Free Reluctantly Royal by Nichole Chase

had let him kiss me.
    “I should go.” He didn’t move.
    “You should.” I looked up at him but didn’t step away. “This is a bad idea.”
    “Maybe.” Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Will you be okay tonight?”
    His eyes darted to the shut door of the sitting room.
    “Yes.” I sighed, the moment broken. Nothing like the thought of my asshole father to kill the mood. “He’s been taken up to his room. I doubt he’ll remember anything from today.”
    “I’m coming back tomorrow.” He stated it like I should just expect it.
    “No you aren’t. You have other things to do.” I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t need you in the way while I handle everything.”
    “You need help.” His jaw tensed.
    “No I don’t. Everything has been set up for the funeral.” I took a step away from him. “I don’t need you until then.”
    “I’m offering to help you.” His face took on a stubborn cast.
    “And I’m telling you I don’t need any.” He wasn’t the only person who could be stubborn.
    “You don’t need to take all of this on by yourself.”
    “I’ve been doing just fine without you.” My chin jerked upward.
    “Like today? When your father tried to beat your face in?” He took a step toward me. “Stop being stubborn and let me help you. You can’t live like this.”
    “What are you going to do? Throw Duke Thysmer in jail?” She laughed. “Trust me, he’s been there before, and all it did was make him hit harder.”
    His jaw clenched and his head jerked toward the stairs.
    “What are you thinking, Max?” I stepped forward and touched his tensed shoulder.
    “That maybe it’s time someone hits him back.” He turned to look at me, and I was surprised by the amount of anger in his green eyes.
    “It won’t do any good.” I pulled on his arm to get him away from the staircase. “Besides, I don’t want Marty to think that’s how to solve problems.”
    His vision cleared a bit, but he looked back at the stairs. “That man is a ticking time bomb. When are you going back to England?”
    “I don’t know.” I looked away from him. “I might stay here.”
    “What?” Max turned back to me. “You can’t stay here with him.”
    “I can’t let him destroy the family.” I willed him to understand. “This is our chance to be more than a poor family with no hopes. I can’t let him ruin that. Not for Marty.”
    “There have to be other options.”
    “What? Going back to waiting tables? Double shifts?” I put my hands on my hips. “I never saw Marty. He was growing up without me. I was working extra shifts just to pay the babysitters to watch him while I worked those shifts. It took me an extra year just to finish high school. There was no way I’d be able to go to university. This is our chance for more.”
    “He’s going to hurt you or Marty. You won’t be able to stop him.” He frowned. “If I hadn’t been here today he would have hurt you.”
    “It’s only when he’s drunk.” I shrugged.
    “Don’t shrug. We’re not talking about him smoking a cigar when he drinks.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “What’s to say he doesn’t wake up tomorrow and do the exact same thing?”
    “He won’t.” I stared up at him. “He’ll sleep it off tomorrow and then go back to normal.”
    “Did your grandfather leave you any money?” He let his hand slide to his side. “Did he put any aside for you?”
    “I have what’s in my bank account, but I don’t think he had a will. It all goes to my dad.” My breath hitched in my throat. “The title, the house, the money. Even the township falls on my dad. Don’t you get it? It’s not just about me and Marty. I can’t let him ruin all of that. I can’t let him make your family look bad for bringing us back.”
    His eyes darted down to my lips and I swear I could still feel his kiss. A breath shuddered out of me.
    “Don’t worry about my family. My mother knew what she was doing when she brought you back.”