“What do I do?”

“Whatever she says. Keep it light and simple. Don’t buy anything, don’t let her buy you anything. And, shit, be polite.”

“That’s all you’ve got? Be polite?”

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I didn't know she’d pull this.”

I bite my lip. “Is she okay? The surgery thing?”

He glances back at the door. “She’s okay. You should go.” He turns back and kisses me gently. “Good luck.”

I stare at him and shake my head. “I don’t know why I’m doing this.”

He grins. “Because you want me and can’t help yourself.”

“Yeah, or my pregnancy brain is kicking in and making me crazy already. Or maybe I suffered a concussion on my way inside. Or I’m asleep and this is all a dream.”

“Klara.”

“Okay. Right, yeah. See you later.” I head outside and get into the back of the car next to his mother.

She smiles at me as the car pulls out. “I assume he tried to talk you out of this?”

I shake my head. “Actually, no.”

“Really?” She looks surprised. “Huh.”

“Did you want him to?”

“Oh, no, dear. I really do want to spend some time with you if you’re as important to him as he says you are. I just…” She trails off.

“You can tell me,” I say. “If you want. I won’t repeat this back to Shaun.”

She frowns at me and sighs. “I must be in a strange mood.”

“What do you mean?”

She looks out the window. “I have a complicated relationship with my children,” she says. “It’s hard to explain, if I’m honest.”

“I’d love to hear about it. Considering traffic around here, we’ll be in this car together for a little while.”

She laughs but there’s no humor behind it. “Are you aware of our family?” she asks.

“I know about as much as he’s told me,” I say carefully.

“Then you understand the sort of family we are. The sort of… means we have at our disposal.”

“Yes, I believe I have a good idea about that.”

“You should understand, Klara. We aren’t a normal family by any means. If we were simply wealthy, things would be so much simpler. I could give my children money, let them do as they please, have a wonderful life, but…” She trails off.

“But what?”

“They can’t have any of that. Even if they want it, that can never be for them. I’ve been preparing my children their whole lives for the responsibility of keeping this family going and powerful, and as the years stretch on, the day when they’ll take over gets closer and closer.”

I sink into the silence for a long moment. “I can imagine how that would be hard,” I venture.

“Our family has never been close by design, dear. Over the years though, I’ve been reeling my children back in. They’ve been settling down, finding partners, starting families. They don’t all live in the manor, but they live close to it. Do you hear what I’m saying, dear?”

I nod. “I think so.”

“Good. So understand. I love my children very, very much. More than they’ll ever understand. And it’s precisely because of that love that I push them so hard and want them to settle down with partners equal to them.”

I nod once, looking forward. “And you don’t think I’m equal to Shaun.”

She sounds surprised. “No, dear. That’s not what I mean.”

I look back, frowning. “Really?”

She laughs. “You must not think much of me. Dear, your birth doesn’t matter to me. My first two sons didn’t marry rich aristocrats. My oldest daughter didn’t marry some landed lord. They married interesting, vibrant, strong partners that will make them happy and give them a family. That’s all I want for my children.”

I frown a little. “Then why is Shaun so worried about me meeting you?”

“For all of the above reasons. Like I said, I have a complicated relationship with them. With Shaun in particular. He rebelled young and he rebelled hard, but I want him to come back to the family.” She tilts her head toward me. “Is that something you’re going to do?”

“I don’t…” I trail off and look at her. “I don’t think so, Sylvia.”

She weighs that for a long moment. I can understand why Shaun was so worried about me meeting her. The woman is intense, there’s no getting around that. She doesn’t pull punches and she’s not shy about judging me.

But I get the feeling that she’s fair. She doesn’t judge people based on their money or material circumstances, but based on the people that they are. I feel like if I’m honest with her, then she’ll be honest with me.

I hope. Or maybe she’ll have me killed and thrown off a bridge.

“That’s disappointing to hear.”

“The truth is, I have a life out here. This production company… I want to own it and run it. And I think Shaun wants to be involved in that too, although I don’t know how yet. We’re still working things out.”

Tags: B.B. Hamel Erotic
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