Page 5 of Resisting Your Love

I sat at the dining table with a scowl on my face and my arms folded. The man I was supposed to be marrying was late. Hopefully, he didn't show up. I fought back tears at the possibility of meeting this man.

As my eyes bounced around the room, the man's parents looked familiar to me. Although I heard of their last name, I had never laid eyes on them.

"Sorry for my son's tardiness. He always marches to his own beat," Travis stated with a chuckle.

I scoffed. "If he knew what we had planned, he should have been here on time," I retorted.

It was wrong of me to take out my frustrations on these people, but I had to.

I was in a terrible mood. I hadn't talked to Joel since the argument at his apartment.

What made it so bad, he wasn't trying to reach back out to me.

I didn't know what to do about that. As much as I should have left well enough alone, I didn't want to.

I felt like we could make this work. However, after today, I'd be an engaged woman, so what was the point of trying?

I sighed deeply, shaking my head.

The door opened and closed. "Sorry, I'm late," the voice called out, and everything in me tensed up.

It sounded like the man from the tattoo shop.

I could remember his voice since it was embedded in my head.

Then it was so deep and sexy. No way he was about to be my husband.

It had to be someone that sounded like him.

I could hear his footsteps coming into the dining area.

When he stepped inside, my breathing caught in my throat. It was him from the tattoo shop.

When he saw me, his eyes widened. I averted my eyes from him.

"Oh, hell no. It's you from my shop!" he yelled out. "Did you know who I was from the beginning?"

I jumped up out of my seat, ready to fly off. "What exactly are you trying to accuse me of? Hell no, I didn't know you'd be the man I was supposed to marry."

He scoffed, waving me off. "I don't believe that."

I hunched my shoulders. "I don't care what you believe or don't believe. It makes me no never mind." With a huff, I sat back down in my seat.

While he claimed his seat, I glared at him with burning, reproachful eyes.

How could he accuse me of something like that without even knowing me?

As much as I wanted to lash out again, I knew it was best I didn't. I wasn't about to let him think he mattered to me when he didn't. He differed totally from the man I met at the tattoo shop.

My father cleared his throat, gaining our attention. He went through everything again.

"I don't want to be married to him," I blurted, cutting my father off.

"I don't want to be married to your little peanut head ass either," the man retorted.

My eyes ballooned as I stared at him. "See, no. Hell no. I'll end up killing him?—"

His laughter stopped me from finishing what I was going to say. "Yeah, baby. Talk dirty to me. That's the type of talk that turns me on."

My cheeks burned at his words. Our eyes met and held, causing me to roll mine at him. There were no words to describe this man in front of me. Not only was he an asshole, but he had a comeback for everything I said.

I sighed, turning to my father. "Dad, I don't like this. Can something else happen? I can't be married to him. Plus, I am in a relationship. What am I supposed to tell my boyfriend?"

"You might as well dead that shit right now.

I'll be damned if I'm sharing you. I don't give a damn if I'm not touching you.

If you are married to me and wearing my ring and my name, you're going to act like you're taken.

Fuck with it if you want to. I'll be a widower before the ink dries on the contract. "

The only thing I could do was gawk at this man.

I was flabbergasted by his words. Who the hell did my father have me marrying?

I didn't care if he was fine as hell — too damn fine if I was being honest. He was light-skinned with a square- shaped face.

I could see that he kept his hair cut short and his goatee trimmed.

I couldn't forget about the tattoos he had. They seemed to be everywhere on him.

"Levi!" His mother snapped.

He turned his narrowing honey-brown deep-set eyes on her. "What? I'm just being honest. Can we get this over with? I have things to do today."

He wasn't the only one who had things to do. My father glanced over at Levi's father.

He gave a slight nod. "Sure, we can." He went into his suit pocket and pulled out a ring box.

Levi's eyes widened. "I know damn well you're not giving her grandma's ring. Man, hell no. Y'all doing too much now." He had a deep scowl on his face as he shot daggers at his father. I didn't blame him for his anger.

"Here. You will be the one to put the ring on her finger," his father professed.

"What?" Levi and I said in unison.

I refused to allow this man to come near me, let alone put a ring on my finger. That made it too real, and we were nowhere near real. If anything, we were the fakest thing ever.

Levi was shaking his head. "Nah, I refuse."

I nodded. "That's something both of us can agree on."

"It's not up for debate," all the parents declared at the same time.

Levi threw his hands up, and I exhaled deeply. I was ready to get this over with. I just wanted to go home and lay across my bed and cry. My life had turned upside down.

"Man, give me the ring. Don't expect me to make this shit romantic, either. Damn that."

Levi took the box out of his father's hand and walked over to me. I gulped as he stood in front of me with glowering eyes.

"Give me your hand," he snapped.

I knew he wasn't directing his anger at me, but I didn't like his tone. Truth be told, I didn't feel like arguing with anyone else. I just gave him my hand so he could slip the ring on my finger.

"Once the ring is on your finger, you can't take it off for any reason at all, especially when you are in public. If you do, the contract will be void, and Owen knows the rest," Levi's father stated.

I didn't even look at my father. "Whatever."