“Morning.” I smiled when I opened my eyes and found Nate awake beside me. “How’s your head?”

“I’m afraid that if I move, my brain is going to explode.” His voice sounded sandpapery.

“Luckily you have a wife who came prepared for this exact moment.” I leaned over him, my chest pressing against his as I fetched the pills and held them to his lips. “Ibuprofen,” I explained. He took them, and the water. I liked that his eyes seemed happy. I’d really missed their sparkle.

“I tell you, duchess, I’m starting to feel better already.” He grinned as he looked down at my breasts pressed into his chest.

“I see your hangover doesn’t extend to Goliath or your sex drive.”

“They say an orgasm is a great cure for a headache.”

“Oh yeah? Who are they?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I have no fucking clue,” he said, grabbing his head quickly before he winced. “Ow. No moving.”

“I think it’s best if you hand me the reins this morning,” I suggested, sliding on top of him so his length rested between my legs. “Don’t want people thinking I’m hurting you.”

“It’d be worth it.” He smirked, and I teased him a little further by thrusting my hips back and forth, alternately wincing in pain and then moaning in pleasure.

“Argh. Ohhh. Argh. Ohhh.”

He laughed and placed his hands on my thighs, squeezing gently. “Now they’re gonna think I’m hurting you.”

I leaned down and pressed my mouth to his, kissing softly. “You’d never hurt me,” I said with the utmost confidence. I understood that in the centre of my bones. He was a man devoted to my protection. It was part of what made me love him so dearly.

I moved against him slowly, my breathing changing along with his as my hands rested on his firm pecs. The movement was enough to take me all the way, his firm shaft gliding perfectly along my sex.

“Duchess.” He gritted his teeth, hands moving to pull my hair.

Sitting back, I took him inside me just as my climax hit, dragging him along for the literal ride until he came too.

“How’s your head now?” I asked, a little out of breath when we were finished.

He grinned. “What headache?”

With a laugh, I slid off him and went to clean up. He was still lying in bed when I returned from the shower. “How about you get in there to wash that beer stench off while I grab us some coffee and breakfast?”

With a slight groan, he forced himself to sit up. “We should probably go home first.”

Pulling on my clothes from the day before, I sat next to him on the bed. “Actually, I think I should probably tell you something first.”

Drawing his brow in tight, he sat up against his pillows. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

“Because you probably won’t. I spoke to Toby last night. After you passed out. He apologised for what he did.”

“Good,” Nate grunted. “Still should’ve kept the fuck away from you.”

“He didn’t seek me out. We were just in the kitchen at the same time.” I watched the side of his jaw tighten and tic.

“Did he touch you at all?”

“No. He kept his distance the whole time. Like I said, he apologised. But… there’s a few things I think we need to talk about.”

“Like what?”

“Your investments, for one. Every time they get mentioned, your brothers get cagey and you deflect. I want to know what they are.”

He nodded, his jaw tightening so much that I was worried he was going to crack a tooth. “You told me you didn’t want to know anything about my work.”

“I know that. But I’m asking now.”

“What else?” He was deflecting again.

“The fact that you lied to me about prison. You did time as a juvenile. Sam did time too.”

“I said Cartwrights don’t do time, not that they never have.”

“You also didn’t tell me that your father is currently doing time.”

“That’s because I don’t think of the man. He was never good to us.” His eyes narrowed from what I thought was a bad memory, causing my heart to skip a beat. I slid my hand over his in comfort.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. What else?”

I frowned, knowing this one was the real kicker for me. “Is it true that even if we wanted to, we’d never be able to get out?”

He looked at me for a long while, then reached up and ran his thumb lightly along my jaw. “Why don’t you go get that breakfast? I’ll get cleaned up and we can talk properly when we get back home.” Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to my forehead.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He smiled, then patted his hand against my thigh. I got up and headed for the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to watch that rock-hard arse of his as he sauntered into the bathroom.

“Food, duchess.”

I laughed. “I’m going, I’m going.”

Jasmine and Alesha were busy making waffles together when I made it to the kitchen, and I paused in the entryway to watch their interactions before they knew I was there. They had the radio on and were dancing about while one cut up fruit and the other whisked batter in a bowl. Sam sat across the bench and kept pinching fruit before it made it in the bowl.

Alesha swatted at his hand playfully, but he took the fruit anyway. “If you take all the blueberries, there won’t be any for anyone else.” He laughed and took another one.

It was the perfect happy family scene, and it struck me that Nate and I were the outliers. We were perfectly content in our own world, but whenever we merged with this one, problems arose. Was I the problem? Was Nate? Or was it us as a couple? I decided that it was probably because of me. I’d made it abundantly clear from the get-go that I was against their lifestyle choices, whereas Alesha had been much more accepting. She was fitting in, and I wasn’t. And because I was refusing to fit in, to let go of the notion that they should all quit their thieving ways and run their businesses like fine upstanding citizens, I was causing a rift between Nate and everyone else.

I am causing the tension.

Maybe it was a bad idea to ask Nate about his investments. Maybe it was wrong for me to keep pushing for him to get out of the family business. Maybe, just maybe, I should be trying to fix the tension my presence was causing. Maybe I needed to relax my moral compass. After all, I’d fallen in love with Nate with my whole heart. I could either accept him for the man he was—family and all—or I could keep pushing for a change he didn’t want and most likely ruin what we had for good. And I didn’t want to ruin us.

