Her palm cracked across my face, and the pain was almost blinding.
Touching my cheek, I felt shock ripple through me as I met my mother’s sorrowful gaze. I could tell she was torn between begging my forgiveness and standing firm. This was the first time she’d ever hit me, leaving the dirty work to my father.
“Don’t feel bad,” I coolly implored as my hand fell to my lap. “It’s the first feeling I’ve had in years.”
She looked ready to apologize anyway before her lips flattened. “This is nonsense,” she scolded. “The reporter will be here any minute. Meet us on the patio and try not to be late.”
She fled my room, probably from shame, and it only took a few minutes for me to build the courage to follow. Even then, I could still feel the unease curling in my stomach. I had the feeling something was about to go horribly wrong.
Downstairs, my father introduced me to Grace Harrell, the reporter for the Blackwood Tribune. Somehow, my father had convinced them my engagement to Ever was important enough to grace their front page. In my opinion, it spoke volumes about our sleepy town and what passed for newsworthy around here. Sure, the McNamaras were loaded, but wealth was the leading demographic in our town. Two trust-fund babies getting hitched wasn’t news. It was strategic.
“So your father was telling me that your fiancé is a childhood friend of yours,” Grace said, speaking loud and clear for the recorder. “When did you know that he’d be the one to steal your heart?”
My lips parted, and the reporter, along with my parents, waited for me to pour my heart out. To captivate them with the story of how I’d fallen for the very first time. “It happened on a Ferris wheel,” I began, tasting the bittersweet remnants of a half-truth.
I hadn’t known then that Jamie had stolen my heart.
Not until he’d already broken it.
He’d been the one to teach me love and, tragically, the first to show me pain.
Half an hour later, I was done with the interview. I’d told them all about our two summers together, all the while feeling guilt creeping up my skin. Any moment now, Ever would arrive, and I wasn’t sure how I could face him in the wake of all the lies I’d just told. I thought the hard part would be over now, but for some reason, the bad feeling remained. Pulling out my phone, I sent Ever a text.
Where are you?
I didn’t get a response, but a couple of minutes later, I exhaled when Ever stepped onto the terrace. Although he looked like he was being led to the slaughter, I was relieved to see him. He hadn’t shown last time, and I found out it was because his father kicked him out for sleeping with Four. Of course, I hadn’t told my father that.
Father was the first to greet Ever, shaking his hand. “So glad you deigned to join us.”
Seeing the need to intervene, I stood from my chair and reached for the pitcher of lemonade. “Father, have some lemonade.” I poured him a glass before shoving it in his hand.
“Thank you.” His tone was still cold, but remembering our other guest, my father finally offered Ever a seat. It wasn’t wise to air our dirty laundry with a reporter present. “Ever, I want you to meet Grace Harrell. She’s a reporter at the Blackwood Tribune.”
My hands shook underneath the table as I watched Ever struggle to maintain his composure. That mask he always wore now had a crack in it, and it was only about to get bigger.
“Grace, this is Ever McNamara. My daughter’s betrothed.”
I wanted to laugh because my dad sounded like he’d time-traveled from a different century. I knew firsthand that the way he spoke was in line with his beliefs. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be trying to marry me off for personal gain.
“I think it’s so romantic how the two of you played together as kids, and now you’re getting married.”
“It’s just marvelous!” my mother chimed in. Ever and I said nothing. “And although it was my dream to see my daughter have a June wedding, with prom in a few days and her birthday and graduation soon after, I think a September wedding once all the leaves turn would be just as beautiful.”
As much as I hated to agree with my mother on anything, a summer wedding was a dream I’d once shared with her.
“It sounds like the perfect ending to a fairy tale,” Grace gushed. “I think our readers will want to hear every detail from start to finish.” She started flipping through her notes, and I noticed Ever’s frown as he stared at the already filled pages. “I think I have everything I need except for the photo.” I wanted to crawl under the table when she pulled out a camera. My parents hadn’t said anything about a photo. They’d expect to capture a loving couple, not two people who were in love with two others. “You two not only have an interesting story but you also make a beautiful couple.” The excitement in her voice only fueled my dread. “Do you have a background in mind?”
Always the gracious host, my mother immediately answered. “Oh, yes! Follow me!”
She escorted us inside the parlor, and I noticed that some paintings and expensive trinkets had been added to the décor, making the room look less barren than it had before. I rolled my eyes. If my parents had cared less what other people thought, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
The look in Ever’s eyes when he pulled me close for the first pose said that I’d betrayed him. I didn’t know about the photoshoot, and I was desperate to tell him so.
But would it really have changed anything if you had known? You’re selfish and a coward.
“Beautiful!” Grace said after two hours of snapping our photo. “Now, I’d like to get a shot of you kissing your beautiful bride-to-be.”
It was then that it occurred to me that we had never kissed. Not even once. In fact, we’d been careful not to touch each other too intimately. Even now, Ever’s hand was positioned several inches above my lower back.
“Don’t you think you have enough?” Ever snapped. His composure was slowly unraveling. I could see little beads of sweat pooling near his hairline.
“I know this can be a little tiring, but I think it will be eye-catching on our front page.”
There was a pause, a moment of utter silence that weighed heavily over the room as my parents and Grace waited, expectantly, for us to kiss. It was what fiancés do, after all, and shouldn’t have been a problem for two people in love.
“It’s okay, son. Lay it on her,” my father encouraged. He was smiling, but I could tell he was nervous and more than a little suspicious of our hesitation. He wasn’t the only one I realized when I caught Grace watching us skeptically over her camera.
I felt the first of my tears fall when Ever’s hand slid from the middle of my back to my waist. I couldn’t let him do this. Four would never understand, and why should she?
Which meant… I was screwed.
I pleaded to my best friend with my eyes to stop, go, run now, but instead, he gripped me tighter, pulling me into him. I knew I wouldn’t stop him because I was weak and afraid. My father had used his fists and belt and feet to make sure of that many times. Sometimes, he’d even refuse me food for a few days to show me what starving would feel like when the money ran out.
Ever’s eyes drifted closed as he prepared to kiss me. Captivated by the turmoil twisting his features, my own remained open. I knew he’d probably convinced himself that the kiss would be meaningless, and maybe to us, it would have been, but not to Four… and not to Jamie. My hands lifted, prepared to push him away when he startled me by stumbling back all on his own.