out of her garage and get back in the car.
We’re halfway to Columbus when my phone pings with a text.
I look down.
It’s from Mariah.
Leah figured it out. She knows who you really are.
Oh…fuck.
How? I type back. Not that it really matters.
Mariah: The podcast. They’re talking about your grandfather.
That damned podcast.
But, of course, they’re talking about the king’s heart attack.
I rub my forehead. Are you okay?
Mariah: I’m in the principal’s office.
I scowl at my phone.
She sends a second text. I’m kind of in trouble, actually.
“We have to go back,” I tell Henry.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s Mariah. She’s in trouble.”
Henry curses under his breath, looks in the rearview mirror and executes a U-turn without asking me a single question.
He accompanies me back into the school fifteen minutes later. I stride into Amanda’s office without knocking.
“What happened?”
“Mr. Brady,” Amanda greets me coolly. “Or is it Your Highness?”
“Cian is fine,” I tell her.
I look at the other two people in the office. Mariah is watching me, Leah is staring at me.
“I shouldn’t be surprised you figured it out. You’re one of my brightest students,” I tell her. Then I really take the two girls in. “Is that ice ?” I ask.
Leah is holding a lumpy plastic bag against her lip. She pulls it away to say, “She hit me.” Her lip is swollen and has clearly been bleeding.
“I hit your phone and it hit you in the mouth.” Mariah huffs out a frustrated breath. She’s holding a bag of ice against her eye.
“And what the hell happened to you ?” I demand.
“Her phone hit me in the eye.”
“What is going on, and how can we speed up whatever it is?” Henry asks.
Leah gingerly feels over her bottom lip with her tongue, winces, and replaces the ice pack.
Mariah just slumps further into her chair. “Leah hasn’t told anyone else,” Mariah says. “I overreacted. She turned her phone toward me in class and mouthed, “is this Professor Brady?” I freaked out and tried to cover her phone up before anyone else could see it.”
Leah looks surprised. “Well, of course I wouldn’t tell. He could go to jail.”
I frown. “Me?”
She looks up. “Yeah. You’ve been teaching a bunch of kids while lying about your identity. That’s illegal, I’m sure.”
“You really need to stop talking about things you aren’t one-hundred percent sure of,” I tell her. “And you have to stop exaggerating. I actually have all the degrees I claimed to have. I filled out all the necessary paperwork. My background check is clean. I’m just using a pseudonym for safety reasons. Like authors use pen names or actors use stage names. No harm, no foul.”
Amanda jumps in. “Mr. Henry Dean, Mr. Brady’s assistant?—”
“Mr. O’Grady, actually,” I say.
“Right.” She looks at Leah again. “Mr. Dean explained the need for privacy and provided everything we needed to ensure Mr. Br…O’Grady was legitimate. Everything was perfectly legal.”
I nod. “And what I told you about a family emergency is true. And I need to leave.” I turn back to Mariah. “I wanted to be sure you’re okay.”
“I am.” She gestures to Leah with her ice pack. “Just tell her that you did meet my mom two years ago, you dated her for a weekend, you’re in love with her, and you’ve proposed.”
I look at Leah. “That’s all true. Mariah’s been right about everything.”
“But the podcast said the prince was searching for a woman…”
“That was Scarlett.”
Leah frowns. “But they said that you spent last weekend in Louisiana with her.”
“I did.”
Mariah looks at her. “You thought you were so smart today, but you totally missed that.”
“Well today was easy,” Leah says. “The king has a heart attack and suddenly Mr. Brady is rushing out of class for a family emergency? I thought that was a weird coincidence but then when he called you out into the hall…”
I sigh and avoid looking at Henry who I know is giving me I-told-you-so eyes.
“ That was weird,” Leah says. “And you seemed upset when you came back in. So I looked at the article about the king again. Then noticed a photo and… I suddenly realized Mr. Brady looks a lot like the prince.” Leah looks at Mariah. Slowly she shakes her head. “Wow. So this whole time, all of that was your mom.”
“I fucking told you that,” Mariah mutters.
“Miss Gale,” Amanda admonishes.
“Sorry,” Mariah says. But then she sits up straighter in her chair. “But I did . I didn’t lie once . But Leah’s been going around accusing me for days. Most of the time we just kind of avoid each other and maybe glare across the room, but this week I’ve had to deal with her, hearing her and talking to her every single damned day.”
“She did,” Leah admits.
I’m surprised to see her looking a little discomfited.
“My mom just said that your mom lied a lot in high school and always wanted to be the center of attention and that you were doing the same thing.” She gives Mariah an abashed look. “But you don’t try to be the center of attention. And I would know that better than my mom does.”
I look at Amanda and see that she looks as surprised as I feel.
Mariah is still frowning, but she crosses her arms and responds with a quieter, though still grumpy, tone, “Don’t talk about my mom. You don’t know her.”
“But she’s right.”
We all turn to find Scarlett standing in the doorway. Her gaze holds mine for a moment, but then she looks back at her daughter. “I did lie in high school. I did do a lot to get attention, and I was pretty terrible to anyone who wouldn’t listen to me.”
Mariah slumps back in her chair. “ Mom .”
“It’s time we all tell the truth and own up to what we’ve been doing,” she says.
“Fine! Cian has been lying about his identity so that he can get to know Scarlett without this town turning it into a bloody disaster!” Henry finally erupts. He grabs me by the upper arm. “He has to go now .” He marches me toward the door. “Mariah, Scarlett, we’ll be in touch,” Henry tells them. Then he looks at Leah. “Miss Lawton?—”
She straightens.
“I’m the head of Prince Cian’s security detail. He tells me you’re very bright. I’m going to assume that I don’t need to explain in any depth how important it is that you keep details that you learn about the prince and the royal family to yourself until given permission otherwise.”
Leah’s eyes are wide as she nods. “Of course.”
“Hey!” Mariah protests. “No! I want her to have to tell everyone that I was right and that a prince really did propose to my mom!”
“All in due time,” Henry tells her. “But look on the bright side. Now you have someone in addition to Greta you can gossip with about everything.”
Mariah and Leah are looking at each other with circumspection as Henry tries to drag me out the door.
But I suddenly realize that everyone in this room knows who I am and how fucking amazing that is.
Because it means that I can kiss Scarlett in front of them in this public space and it doesn’t matter.
I wrench my arm from Henry’s grasp and reach for her, grasping her wrist, pulling her up against me with a little, “ooof”, and then dipping her back and sealing my mouth over hers.
“Yes!” Mariah cheers.
“Mr. Brady! I mean O’Grady! I mean Your Highness…” Amanda tries.
“It’s no use,” Henry tells her.
“Oh, wow,” Leah says.
I finally let Scarlett go and take in her stunned look and then the little smile that curls her lips as I bring her upright.
“Okay, that was pretty great,” I hear Leah say to Mariah as I finally let Henry shove me through the doorway and down the main hall of Emerald High School.