Seeing this happy scene playing out in front of me was the clarity I needed. I was going to have to swallow my pride and try.

“Morning,” I said as cheery as I could. “Something smells amazing.”

Jasmine looked up and smiled. “Hope you brought your appetite. How’s that husband of yours this morning?”

“A little hungover,” I said with a laugh. “He’s taking a shower.”

“Well take a seat. These will be ready in a few minutes.” She poured batter into two waffle irons that had been heating on the bench top, the sizzle and smell instantly filling the air. “Sam, go get your brothers,” she said as she picked up an egg flip and watched over her creations. “We’re going to have a family breakfast this morning.”

Once we were alone, I asked if there was anything I could do. Being told there wasn’t, I took a breath and decided to extend an olive branch of my own. “Jasmine, I want to say that I’m sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused,” I said in a rush. Apologising wasn’t easy, especially when both sides were at fault, but it was time for me to accept that my actions had caused their reactions. Jasmine was trying to protect her family, and she’d seen me as a threat. In turn, I’d demonised her, and I’d demonised Toby. Behind it all, they were just like most people, wanting to protect their way of life and their own happiness. It might not be a lifestyle I agreed with, but I could learn to see the truth in their hearts and focus on that in my interactions with them.

Turning to face me, Jasmine placed one hand on her hip and regarded me with an expression that was a mix between annoyance and understanding. It surprised me a little, but Jasmine was a hard woman, so I didn’t know why I expected anything different.

“I appreciate your apology,” she said after a breath, seeming to choose her words carefully. “I hope you can find a way to embrace us as your family instead of kicking out and creating waves.”

Her words caused a tight sensation in my belly. I’d already realised that they viewed me as a problem, but having her point it out still made me feel bad.

“I can do that. I don’t want to be the reason for tension. I just want Nate to be happy.”

Handing the egg flip to Alesha, Jasmine moved to stand in front of me, her hands on the edge of the bench. “Then you need to make a decision. Are you in or are you out?”

“What do you mean?” I glanced over at Alesha, who was pretending not to listen while listening very intently. Her expression gave me no indication as to what was going on. The question had me confused.

They keep saying there’s no way out….

“I’m giving you a one-time offer, Holland. If you’re unhappy here, you can pack your things and leave. But you’ll need to leave for good and never speak to anyone about our family. We won’t exist to you.”

I gulped. “I don’t understand.”

Jasmine actually laughed as if I was stupid. “I’m offering you your life back. But you’d have to never contact my son again.”

Frowning, I shook my head. It was tempting—the lure of freedom was something I’d been wanting in the months I’d been involved with the Cartwrights—but I was in love. The idea of leaving Nate… well, that not only hurt my stomach, it hurt my heart too. How can Jasmine be so callous toward her son? He loves me.

“I don’t want to leave Nate,” I responded. My mind was at war with my heart as the words left my lips, but there it was, the truth, I was the kind of girl who was willing to stay with a man even though he was a criminal.

Love makes us do insane things.

She smiled. “Then you stay, and you give us something to prove you’re in.”

“I’ve already given you two cars and most of my possessions.”

“We took those, sweetheart. And you got most of your stuff back.”

“True.”

“What I want from you is a job.”

“A job? I don’t even know how I’d find one.”

“You work at a fancy school. Surely you have some sort of information on someone or something that could prove fruitful. You could be our inside man.”

I thought for a moment, my eyes meeting Alesha’s. She nodded, urging me to give up something, but I honestly drew a blank. I felt too sick at the idea to even think straight.

“I….” I shook my head.

“What about that fundraiser they do every year?” Alesha suggested. What? Shut up, Alesha! I shot her a look that said as much.

Jasmine’s eyes lit up. “Fundraiser?”

I cleared my throat and blinked a few times before I could speak. “Er, yes. It’s like a, um… festival, I suppose. They put on a fair, lots of games and stalls. There’s a silent auction, and the drama students put on a play. This year it’s A Streetcar Named Desire.”

“And they collect a lot of cash from this event?”

With my mouth turned down, I nodded. “Last year they raised over a hundred thousand.”

I swear I saw her pupils change to dollar signs. “All cash?”

“Some cheques, but mostly cash, yes.”

Jasmine stood up and smiled. “Well that does sound like a nice payday. Do you know where the money gets taken at the end of the day?”

I nodded. “The principal’s office. It gets put in a safe, then taken to the bank on Monday.”

“Well aren’t you just full of wonderful surprises. We can float this with the boys over breakfast. Welcome to the family, Holland.” She leaned over and kissed me on the side of the head. The action filled me with dread and panic as I looked at Alesha, my eyes filled with horror. What has happened to you? I honestly didn’t know her anymore.

What the hell had I been thinking, extending an olive branch towards this woman? What the hell had I been wanting? I wasn’t OK with this. Remembering the horrid feeling I’d had after stealing that Mont Blanc pen was enough to sour my stomach and make me mentally kick myself for going against my own instincts. How was I going to feel knowing they’d stolen money given in charity, and that I had helped them do it?

I’m going to be sick.