Page 55 of See You Maybe
He rested a cheek on the top of her hair, breathing her in, waiting for the peace that always came when she was in his arms. “It was never an option,” he admitted. “My brothers, they haven’t had the same expectations put on them.”
Rose lazily dragged a fingernail through the hair on his chest.
“Then there are my parents. Believe me when I tell you that both of my parents are extraordinarily strong willed, and they were of one mind when it came to my future.”
Declan rolled to his back, his arm securing her against his side. Rose slung a thigh over his and rested her cheek on his chest.
“They never asked what you wanted to do?”
“Hardly,” he scoffed. “Given the choice, I would have stayed with my mother and cousins, but no one asked me. I was shipped off. My father wanted me, and my mother agreed. So, off I went.”
Rose made a tiny noise of distress, and he chuckled. “It wasn’t so bad. I have a nice life. I have my siblings. When they aren’t irritating the hell out of me, they are my favorite people in the world.”
“But no one asked what you wanted?”
Declan twisted a lock of her hair around his finger, her questions making him feel things he didn't want to. “I’m the oldest.”
“That’s not a reason. Primogeniture went out with smallpox.” Rose tried to lift her head to look at him, but he tugged on her hair to keep her in place.
Declan wasn’t sure he could be so open if she looked at him. “Not even close to accurate, but I appreciate the support,” he said wryly.
“Just because you’re the oldest, you don’t have to do what your father wants.” Angry air huffed across his skin, and he stifled a smile at her defense.
“My parents are difficult, but they aren’t ogres.”
But for all the privilege, his father’s way of life was a cage.
For all of them.
“He wouldn’t understand if you told him you wanted to do something else?”
Absolutely not. His father had made it clear, a long time ago, what Declan’s priorities should be, and David Bloom never cared if he drew blood with his words. His no-holds-barred approach to getting what he wanted, even with his children, was effective.
Declan respected it. Hadn’t he learned to be the same?
The last time any other path for Declan had been discussed, he was twelve years old, and he informed his father that he wanted to be a professional rugby player. Declan was big for his age and fast. The coaches for his Irish school team said he had real potential.
David Bloom’s eyes pierced Declan over the formal dining room table where they always ate. Declan had arrived the day before to spend the summer with his father. “You are a Bloom, and my eldest son. It is your legacy to take over this company.”
In a rare show of defiance, Declan folded his arms across his chest, determined for once to tell his father how he felt. “I don’t want to.”
David Bloom glowered at him in silence for several minutes, but Declan didn’t budge. Slowly, his father’s expression shifted, and a proud smile lifted his lips. “You're a lot like me, boy.”
Despite his anger, pride swelled within him. His father never gave praise. “I hope so.”
Declan saw how people responded to his father, his strength… his power. People respected his father. Feared him.
David Bloom set down his wineglass and regarded Declan seriously. His voice was unusually solemn. “It’s imperative that you remember that family is everything. Blood is everything. Individual desire is selfish. A weakness.”
Declan eyed him warily. This was new. Typically, his father didn't approve of what he saw as Declan’s misguided loyalty to his blood in Ireland.
“You have three younger siblings, and they need you. They will need this company. I won’t be here forever, Declan, and as my son, you will be the head of the family.”
“Luke or James…”
“I have no doubt they'll be successful in their own right, but you are my heir.”
Declan felt like the walls were closing around him, even while he was simultaneously thrilled that his father was speaking to him like he was a grown man.