Free His Cinderella Heiress by Marion Lennox

about this? She felt completely thrown.
    â€˜Excellent,’ Finn said and she thought he felt the same as she did.
    How did she know? She didn’t, she conceded. She was guessing. She was thinking she knew this man, but on what evidence?
    â€˜Jo, let me know when you’ve finished up here,’ the lawyer was saying. ‘We can advance you money against the estate so you can stay somewhere decent in Dublin. I can lend you one of my bikes. I could take you for a ride up to Wicklow, show you the sights. Take you somewhere decent for dinner.’
    â€˜Thanks,’ she said, though she wasn’t all that sure she wanted to go anywhere with this man, with his slick looks and his slick words.
    â€˜And you’ll be imagining all the cows you can buy,’ he said jovially to Finn and she saw Finn’s lips twitch again.
    â€˜Eh, that’d be grand. Cows...I could do with a few of those. I might need to buy myself a new bucket and milking stool to match.’
    He was laughing but the lawyer didn’t get it. He was moving on. ‘Welcome to your new life of wealth,’ he told them. ‘Now, are you both sure about Mrs O’Reilly?’
    â€˜Yes.’ They spoke together, and Finn’s smile deepened. ‘It’s a good idea of Jo’s.’
    â€˜Well, I may just pop into the kitchen and tell her,’ the lawyer told them. ‘I know she’s been upset and, to be honest, my father was upset on her behalf.’
    â€˜But you didn’t think to tell us earlier?’ Finn demanded.
    â€˜It’s not my business.’ He shrugged. ‘What you do with your money is very much your own business. You can buy as many milking stools as you want. After the castle’s sold I expect I won’t see you again. Unless...’ He smiled suggestively at Jo. ‘Unless you decide to spend some time in Dublin.’
    â€˜I won’t,’ Jo said shortly and he nodded.
    â€˜That’s fine. Then we’ll sell this castle and be done with it.’

CHAPTER FOUR
    W HAT HAD JUST happened seemed too big to get their heads around. They farewelled the lawyer. They looked at each other.
    â€˜How many people do you employ on your farm?’ Jo asked and he smiled. He’d enjoyed the lawyer’s attempt at condescension and he liked that Jo had too.
    â€˜Ten, at last count.’
    â€˜That’s a lot of buckets.’
    â€˜It is and all.’
    â€˜Family?’ she asked.
    â€˜My parents are dead and my brothers have long since left.’ He could tell her about Maeve, he thought, but then—why should he? Maeve was no longer part of his life.
    â€˜So there’s just you and a huge farm.’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜But you’re not wealthy enough to buy me out?’
    He grinned at that. ‘Well, no,’ he said apologetically. ‘Didn’t you hear our lawyer? He already has it figured.’
    He tried smiling again, liking the closeness it gave them, but Jo had closed her eyes. She looked totally blown away.
    â€˜I need a walk.’
    And he knew she meant by herself. He knew it because he needed the same. He needed space to get his head around the enormity of what had just happened. So he nodded and headed outside, across the castle grounds, past the dilapidated ha-ha dividing what had once been gardens from the fields beyond, and then to the rough ground where sheep grazed contentedly in the spring sunshine.
    The lawyer’s visit had thrown him more than he cared to admit, and it had thrown him for two reasons.
    One was the sheer measure of the wealth he stood to inherit.
    The second was Jo. Her reaction to Mrs O’Reilly’s dilemma had blown him away. Her generosity...
    Also the smarmy lawyer’s attempt to flirt with her. Finn might have reacted outwardly to the lawyer with humour but inwardly...
    Yeah, inwardly he’d have liked to take that smirk off the guy’s face and he wouldn’t have