Wrong Brother, Right Kiss
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Joss Wood
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15,7K
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12
Prologue
Tinsley Ryder-White adored her grandfather’s study, the vast collection of books sitting on the floor-to-ceiling shelves. She was seven years old and she loved nothing better than to crawl under his enormous desk, tuck herself into the corner and hide out from the world.
It was the summer holidays, and nobody would look for her here and she’d be left alone for a few hours...yay!
Tinsley tucked a cushion behind her back and flipped open the cover of her book, sighing with pleasure. Reading was her favorite thing in the whole wide world.
She hadn’t gotten past page three when she heard the heavy door to the study open and her heart leaped into her chest. Her grandfather was back and when he found her, she’d be in a heap of trouble.
Tinsley froze and prayed that Callum—he wouldn’t allow them to call him anything but his first name—didn’t sit down and stretch out his legs. If he did that, she’d be discovered.
It was a grown-up game of hide-and-seek. She just had to stay still and keep very, very quiet.
“Good morning, Callum,” Daddy said, and Tinsley had to slap her hand across her mouth to smother her squeak. She’d thought Daddy and Callum had left for work already... Man, why hadn’t she checked?
“Don’t bother sitting down—this won’t take long,” Callum said, sounding cross. Then again, Callum always sounded cross.
Tinsley held her breath and buried her face in her hands.
If they found her, she was toast.
“I met with my lawyer yesterday and updated my will.”
“Let me guess. I’m not in it,” Daddy said, sounding tired.
“Au contraire. Since I have no other male heir, I have little choice but to leave everything to you,” Callum responded, sounding angrier than she’d ever heard him. “But I placed a provision in the document that if I find another male heir, anyone with a close connection to me—but not to Benjamin—he shall inherit my thirty percent share of Ryder International, all my properties and my financial assets.”
“I knew you disliked me, Callum, but I never realized you hated me this much.” Daddy sounded like someone was choking him.
“I told you not to take Benjamin’s side, that there would be consequences if you defied me. The only silver lining to Benjamin being homosexual is that he wouldn’t have sired any children.”
“Jesus, Callum, you can’t say stuff like that. Your brother didn’t want to marry a woman—he wanted to be with Carlo. I just supported his wish to live his life the way he wanted.”
“And your support gave him the courage to tell the world he was gay and to move in with that man! He probably left his share of Ryder International to him, someone with no connection to us!”
“Firstly, as I’ve told you before, there’s no proof he left his shares to Carlo and if he did, why would Carlo hide his identity behind a blind trust? And I was in my early twenties when all this happened and even if I had discussed his will with him, which I didn’t, I would’ve had no influence over him! Like you, Ben made his own decisions. You are punishing me for something Ben did and that’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, boyo. Haven’t you realized that yet?” Callum demanded.
“What about Kinga and Tinsley?” Daddy asked and Tinsley’s eyes widened at the sound of her name.
“What about them?”
“They, like me, carry the Ryder-White name, the only heirs who do. You could leave everything to them—they carry your genes.”
“They are silly girls. Ryder-White males carry the name, the genes, the blood.” Callum’s voice was low and nasty. “Your daughters are beneath my notice. I have no interest in them. But, do not doubt me on this, if they put a foot out of line and tarnish the Ryder-White name, if they are anything less than perfect, you will bear the consequences, James.
“You and your family live here, at Ryder’s Rest, because I allow it. You are paid an overinflated salary because I choose to give you that money. You certainly are not worth it. Your lifestyle depends on my generosity. I gave you everything and I can take it all away. Make sure your family understands that you live in my house, under my rules.”
Callum was horrible, Tinsley thought. A part of her wanted to scramble out from under the desk and kick his shins and scream at him for being nasty to her dad but another part of her was scared, terrified, actually.
Because, as he said, if she stepped out of line, bad things would happen.
