Page 63 of Rebellious Hearts

I shook my head. “No. I mean, not then. I guess he was the one who changed my mind for me. A week before the wedding, I found out that he’d been sleeping with my best friend and that she was pregnant with his baby. Not only that, but he actuallywantedto be with her, be a father. I broke it off with him, and he just married her instead.”

Ben stared at me, and I chuckled without expression, downing my wine. My body felt like it glowed with the alcohol in my veins. Maybe that was why I was willing to open up about myself. Or maybe Ben’s moment of vulnerability rubbed off on me and I felt like I had to return the favor.

But Ben had never made me feel like Ihadto do anything.

Well, anything other than pretending to be his wife for a night.

But that was a different topic entirely.

Ben took my hand and squeezed it.

“You weren’t lacking—he was,” Ben said, his eyes serious, his words clear. “You’re more than enough. Sofia… you’re everything.”

I opened my mouth, not sure what to say. Ben was sweeping me off my feet, and damn it, I’d been determined to keep being angry with him. If nothing else than to guard my heart, which was very quickly getting in real danger.

Ben closed the distance and kissed me before I could find the words to respond to his statement.

When he broke the kiss, I was breathless and every nerve ending was on fire. I wanted him to take me into the bedroom and keep using that mouth and those hands to set me alight.

“I have something for you,” Ben said.

I frowned. “What?”

“Well…” He took a small box out of his pocket and opened it, showing a diamond ring and wedding band together. “If we’re going to act like we’re married, we should probably look the part.”

I swallowed hard. This wasn’t how I’d expected to get a ring. This wasn’t every girl’s dream. But Ben was sweet and kind and caring and the conversation tonight was different from the ones we’d had before.

We were connecting on a different level, and somehow the way he presented the ring was romantic.

It’s not romantic, it’s an act.

But it was hard to see it as an act when he offered me a shimmering diamond ring, and it reflected in the gold specks in his honey eyes when he looked at me, somehow nervous as if he didn’t know if I was going to say yes.

“This is… incredible,” I said. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I’m a Blackwood, Sofia. We don’t do anything half-assed and if I’m going to give you a ring, it’s going to be top of the line.”

I swallowed hard. He took the ring out and slipped it on my finger, and my heart fluttered in a way it shouldn’t have.

The ring looked stunning, and somehow it fit perfectly.

How had he known?

When I glanced up at him, he had a smile on his face.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I breathed. I’d almost forgotten we had to head out and a part of me sank with disappointment.

“Come on,” Ben said and stood. He held out his hand, and without even thinking about it, I took it.

19

BEN

The car was on time but it was the first time I wished it would be late. Blackwood staff wouldn’t dare be late—we paid them well and we expected them to be where they were wanted, when they were wanted.

I just wished I had more time with Sofia. Talking to her about my past, about the things that bothered me or scared me, felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders.