Family_Ties_by_Lisa_Gray

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Danny watched nervously as his mother picked up a file folder and slid it across the desk to him. “Colin Dwyer’s illegitimate grandson. His name is Evan Dwyer.” She looked down her nose at Danny and added dryly, “And, I’m assured he is male.”

The name was unfamiliar, so he couldn’t produce an objection just yet. Trying to delay long enough to marshal his defenses against this offering, Danny cautiously picked up the file and opened it. He quickly hid a gasp. A photo of Evan Dwyer smiled up at him. Light blonde curly hair, a strong chin, and sky blue eyes crinkled with laughter. Beautiful. Arguing against Nessa’s choice just got a lot harder.

Tearing his gaze away from the photo, Danny skimmed through the background information. Evan was twenty-six, an architect, just starting out. But exceptionally talented according to the evaluations he’d received both in college and during his internship. The words “brilliant” and “innovative” were used multiple times. He’d been raised speaking three languages fluently and could get by in a half a dozen others. And by the time he was twenty, he’d traveled all over the world.

This was the man his mother thought would be right for him? This creative, adventurous, free spirit? No, this wasn’t the kind of man who would willingly tie himself to someone as staid and dull as Danny. With half relief and half regret, he realized Evan Dwyer would never agree to this mockery of a marriage. Shaking his head, he laid the open file on the desk and redirected his attention back to his mother.

“Evan’s father is Jamison Dwyer, Colin’s favorite son. Even though Jamison died some fifteen years ago, you might remember meeting him.”

Danny searched his memories from childhood. “I think maybe I remember him from the annual family reunions we used to have.” He vaguely recalled a gentle, quiet man, noticeable only for the deep sadness in his pale blue eyes. “I don’t think I ever met his son, though.” Danny gazed again at the photo and wished he had known Evan.

“Well, it’s unlikely that you would have. Evan is quite a bit younger.” Nessa looked thoughtful for a moment. “It’s odd that he will be the means to reunite the Dwyers and the Carmodys. Evan was responsible for the rift between the two families in the first place.”

Glancing at Evan’s birthdate, Danny realized Evan hadn’t even been born when the families split. “He couldn’t have had anything to do with it, Mother.”

“No, not personally, but his existence drove a final wedge between Evan’s father and your Aunt Vera.

Danny’s eyes automatically shifted upwards towards the east wing of the house where his aunt Vera had lived for the last twenty-five years. Other than being reclusive and just plain odd, Vera had never seemed like the heroine in a family drama.

At his questioning look, Nessa leaned forward and spoke softly as if confiding old gossip. “Aunt Vera was engaged to Jamison, Evan’s father. She had been raised with Jamison since the death of her parents. As close as they were, it was a foregone conclusion they would marry. But when Jamison went to Europe on vacation, he met and fell in love with Simone, Evan’s mother. He brought her back to the States with him.”

“Which, of course, put an end to the engagement.”

“Yes. Vera needed to move out of the Dwyer house, so your father offered her a home here with us.”

Danny had to hide his amusement at the sudden look of distaste on her face. He could remember his parents’ many arguments over the years about Vera occupying the east wing of the house. His mother had lost them all.

Nessa shook her head as she described the aftermath. “Colin never forgave Jamison for fathering an illegitimate child. Colin is hardline religious—at least when it suits his purposes—and refused to recognize a child born ‘in sin’, as he called it.”

Danny scoffed. “That sounds like an excuse. He was probably just angry that his plans to profit by a union of the families had been destroyed.” Danny didn’t bother hiding his contempt for Colin Dwyer, but his mother didn’t scold him this time.

“No doubt. But he took out his anger on Evan and Simone. He treated them abominably and forbade anyone in the family from having contact with them. But the fact remains the boy is Colin Dwyer’s grandson. The DNA testing Colin demanded at the time proved it incontrovertibly.”

“But if they hated Evan so much, why do they think he’ll consent to an arranged marriage?”

Nessa straightened in her chair, and suddenly she was once again wearing her usual implacable business mask. “That has all been worked out. Evan will be offered adequate incentive to agree to the marriage.”

Danny’s fingers clenched around the armrests of the chair. “So he’s being paid off.” His mother was cold-bloodedly purchasing a husband for him.

“Nothing so crass as that. Every arranged marriage is consented to for the benefit of both parties and the families. Evan has much to gain from this alliance. The Dwyers are offering him a family that he never should have been exiled from. And the Carmodys’ influence and contacts will insure his success as an architect. He really has nothing to lose.”

“Except his freedom to choose someone he loves for his husband,” Danny muttered. No matter what the stakes were, the idea of being married in a business transaction left him feeling dirty.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Danny,” she began.

He chuckled bitterly at her choice of words.

“Being wed to you would be an honor for anyone. Evan is very lucky to be chosen for this union.” Then his mother produced a small, loving smile—something Danny hadn’t seen for far too long.

Despite the leaden feeling in his stomach, Danny returned his mother’s smile. Trapped as he was, he was grateful at least she’d accepted his refusal to marry Meggie.

And then it hit him. Of course. She had planned it that way, allowing him to feel he had some control over the situation. How better to gain his cooperation? She was a master at that kind of manipulation. Danny was skilled at it as well. After all, he’d learned from her example.

But no matter what he or his mother might scheme to achieve, it all came down to Evan. And having been scorned by the Dwyers his entire life, perhaps Evan would be pleased to tell them where they could shove their offer.

Danny could only hope that he would.