Arthur kept singing Neve’s praises to anyone who would listen.
He was genuinely delighted with the Sinclair girl, and he didn’t care who knew it.
Upstairs, Neve had just finished drying her hair.
She was reaching for the door when she saw her grandmother coming up the stairs.
“Nana.”
“Oh, good, you’re ready.” Margaret stopped on the landing, a little out of breath, though it was more from nerves than from the climb.
“They’re all here.
Go down and meet them, and see which one you’d like.”
Then she took Neve’s hand and held on, as if she weren’t quite ready to let go.
“Neve, listen to me.
Don’t worry about anything else.
Choose whichever one you like.
A woman only gets one life.
Don’t spend it being unhappy.”
She meant every word.
If it weren’t for the Ashfords, she would never have married her granddaughter out of the family at all.
She would much rather have found some steady young man within the Sinclair household and kept Neve safely at home, where she belonged.
But the Ashfords were real, and Richard Ashford was patient.
And the Sinclairs, as they were now, couldn’t stand against them alone.
“I know, Nana.” Neve squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll be careful.”
She tucked her grandmother’s arm through hers, and the two of them went down together.
She was no longer the sheltered, trusting girl she had been in her last life.
That girl had believed Sylvie Ashford was her best friend.
That girl had died on a rooftop with a knife in her chest.
This time, Neve would choose with her eyes open.
They crossed the garden and stepped into the sitting room.
Every head in the room turned.
“Hello, Grandpa Leighton,” Neve said, going to Arthur first.
The old man lit up like a lamp.
“There she is!
Little girl, don’t be nervous.” He patted the arm of her chair as she sat beside him.
“I’ve called every grandson I have who isn’t married.
You just pick whichever one catches your eye, and Grandpa will take care of everything else.
Understand?”
The more he looked at her, the more he liked her.
And hearing her call him Grandpa made him happier than he’d felt in years.
He twisted around in his chair and glared across the room.
“What are you useless boys doing over there?
Get over here and stand up straight!
Let the girl have a proper look at you!”
At once, the Leighton grandsons abandoned their plates and drinks and chess games.
They came across the room and lined up in a row in front of the window like soldiers on inspection.
Even the one in the corner took off his sunglasses and joined them.
Neve pressed her lips together hard to keep from laughing.
It was a truly rare sight.
Every one of the Leighton grandsons was exceptional.
Out in the world, you’d be lucky to get any of them to glance in your direction.
One look from some of them was enough to make people nervous.
And here they were, standing in a neat little row because their grandfather had barked at them.
Among them were young business tycoons, famous faces from the entertainment industry, young scientists, and decorated military officers.
Even the youngest ones, barely out of university, were handsome enough to have been the heartthrobs of their campuses.
Neve let her gaze move slowly down the line.
She recognized most of them from galas and dinners and holiday parties over the years.
A few faces were new to her, probably the ones who had been living abroad.
But every single one of them carried himself well.
They were tall, polished, and poised, and they were very good-looking.
There was no denying it.
The Leighton family had excellent genes.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then one of the younger grandsons, somewhere in the middle of the line, cleared his throat and stepped forward with an easy, practiced grin.
“Miss Sinclair, hello!
Let me introduce myself properly.
I’m Jonah Leighton, number thirteen in the family.
You can just call me Thirteen.” He winked.
“Everybody does.”
They had met a handful of times before, though never for long.
He had clearly decided that somebody needed to break the ice, and that it might as well be him.
“Hmph.
Thirteen isn’t bad,” Arthur said, nodding.
“He’s built up quite a bit of money on his own.
Other than being an actor, there’s nothing wrong with him.”
He said actor the way some men say head lice.
Jonah’s grin didn’t slip, but it did get a little fixed around the edges.
Arthur looked at the rest of the line.
They were all standing there in silence like statues, and his eyebrows drew together.
“Well?
What’s wrong with the rest of you?
Did you all turn into shy young ladies on the drive over?
Introduce yourselves!”
His voice rose.
“Personality, age, occupation, how many women you’ve slept with.
Tell her everything!”
“Uh…”
Fourth, one of the eldest grandsons, rubbed the side of his nose and looked at the ceiling.
Was their grandfather seriously making them say that out loud?
In front of the girl?
In front of her grandmother?
The old man really was ruthless.
Still, Fourth knew how this went.
Whether he stuck his neck out or pulled it back, the blow was coming either way.
He might as well get it over with.
He stepped forward and straightened his tie.
“I’m Fourth.
I’m thirty-five and unmarried, and I own two…
well, three publicly listed companies.” He paused.
“As for women…”
He gave an awkward little laugh.
“Honestly, I don’t remember.
I, ah, tend to change them fairly often.”
He laughed awkwardly again and stepped back into line.
The brothers on either side of him very carefully did not look at him.
Margaret’s eyebrows had climbed almost to her hairline.
The next man stepped forward.
He stood very straight, and his hair was cut short, the way a soldier’s is.
“I’m Fifth.
I’m thirty-four, and I hold the rank of lieutenant colonel.
I’ve had two girlfriends.
I’m still with the second one.”
He said it simply and without apology.
He and his girlfriend were very happy together.
They just hadn’t married yet, and that technicality was the only reason his grandfather had dragged him here.
Another grandson was already stepping forward to take his turn when Neve raised a hand.
“Wait.”
The whole line went still.
“If any of you already has a girlfriend, you can step aside,” she said.
Her voice was calm and clear.
“I’m not going to come between two people who care about each other.”
Fifth looked at her in surprise.
Then something in his face eased, and he gave her a small, grateful nod.
Arthur opened his mouth, but Neve spoke first, gently.
“Grandpa Leighton, it’s better this way.
Truly.”
It gave them a choice.
And it gave her one too.
If any of them had someone already, or simply didn’t want this, he could step out now, quietly and without embarrassment.
Everyone would be spared a great deal of awkwardness later.
And there was another reason, one she couldn’t say out loud.
The apocalypse was coming.
In less than three months, the gray-black rain would fall, and the world would come apart.
If she married a man who had no real feelings for her, and she for him, they wouldn’t stand by each other when things got hard.
They would each be looking out for themselves.
That was more dangerous than being alone.
In her last life, Neve had learned exactly what it cost to trust the wrong person beside her.
She had died for it.
In the apocalypse, you couldn’t afford to spend every night wondering whether the person at your back would put a knife in it.
She wouldn’t make that mistake twice.