The TV flickers on, a new performance starting, audience screaming for someone who doesn’t matter to me at all. My sole focus is the envelope on my knee and the way my heart is pounding, slow, brutal and relentless.
My fingers curl around the edge of the invitation, thepaper stiff beneath my fingertips. I could tear it in half. I could throw it in the trash. I could pretend I never saw it.
Or I could open it. See the date. See the confirmation of everything I already know and everything I’m not sure I can live with.
I don’t move. I just sit there, the smell of bourbon thick in the room, Noah’s last notes still echoing in the back of my mind, Bradley’s hand on her wrist burned into my vision.
I don’t have answers tonight. Don’t have some sudden clarity, or plan, or promise.
All I have is the heavy weight of that envelope, the echo of my grandmother’s story, and the quiet, growing awareness that, whether I like it or not, a line’s been drawn somewhere in front of me.
One day soon, I’m gonna have to decide which side of it I’m standin’ on.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I just stare at her name on the front of that envelope and feel my world tilt mercilessly, around the possibility that maybe—just maybe—this isn’t over yet.
NOAH
17
My heart pumps erratically,almost as if in tune with the ragged state of my emotions. I’m in the bathroom at the restaurant where we’re meeting Sage and Kade for brunch. Makeup brush in hand, I touch up my cheekbone, hoping the extra color corrector disguises my bruises. The repercussions of the stunt I pulled at the awards show still linger almost a week later. Bradley’s voice echoes in my mind,You shouldn’t be so defiant, Noah. Know your fucking place.All week, I’ve run through my options, looking over the contract, praying I’d find a way out of this mess, but there is none. I’ve called Harold, he won’t budge, and that only leaves me with one choice—finish out the terms of the agreement. Then, as soon as I can, pack my shit and go home.
Bradley will be lucky if I can hide the bruises well enoughfrom Sage and Kade, not to mention the hundreds of guests he’s invited to witness this sham of a wedding.
The sooner the next act of this fucking charade over with, the better. Once I’m satisfied everything has been covered, I top up my setting powder to hold the illusion in place.
Making my way back to our reserved table, I avoid eye contact with Bradley. Anxiously shuffling in my seat, I focus my attention out the window of the high-end restaurant—both nervous and terrified how this first meeting between my friends and fiancé will play out. Sage knows me too well… and Kade? Well, he’s too good at sniffing out trouble.
As each pre-wedding event is completed, I edge closer to sealing my own fate. Everything I’ve worked for is on the line—my entire future is at stake. My stomach twists into a knot. I wish I had never met Bradley, never been tempted by the career that he and his father offered me.
There’s not an actor in this town that could pull off the level of deception I already have. The performance I’ve put on thus far has been nothing short of Oscar-worthy. At every family event, from the first meeting of our parents, an afternoon at the club with his cousins, and drinks with his three closest college buddies, I’ve presented myself as the blushing and excited bride. Somehow, I got through all that without anyone noticing that my heart is so far removed from Bradley, itmay as well be back in Idaho. Fuck. Maybe that’s because it is.
My eyelashes flutter shut as a slow inhale grounds me, but instead, I choke on it. Today’s brunch with my closest friends is the final hurdle to conquer before the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night. Exhaling unsteadily, I tug at the long sleeves of my silk blouse and sneak a glance at Bradley. His heavy hand is the reason for my careful selection of outfits this week. This attire isn’t really California summer appropriate, and I hope no one notices.
Unfortunately, my internal angst somehow attracts Bradley’s attention, and his eyes shrewdly assess every anxious twitch of my body. A shiver quakes down my spine, and his lip curls. “Is my whore of a bride ready for this?” Reaching over, his movements are hidden by the tablecloth, and he grips my thigh just above the knee in a crushing, viselike hold. “Remember, you are ecstatic about our wedding. We are a couple in love, eager to walk down the aisle this weekend. These are the best days of our lives. You will not embarrass me, or you will be in breach of the agreement we made.”
Nodding once, my eyes cast toward the front of the restaurant. Honestly, once Bradley and I passed my mother’s sniff test last night, I was feeling pretty good about our ability to make everyone believe we’re a happy couple. But now, as Sage and Kade walk toward the table,my stomach flips upside down like it’s on an amusement park ride that is anything but fun. Putting one over on Mama Lane had been an impressive feat, but fooling Sage might be damn near impossible. I’ve got to try, though.
Bradley claws my leg, his fingers digging into my skin, and I turn my head toward him with a saccharine smile on my lips. Under my breath, I speak quickly. “If you don’t take your hand off me, I can’t greet them like I normally would, and that’ll make them watch more carefully.”
After one more vicious squeeze, he relents, releasing me. Smiling and cupping my cheek, the bastard steers my face to his and plants a lingering kiss on my lips. Sick roils in my stomach, threatening, even though it’s completely empty. I’ve hardly been able to eat since the awards show, knowing that I’m getting closer and closer to losing Rhett forever.
How am I going to survive this man? A bright smile paints my lips, and I scoot out of the booth, hurrying with outstretched arms into the embrace of my best friend. “It’s so good to see you,” I breathe out, holding her to me for a couple extra beats before letting go. I pivot to look up at Kade with a fake-as-fuck sassy grin plastered across my lips. “Hey, hot stuff. Have you been treating my girl right?” A teasing wink accompanies my question. Irony at its finest, considering my own situation.Bradley’s unamused, calculating gaze bores into me, and I know I’ve made a mistake.
“You know it,” he grits out. “And she puts up with me without too much complaint.” Placing a chaste kiss on Sage’s forehead, he touches a few fingers to the brim of his hat as he inclines his head toward me. “Good to see you again, Noah.”
“Same.” Regret rushes through me that I have to introduce my friends to the abusive prick at my side as the love of my life, but do my best to hide it. “This is my fiancé, Bradley.” Just like that, his expression morphs from disgruntled to one of the polished businessman and highly sought-after music manager that he presents to the world.
Flashing them a blindingly bright smile, he tugs his expensive suit coat into place, and eyes the six-foot-six rancher with an appraising lift of his brow. Kade holds out a hand, and Bradley shakes it. At a glance, I can tell the clasp is more than firm and lasts a few seconds longer than necessary.
“That’s quite the grip you’ve got there, Brad.” I know Kade well enough that beneath his country-boy manners lies a condescending dig. “Nice to meet you.”
Bradley’s lip curls faintly before nodding in agreement. “I trust the flight out wasn’t too bad?”
“First class is definitely better for a man of my size. Thank you.” He looks down, practically at the top ofBradley’s head, and I can totally tell my fiancé is not amused by the way Kade looms over his inferior stature.
My stomach flips over when Bradley turns to Sage, and it’s almost as if he shifts gears, a twinkle lighting his eye. He looks her up and down. “Well, you’re about as pretty as they come, aren’t you?” Brave fucking man to do that in front of Kade, but this is how my fiancé deals with all women, charm practically oozing from him with every carefully chosen word that falls from his deceitful lips. There was a time when a younger me was taken in by his compliments and smooth nature. It’s partly how I landed in these dire circumstances.
