Page 63 of Love Bomb

“It’s my folly,” Rona said. “I can do what I like with it.”

“No, you can’t,” Lorna said. “It’s a listed building, a local landmark, and important to your family legacy.”

“And,” George added, “it’s only your folly until the court decides otherwise.” He shared a knowing smile with the Doberman Pinscher he’d once married. “We’re confident their decision will fall in our favor.”

Fire flashed in Rona’s eyes. Good. She should be mad.

“That’s a bit presumptuous,” she said. “After all, you don’t have any grounds for contesting the will. Grandfather was of sound mind when he left everything to me.”

Her parents shared a glance that made the hairs on the back of Bain’s neck stand on end. They were going in for the kill. He inched closer to Rona.

“That may be so.” Lorna oozed superiority. “But we’re of the opinion that he didn’t leave his bequest to the most—not to be indelicate—stable option available.”

Rona gasped and Bain sat forward, ready to rip the vultures to shreds. She tugged on his hand to stop him and, jaw clenched, he backed off.

“Are you implying that I’m mentally incompetent?” Rona asked incredulously.

George lifted his hands. “What other conclusion are we supposed to reach? You came to Invertary to destroy the folly. What is that if not madness?”

Bain growled low in his throat, and smiled when George shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Lorna glanced warily at Bain before continuing. “Your father has a point,” she said. “It’s evident that you are ill-equipped to deal with such a serious bequest.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rona demanded.

Lorna waved a dismissive hand. “Consider your track record. You struggled to choose an area of study at university, changing your degree three times. You’ve had several short-term jobs, some of which you were fired from. And now you make money from posting cat videos on the internet. You have no business experience, no appreciation for our heritage, and you’re barely making ends meet. If you can’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of the folly?”

“I don’t just post cat videos,” Rona said. “I built a business as a social media influencer. People pay me to review their products. I turned a silly social media account about my cat into a thriving business. I’d say that gives me some credibility.”

“It might if it was a proper job,” her mother said with a roll of her eyes.

“Exactly,” George said. “Whereas your mother and I have the experience and stability needed for such an important role. Lorna has served as a board member for both the opera and the ballet, and I‘ve held down the same prestigious position in the family business for decades.”

“Mother attends galas,” Rona said, her voice tight, “and you don’t actually do any work. You golf. How does any of that make you more qualified to deal with the folly than I am?”

Lorna ignored the comment. “You should know that we’ve made a joint petition to challenge the will.” She shared a terse smile with her ex-husband. “We feel that together we can offer a much more stable, and mature, option for the court.”

“So, instead of fighting each other to get the folly, you’ve joined forces to fight me,” Rona said, with a shake of her head.

“It’s for your own good,” George told Rona. “Whoever cares for the folly must also take responsibility for the associated trust. You don’t have the business skill needed for the job, and selling social media influence hardly qualifies as relevant experience.”

“Also,” Lorna added. “Your foolish plan to demolish the folly proves our point. You can’t be trusted to make sensible decisions when it comes to an important part of Scotland’s heritage.”

Rona suddenly dropped Bain’s hand, pushed her chair back, and got to her feet.

About time.

He stood beside her, placed a hand in the small of her back, and willed her to walk away. It was obvious that they didn’t want to hear anything she had to say. They only wanted to browbeat her into submission.

“I think you’ve made your position clear,” Rona said evenly. “But until a court decides otherwise, the folly is mine and I’ll do what I want with it.”

“No, darling, you won’t,” Lorna said.

“After hearing about your plan,” George said. “We felt the need to hire a security team to guard the folly until this matter is settled in court.”

Lorna smiled smugly. “Benson Security will be stationed there from tonight. You won’t get anywhere near it, so you may as well forget about your foolish plan to blow it up.”

Rona jerked back as though she’d been struck, and Bain placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.