A Bride's Tangled Vows by Dani Wade

Author:Dani Wade
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-07-10T16:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Christina stalled as she entered the study. She was the last to arrive, thanks to lingering with Lily and Nicole for longer than she planned. Avoiding the inevitable, as if that was possible. After all, will or not, Aiden would leave. His smooth good looks and smoldering intensity had seduced her into forgetting that. Too bad his temperamental attitudes weren’t enough to cool her newly awakened libido.

She paused beside Nolen, whom she’d been worried about since James’s death. “How are you holding up, Nolen?”

The butler rested sad eyes on her. “I know it was his time, Miss Christina. But this will be a big change.”

“Yes.” A delicate shudder shook her body. “Yes, it will.”

Aiden moved closer, pausing nearby as if he wanted a word with her, but she studiously ignored him. The meeting with Balcher had been an emotional roller coaster, with another one directly in front of her. Coping with Aiden one-on-one wasn’t a good idea right now.

As Canton gathered the papers out of his briefcase, Christina made her way to the couch and chose a seat next to Luke, who smiled in welcome. Let Aiden think what he would. It was way past time for her to stop caring.

Only family was there—or what Christina would consider family. Each grandson, herself, Nolen and Marie. No outsiders. Her stomach tightened. Did that mean the will was James’s way of controlling them still? Had he refrained from airing their dirty laundry to others? Suddenly, her fears for the future were magnified.

She’d never trusted him—never in life, and not in death. It was a chronic issue with her and the Blackstone males, it seemed. But with Lily as a factor, there was no way to turn her back on whatever was coming their way.

Lily was all that mattered now. Not Christina’s breaking heart, nor Aiden’s damnable pride. Only Lily—the woman who’d sacrificed everything for those she loved.

Chatter continued at a low volume until Canton tapped his stack of papers against the desk. “As you can imagine from your dealings with him in life,” Canton began, “James left extensive instructions about how things will continue after his demise.”

Christina’s sense of unease escalated, growing even worse as those around her shifted in their chairs. Whatever was coming, Canton knew. The knowledge shone in those beady little eyes behind his glasses. Christina got the impression he was about to have a taste of the power he’d been hungering for while James was alive.

She sure hoped that power was short-lived.

“Would you like me to read the will verbatim or give you an overview?” The little weasel’s chin tipped up.

“Just tell us how we can unravel this tangle James created...my mother, the mill, this marriage,” Aiden demanded.

Christina tried not to care about being classified as part of a tangle, especially since she could understand why Aiden felt that way. Besides, people had viewed her as a complication her entire life. So she pretended it didn’t hurt worse than all the other times before.

“Divorce proceedings are easy enough to initiate,” Jacob said.

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