I loved it.
It chilled me to my bone.
It heated my blood and made my stomach flutter, like my heart was a bird and it had eloped with all common sense, leaving behind loose feathers that swirled every time I thought of him.
That kiss.
I wanted to reject it.
I wanted to keep it for as long as I lived.
Because that kiss? It had blinded me. I’d never kissed a man and had the entire world fade away, and inside of the darkness, it was only him and I. No one else seemed to exist. And no matter what that lying bastard had to say about it or not, he was moved by it, too.
I felt it. Howhehad felt. In that moment, we were connected, and whatever seemed to move through him, moved through me, like a strike of lightning.
What a bunch of bullshit!
He was doing exactly what he set out to do—steal my heart! And I waslettinghim.Letting him. I was probably the easiest heist he’d ever had.
I was the date who didn’t make the man work for the kiss, basically.
That wasn’t me. At all. I controlled who I gave my heart to.Noone else, least of all him.
“Damn straight!” I shouted.
The stage grew exceptionally quiet. All eyes were on me.
“I was moved by that last line.” I started clapping, and because no one else wanted to seem rude, so did everyone else. My onstage sister had been defending my character, stating that no man would own me—not without shedding blood first.
That impulsive shout went to prove how much strain I was under, though. I was about to snap. I needed to get a grip on my control. I refused to allow Kelly tohaveit all—no fucking way. I was marryinghim. At his order. The least, the veryleast,he could do was work with me on a few points that meant something to me.
I made mental notes of all the things I wanted to discuss with him on the way to my dressing room. I was done for the day, anyway. I wasn’t doing my character any favors, and shouting out thoughts that refused to quiet wasn’t doing my castmates any favors either.
This entire situation was why I’d made a rule for myself years ago.Never marry someone you instantly fall for.Those relationships, the chaotic ones, were supposed to burn at a maddening speed, leaving me heart-wrecked but wiser. It was the kind of situation that was supposed to teach me all of thewhat-not-to-dosin love.
Scott Stone was not that kind of man. He was the kind of man you married.
I had surface feelings for him, no doubt about it, but over the years, I would’ve learned how to love him deeper. He would’ve learned how to love me. And I would havegivenhim my heart. He was my turtle, winning the race of life at a reasonable pace with me. Not a quick-witted and cunning cat that came in, tried to steal my heart, and then set us on a miserable pace until we both burned out. All because of vengeance.
Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have mentally complained about Scott when we were together. I had jinxed myself beyond belief.
I stared down at my messenger bag, stuffing a few things in.
Okay, so maybe Scott wouldn’t have been the guy I would’ve ended up with, but he had potential, didn’t he? If not Scott, someone like him.
Stop making excuses, Keely. Listen to your heart.
I refused to. It had betrayed me by already feeling something for the marauder. Especially after that kiss.
“Okay, Kee, we need a plan. Like yesterday. You’re not going to get out of this, or get even, if you don’t start setting some ground rules now. Even if you do it without him realizing it.” My Mam always said the trick with my Da was making himthinkhe was the head of the house. “Minds are nothing without thoughts,” she’d always say. “I’m the thoughts.”
“Thoughts that lead to clever ideas are so important,” I said to myself, stuffing some papers in my bag.
“No doubt.”
“Ooh!” I twirled around, flinging four or five papers at the man who’d entered my dressing room.
Raff deflected and started laughing. Then he bent over and picked them up, handing them back to me.
