Page 24 of Between Never and Forever

“You won’t be engaged to him here in this resort. I won’t allow it.”

“You’re kidding.” I stared at him. This was ludicrous. I mean, no one could demand something like that. The way he thought he ruled the world bubbled up inside me, and I now burst out laughing. He didn’t control what I did. I laughed and laughed, probably because I was too tired to do any different. Then, I looked up and saw he wasn’t laughing with me. I waved my hands at him. “You’re funnier than I remember.”

“I’m not joking.” He crossed his arms, and the expensive smart HEAT watch on his wrist flashed in front of me as if to mock my position in this situation. “Call your record label and let them know.”

He searched my eyes for far too long. I squirmed under his gaze, straightened the baseball cap on my head, and tried to back away. “Look, I appreciate the residency here, and I know I’m of benefit to the casino in turn, just as you all are a benefit to my bank account. Ethan and I are truly—”

“There’s no Ethan and you.”

“Of course there is.” I rolled my eyes.

“Bullshit. You didn’t even kiss him after he proposed.”

“Well, I did before, and we were in public and—”

“Public? You scared of PDA?” He smirked now. “Your good-girl image too pristine you can’t dirty it up when you feel like kissing your fiancé?”

“That’s not it.” Honestly, that was always part of the reason I never indulged in PDA, but he didn’t have to know that.

“Right.” He rubbed his chin and said without much emotion at all, “Call your manager and let him know.”

“They own me, Dex; I’m not going to tell them no. It doesn’t work like that. They want me engaged for publicity and to push sales here at the resort. It’s a win-win.”

“So youwantto marry him?” He said it louder now, with emphasis.

“Dex, I’m not… I don’t want to marry anyone, and—”

He leaned against a slot machine and crossed one ankle over the other as if he had all the time in the world. “So youdon’twant to marry him? Which is it?”

I sighed, so done with the back-and-forth as I rubbed at one temple, willing away the stress headache that was coming on. Then I asked softly, “Does it really even matter?”

His eyes widened and he combed a hand through his hair as I saw his jaw dance up and down. “Yes, it fucking matters, Kee. What type of question is that? Do you seriously have that little of a backbone after all these years?”

“What?” I straightened at that. He had no idea why I did what I did. “You don’t know me. Don’t you dare toss insults my way like that.” I stepped close to him and poked his shoulder.

“If you don’t want to marry someone—”

“It doesn’t matter what I want. That’s not the point,” I almost screeched. “And my marital status shouldn’t matter to you.” I glanced around now, irritated that he wanted to talk about who I was with when I knew he’d been with a woman earlier that night. “Shouldn’t you be worrying about the woman you were here with tonight?”

He rubbed at the stubble on his chin before he admitted, “I sent her home.”

“Why?” I asked, but his eyes burned into mine, communicating all I needed to know.

“Because I could only look at you all night.” He combed a hand through his thick hair. “I’ve been with her for two years, and it’s been damn near fifteen years without you,” he said, and his voice suddenly held all the pain I felt. “And yet I hear your voice on that stage, look at you singing, and I still only want you.”

“Dex—”

“It’s downright shameful at this point that I even consider it. And you can bet I don’t enjoy feeling like I can’t think of anyone else.”

Don’t say it, Keelani. Don’t you dare. But the words squeaked out anyway. “Two years?”

He put his hands in his pockets. “Yep. Coming up on two and a half.”

Jesus, why did that hurt so much? “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Does it matter?” He lifted a brow.

“No.”Yes.