“Tyler,” and the way he spat out his name was like poison.
“What is wrong with Tyler?” I couldn’t believe him. “He’s perfectly normal. He’s… he’s a gentleman and—“
“Your perfect fucking hero,” Gavin muttered, hands on his hips.
I balked. “Excuse me?”
“He’s the idiot you described the night of the party—“
“Oh, fuck off, Gavin,” I snapped. “So what if he is? Is there something wrong with that?”
“He’s not good enough for you,” he said. “He’s not… Chloe, you can’t tell me that your love for him is the kind of love you would fight for.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I asked. “He’s nice. He’s honest. He—“
“Are you listing qualities off a menu?” Gavin cut in.
“Is there something wrong with a nice guy?”
“He’s boring,” Gavin blurted. “Admit it. Does he even challenge you? Does he satisfy you?”
“That’s none of your fucking business,” I sneered, and the words burned my throat.
He scoffed. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then.”
I was livid. My jaw quaked with the rage and frustration swelling up inside. “Not everyone can be the god oflust,” I finally snapped, barely able to catch my breath. “God, you… you’re such a fucking asshole!”
Gavin didn’t move, didn’t look away, but his chest rose and fell like he was trying to calm himself down. “There’s a reason why this wedding doesn’t feel right,” he said, his voice calmer than it had been a moment before—almost too calm, and the world seemed to dim in its wake.
“A reason that you’re letting everyone else make the decisions,” he continued.
He had to be fucking kidding me. A choke of a sarcastic laugh left me, and I shook my head at myself for ever trusting that he was just being a good friend and listener.
“IknewI shouldn’t have admitted that to you,” I said. “Fuck my vulnerability. I should have known you’d somehow make this about you. I thought you were different, but you’re just another typical guy. I pour my heart out and tell you these things as a friend, and suddenly you think this is about you and me.”
“I didn’t say that,” he argued. “I’m simply saying—“
“One night,” I cried out. “One fucking night together, and you think your cock’s good enough for me to walk away from an engagement?”
“I think the fact that you don’t seem to give two fucks about your own wedding is enough for you to walk away,” and the way he said it made me pause. “Gods dammit, Chloe. You just told me that who you envision yourself standing beside at the altar isn’t even your own fucking fiancé.”
“It was adream.”
But he ignored me.
“And while we’re on the subject, yes, I do think that night was enough,” he added. “Maybe not enough to declare that you should marry me right now, but enough to ask that you give us a chance.”
Tears glistened in my eyes, emotion wrecking my chest and threatening to break down every part of me. I didn’t care that people were walking by or that we had onlookers across the street.
I was shaking with rage, hating every word coming out of his mouth. Hatinghim.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I seethed through clenched teeth.
He was before me in a second, his chest rising and falling against mine with every labored breath. “I asked you once if you loved him, and you couldn’t answer,” he hissed. “Answer me now. Do you love him?”
“We arenotdoing this.” My voice was shaking.
He took my hands in his, his grip so tight that I couldn’t pull away despite my trying. I needed to get away from him. I couldn’t do this. Not now. Maybe not ever. Damn him for every word coming from his stupid lips.
