My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. This was it. This was the moment everything fell apart. Nick would deny it, would distance himself from me to protect his reputation, and I’d be back to being the monster everyone thought I was.
But then Nick’s hand found mine under the table, his fingers lacing through my own in a grip that was almost painful.
“So what if we are?” he said, his voice steady despite the tremor I could feel running through him. “So what if this marriage is more than just a business arrangement? Don’t I deserve to find some happiness too?”
Mrs. Wesley made a small sound, and I couldn’t tell if it was distress or surprise. Mr. Wesley took a long drink of his beer, his expression unreadable.
Heather stared at her brother like she’d never seen him before. “You’re serious,” she breathed. “You’re actually... with him…”
“Yes, Heather,” Nick growled. “And maybe if you stopped being a bitch to my husband for two seconds, you’d realize that I’m trying to make the best of a terrible situation.”
“You… You’re defendinghim?” she gasped. “Over me?” She stood up quickly, her chair skidding across the floor with a screech. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
In a flash she was out of the house, the screen door slamming behind her. Nick started to get up, but Angelo stopped him.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he said, something protective and determined in his voice that made Nick nod.
After Angelo left, Nick looked up at his parents, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I just… I blew up.”
But his parents weren’t looking at him. They were staring atme.
“Look,” I said at last. “I know I’m not what you wanted for your son or what you imagined. I’m the monster that came in and held you all hostage.” I looked back at Nick, hoping I wasn’t making a huge mistake. “But I’m falling in love with him. And I promise to keep him safe.”
Nick was frozen beside me, his fingers limp against mine. Mr. Wesley was quiet, his gaze fixed on the table as his wife let out a small gasp. My only saving grace was that Angelo wasn’t there. Not a single word was spoken.
Dinner was going to be a silent affair.
Chapter 20
Nick
Dante and I walked back toward our tiny house, nothing but silence between us. Dinner with my parents had gone about as well as I expected. Heather and Angelo didn’t come back for nearly a half hour, but she didn’t rejoin us for dinner. Topics for the rest of the night centered around cattle and weather, all of us steering clear of the elephant in the room.
I didn’t know what to say to Dante. I wasn’t even sure if I knew the depth of my own feelings about the situation. Everything with Dante was so new still. And being with a man… well, I didn’t have any experience in that arena. Not to mention, I wasn’t sure I’d ever been in love with anyone before, so I wasn’t really sure what it wassupposedto feel like.
But how did I explain all of that without sounding like a dickhead? When someone said they were falling for you, you were supposed to say it back, right? That’s what always happened in the movies. That’s what the other personexpected.
I wanted to tell him. God, I wanted to say something that would make that wounded look disappear from his eyes. But the words stuck in my throat, heavy and impossible to express.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally, breaking the silence as we reached the porch. “About Heather. About all of it.”
Dante stopped walking, his hand on the door handle. “You don’t have to apologize for your family.”
“Yeah, I do.” I rubbed the back of my neck, frustration building in my chest. “She had no right to say those things. To out us like that in front of everyone.”
“She was protecting you.” His voice was flat, emotionless. “Can’t really blame her for that.”
“I don’t need protecting from you.”
He turned to look at me then, and the vulnerability in his dark eyes made my chest ache. “Don’t you?”
“No.” I stepped closer, closing the distance between us. “Dante, I?—”
“You don’t have to say anything,” he interrupted, opening the door and stepping inside. “I know this is all new for you. I shouldn’t have said what I said back there. It was too much, too soon.”
I followed him in, watching as he moved through the small space like he was trying to put distance between us even in the confines of our tiny house. He went to the kitchen, pulling out a glass and filling it with water he didn’t drink.
“It wasn’t too much,” I said quietly. “It was honest. And I... I appreciated that.”
