Trace drew himself up. “What’s your game plan?”

I thought about it, tried to sift through the myriad of emotions clouding my mind. At this point, one thing was clear. “I can’t live at Briar anymore.”

He unhooked his seatbelt. “Where’re you gonna go?”

The Victorian in New Dyer rose in my mind’s eye. “That’s part of the reason I was upset yesterday,” I said. “Some clients were set to close on the house I told you about. But the husband got orders for the Middle East last week. He’s a marine. So I put in a bid. It got them out of the contract and the seller accepted.”

“Sounds like good news. At least for you.”

I drew a sharp breath. Things weren’t what they seemed. “Darien never liked the house. He thought it was a money pit, but he called me last night, and when I told him about the contract, he said he hadn’t realized how much I loved the place. He doesn’t mind living there if it makes me happy.” I swallowed, hard. “He’s coming home. Today.” I shot a wary glance at the dashboard clock. “His plane should be landing any minute.”

Turning to me, Trace drew his leg up on the seat cushion. Storm clouds brewed in his eyes. “What am I supposed to say to that? Congratulations?”

“No, that’s not why I—” I raised a hand, but let it fall flat against the seat. “The wedding announcement appeared in yesterday’s society pages. My aunt has been working overtime planning everything. I’ve signed contracts. Hired a videographer. Caterers. The invitations are being printed.”

“Ever heard of the word ‘cancel’?”

“It’s not that simple. I don’t want to hurt him and…well…it’s…it’s just a very complicated situation.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “Here we go again with this crap. What the hell’s so complicated?”

A tense silence filled the car. “There’s just…a lot to consider.”

“We’re the only consideration here. Everything else is bullshit.”

I stared off, my gaze wandering as the truth spilled out, a truth I was finally ready to admit. “You don’t understand. I thought—it’s always been in the back of my mind that if I married him, I’d finally be able to breathe. To relax. I planned my life so precisely that any deviation….”

“Scares the hell out of you?”

I hung my head. “Yes.”

“The truth at last. So I’m the monkey wrench in your picture-perfect life.”

“No, it’s-it’s not like that.”

“Yeah, it is.” His nod was sharp. “See, all this time I thought it was a choice between me and Montgomery. But I was wrong. This is about the safe, little fairytale you’ve been trying to—”

“Trying?” I snapped my head back up to search his face. “I’ve been building it my entire life! Brick by brick, and now I’m about to tear it down.”

“Naw, you’re about to live—for the first time ever. You want to be with me. I know this. But I represent everything you’ve been trying to bury.”

I shook my head. “It’s not about you. It-it goes even deeper than that.”

“Oh, I know. Somehow you convinced yourself that you wanted Montgomery, or at least, what you think you’ll have with him. Respect. Privilege. Approval. Community standing—everything Lilith destroyed.” He shook his head. “But I can’t give that to you, darlin’. That’s what’s got you so spun up. It’s why you keep running away from us.”

I blinked several times. “Us? What us? Do you think telling me you care is enough reason to break an engagement?”

“That you’re not in love with him should be reason enough.”

“Fine. But what you’re really asking me to do is to upend my life so we can be together. And that’s all well and good, but I need more from you. You say you want me, and that you care, but what else? Do your feelings go any deeper than that?”

“Are you blind?” He tossed a hand. “I admitted to killing a man—to you, Shannon, despite a ton of reservations. What the fuck else do you want?”

I pushed the hair off my face. “I used to know. Now I’m just—”

“Confused! Were you even there at Miller’s Pond last night? What? Do you think that was just a dry hump for me?” He glared long and hard. “You won’t tell your ‘fiancé’ the truth, yet you expect me to open a vein? To bleed? Hell, you’re the one who needs to do some bleeding.” We stared hotly at each other for several seconds until he wrenched away to shove the door open. “Fuck it. I don’t need this shit. Go get your boyfriend!”

“I already told you, he’s not my boyfriend!”

“Boyfriend. Fiancé. Sugar daddy. Whatever.”

“He’s none of those things.”

Trace jerked back around. “Please enlighten me then. What the hell is he?”

“My past.”

“And what am I?”

I swallowed and stared intently at him with a nakedness I couldn’t hide. “You’re…my everything.”

The words had barely left my mouth before he grabbed my face, crashing our lips together. He kissed me with a voraciousness that set the car ablaze. He was marking me. Possessing me. Staking his claim. Making it clear, that I belonged to him and none other.

That I always had.

His arms came around me, crushing me even closer. Not an inch separated us as our breaths mingled and our tongues did battle. Everywhere he touched me, I burned; every kiss ignited a new spark, but then he slowly released me and I gradually became cold again. Dazed, I blinked my eyes open only to see him scooting back. Chill air sliced a path between us.

He canvassed my face for several moments, his breath coming in short bursts. When I reached out, he dodged my hand. “You’ve got two paths,” he said. “One is a straight shot. It’s safe and predictable.” He gazed meaningfully into my eyes. “But there’s this other path. It’s less traveled and it’s full of surprises and detours. So which one do you want?”

“You. I choose you,” I insisted. “I’ll always choose you.”

His eyes slowly turned granite hard, as if the kiss and my admission hadn’t affected him at all. Several heartbeats passed before he went for the door again. Over his shoulder he said, “In case you missed it, I chose you a while ago.” He glared at Darien’s ring, then lifted his eyes back to me. “Far as I’m concerned, you’ve been cheating on me with him. So until you give him up, we’re done.” With that, he slammed out of the car and disappeared inside the garage. He didn’t look back.

I was still trembling when I pulled away from the gas station minutes later. He was right. How could I expect anything from him, much less a declaration of love, when I was engaged to another man? Besides, it wasn’t fair to Darien. As soon as I picked him up, I’d go somewhere quiet and tell him the truth. He deserved as much.

Halfway to the airport, my cell phone vibrated. Would I ever remember to connect the thing to Bluetooth? Scowling, I hooked my headset into the phone, eyed the incoming number, and wilted against the seat.

Auntie.

I took a deep breath and told myself it was time for brutal honesty. There had been enough lies. So I pooled my courage and didn’t bother with a ‘Hello.’ Instead, I just started speaking in a mad rush of words. “We need to talk,” I said. “First, I-I’m on my way to break things off with Darien. I’m just not in love with him. The truth is, I’m in love wi—”

“What?” She sounded breathless. “Look, I don’t know what you’re babbling about, but I’m at Temptation Memorial. Mead and Francine are on their way.”

“Dear lord, what’s happened?” I asked, shoving myself up.

My aunt hesitated long enough to scare the life out of me. “It’s Sears. They’re running tests now, but they think he’s had a heart attack.”

My stomach spasmed. “I’ll be right there, okay?”

I hung up with trembling hands, flipped the car into gear and sped down the interstate. My heart was skipping all over the place. Adrenaline burned. Without looking, I poked Darien’s speed-dial button.

“Hello,” he barked, four rings later.