Page 47

But if he was...then he wouldn't be happy anymore.
Anah started struggling, but the arms around her were immovable as steel, and those who tried to shove them out of the way only ended up bumping straight into a brick wall and stumbling back.
"Get a fucking room, damn you."
Ethan bent his head and whispered to her ear, "Shall we?"
Anah answered him by beating his chest with her fists.
"L-Let me go."
He tucked her head under his chin even as she kept trying to get out of his embrace.
"People are starting to stare."
"Then let's go somewhere private—-"
A broken cry escaped her, and the sound nearly ripped him into pieces.
"Please." Anah could barely speak past the tears. "Please just let me go—-"
"I can't."
His voice...oh God, his voice...sounded exactly like the time he lied to her about being happy, and the realization killed her, and she almost sagged against him. "Stop p-pretending—-"
"I'm not pretending anything."
"Liar."
"I love you—-"
Anah jerked in his arms. "Goddamnyou." And then she was struggling harder than ever. "Stop lying. You asked her to m-marry you—-"
"Because I was trying to do the right thing," he said tautly.
"Liar." She saw a police officer walking towards them through her tears, and when she felt Ethan stiffen, she knew he had seen the same thing, too.
"You should go."
But his arms only tightened around her.
"The moment you get arrested," she warned him shakily, "you wouldn't be able to go back to Hartland. To your brothers—-"
"Then come with me."
She shook her head. "I can't."
"Then we'll talk here."
She turned towards the police officer and saw the man temporarily waylaid by a pair of tourists. "You still have time—-"
"I won't go until you listen to me—-"
"There's no point," Anah cried out.
"There's every fucking point," he grated back, "because you're my life." He saw her try to cover her ears, and he captured her wrists and pulled her arms back down. "Just hear me out," he said hoarsely. "Just one last time, please."
But Anah kept shaking her head.