I rip myself free, spilling some ice onto the concrete. “Of course I love Tally! She’s my whole world!”
“Then you know you have to let her go.”
“No amount of money is worth losing her!”
Dalton tuts, dropping the stump of his cigar. “I had hoped you’d come to your senses, but you’re leaving me no choice.”
He slides a hand into his suit. I tense, expecting him to draw a gun, but what he says next is worse than putting a barrel to my skull.
Smirking, he takes out a fresh cigar and lights it. “If you refuse to break up with Tally, I’ll have her name blacklisted across the whole industry. She’llneverbe astar. Then you can take her home and watch her spark wither away in a hillbilly trailer park in Kentucky.”
The bastard did his research on us. How long did he plan this?
Bitter helplessness coats my tongue and frost grows over my heart.
I can’t let Tally go back to Redbird Creek and her mean mama. Losing her dream would break her. No, it would kill her.
I have no choice.
Breaking up will hurt her now, but she’ll be better off without me. She’ll easily find a better man, somebody to lift her up and not drag her down.
What I feel doesn’t matter. I want her to have a good life.
“You win. I’ll do it,” I mumble, the words tasting of bile. Of defeat.
He lets out a satisfied hiss. “But don’t think you can play games with me, boy. If you ever tell her about our deal, I’ll take it all away from her again. I can make her riseandI can make her fall. Remember: her fate is in your hands.”
I kick the bundle of money and spit on it. “Take your dirty cash and leave. I want one last night with her.”
He puffs out smoke. “One night.”
“And Dalton…” I step toward him, raising my chin defiantly. “You better take good care of her. If I catch wind of you harming a single hair on her head, I’m gonna hunt you down. I’ll fucking kill you.”
He doesn’t bother to pick up the money before he turns his back, waving the cigar over his shoulder as he walks away. “Idle threats. What’s a country boy from Kentucky gonna do?”
My hands ball into fists. I hate that he’s right.
In a daze, I trudge to our room. I find Tally splayed out on the bed. Her full breasts almost fall out of her white lace bra and the soft curve of her generous belly spills over her matching panties. She’s beautiful enough to paint.
When she catches my pinched expression, she sits up. “Did something happen?”
“Sorry, Trouble. Damn ice machine wasn’t working right.” I force a smile and put the bucket of ice on the nightstand. Sitting next to her on the bed, I crush her to my chest “I’m so happy to be your husband.”
“Not as happy as I am to be your wife.”
I kiss her with tears in my eyes. “Do you understand how much I love you?”
She laughs. “Just as much as I love you. Forever and ever.”
I grab her shoulders, fingers digging in. “Then promise me you’ll never forget it.”
“Are you goin’ all sentimental on me?”
“I’m fucking serious, Tally.” I shake her softly and her eyes widen. “Promise. Please, promise me you won’t forget how much I love you.”
“Okay, yeah! I promise.”
I kiss her again as my heart shatters.
