Descent (Black Heart Romance)

“Does that mean I’m rich now?” I joke.

“Yes,” he says, not joking.

I’m still not so sure about that. I’m still not so sure about him, but the last thing I want is for my mom to doubt that I’m happy, so I don’t entertain thoughts like those on the way to her house.

Calvin sits beside me in the limo. We probably should have traveled in something less obnoxious given how far away it is, but Calvin likes to make an impression.

I get all the phone time I want this weekend since we’re playing the parts of a totally normal couple for our parents. While we’re riding to her house, I play my mobile game since I haven’t been able to do much of that lately.

“Did you tell your mom we’re about a half hour away?”

“Not yet,” I say, my eyes glued to my screen as I consider whether I want to purchase coffee beans or potatoes.

“Is there anything special we could stop and pick up in town? Something she considers a splurge. Maybe a dessert from a bakery, something like that?”

I finally glance up from my screen to look at him. “Calvin, you’re buying her a house. You don’t have to also bring pie.”

Shrugging without shame, he says, “I want her to like me.”

“She will,” I assure him. Then, more teasingly, I add, “And I thought you didn’t care what people thought of you.”

“I don’t care when there’s no reason to. I expressly stated that one notable exception was amid a business merger where the opinion of the other party does, in fact, matter.”

I tap the screen to set sail, then I look at him solemnly. “Did you just refer to our marriage as a business merger?”

“In some regards, it is.”

I shake my head, looking down as some idiot pirate tries to attack my ship. “Well, I know what I’m writing in every one of your anniversary cards.”

“I want your mom to approve of the man you’re marrying. Is that a crime?”

“She will like you. I have already set you up to be well-liked, I promise. You’re doing the rest by gifting her a home. We are all set, I promise. Provided you don’t accidentally tell the truth about how you impregnated me, I think we’re all good. And honestly, even if she knew, I feel like she would have incentive to be forgiving given—one last time—you have purchased our house for her.”

He doesn’t seem entirely convinced, but that’s probably just because he knows logically that she shouldn’t like him.

It’s kind of cute how insistent he is about it, though.

Tension rises when we get into town, but it’s not his baggage this time; it’s mine. I left this town shortly after several heartbreaks, and to be honest, I never wanted to look back. It was an escape, pure and simple. I come back to see Mom for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I’ve never been able to shake the icky associations I have with this place.

The rows of homes are just slums to him, but as we pass Swan Street, I recall the party I went to with Ross—my first love—down that road. His friends “joked” with me that he was hooking up with this girl I was really insecure about because they were weirdly friendly, just… too close for comfort.

I look over at Calvin. “Do you have any close female friends?”

He shakes his head. “Not really. Acquaintances, work colleagues. Not friends.”

“Have you ever cheated on a girlfriend?”

His lip curls up in disdain. “No.”

I get the sense he’s offended by my question, but given how we met, I don’t see how he could be. It’s not like he’s never done anything awful. “Okay, I just wondered.” I’m quiet for a moment, then I decide to take a page from Calvin’s book and be more honest. “Actually, no, you know what. I have some baggage with that, I guess you should know. With my mom and dad’s history, and then that wretched first love I told you about—he made me really insecure just for fun. He thought it was entertaining to see me all riled up and hurt about things.”

“What was his name again?”

“Ross.”

“Ross what?”

“Ross Ellison. And then even with Jackson, sometimes I got the impression…” I trail off, shaking my head. “It just didn’t feel like he was entirely devoted to me, you know? And that sucks. I want to be able to feel secure in my relationship, to know it’s not going anywhere. I want to be enough for the person I’m with. I don’t want them looking in other pastures to see if they can find anything better.”

Calvin leans forward on the seat, takes my hand, and meets my gaze. “That is not something you ever have to worry about with me. For one thing, there is no one better as far as I’m concerned. I’m only interested in you. Everyone else is boring.” I crack a smile. “Secondly, I don’t like cheaters. I watched my father do it to my mother for years, and it’s not something I would ever do. I wouldn’t be able to respect myself, and my own opinion does matter to me.”