I turned to Nina and couldn’t hide my smile as her chest rose and fell in hurried breaths.
She gave me wide eyes. “Is he crazy!?”
I took a step into her office. “No, Nina, he’s in love and wants to make an honest woman out of you. Congratulations.”
“It’s barely been a month,” she huffed as she paced her floor.
“What do you want?” I asked as I took a seat.
“I want to marry him, of course,” she snapped. “But he’s still the man who lied to me for almost a year and then kept some pretty serious shit from me for the remaining time I’d known him. No way. Not now.” She crossed her hands and pulled them away quickly in gesture.
“I forgot to leave this,” Devin said softly, unaffected by her rant as he crossed the room with an open Tiffany’s box and placed it on her desk.
“You’re broke. You can’t afford that,” she snapped without looking at the ring.
“I plan on marrying a millionaire,” he said as he stood in front of her now, lifting a single finger to stroke her cheek. “Stop being such an ungrateful bitch about this.” I saw her face soften as he leaned in and brushed her lips with his. I stood to leave. “Taylor, you stay, he leaves.” Devin pressed his lips into a thin line and again made his way out the door. “Later, Mrs. McIntyre.”
“That name is a curse,” she called after him. “You can keep it.”
“Hyphenate,” he called back over his shoulder. “I love you.” I heard the elevator and turned to her with a smile. They were absolutely perfect for each other, and I knew no matter how much she resisted there would be a wedding sometime in Nina’s future.
“What are you so afraid of?” I asked as she looked at the box.
She gave me an Are you kidding me? look.
“Okay, aside from the obvious nightmare you two endured to finally be together. Would it be so bad to live with the man you love?”
“I already live with him. He hasn’t gone home since we got back from the Keys. I actually asked him to stay with me.” She sighed as she paced, fighting herself on an answer she knew she wanted to give.
“And how’s it been?” She picked up the ring with tears in her eyes and slipped it on.
“Perfect. But, Taylor, I swore I’d never get married again. I don’t need that. I don’t have to be his wife.”
“Maybe he has to be your husband,” I suggested. “His track record is just as tainted.”
“I know, trust me. I didn’t think he would ever even talk about marriage.” She looked up to me with a smile. “He wants to marry me.”
“Well, my job here is done.” She laughed at my retreating back. She knew I was uncomfortable with these talks and let me off the hook. “We have the Bledsoe meeting in an hour,” I reminded before I shut her door, her eyes glued to her finger.
“Un huh,” she answered absently.
Walking back to my desk, I willed away the sick feeling in my stomach. I remembered the day my college friend Greg declared his love for me and told me he wanted to marry me. In reality, he hardly knew me, but Greg was the closest I’d come to an adult relationship. His affection for me validated all the hard work I’d put into my efforts of becoming someone else, someone better than the helpless redhead that had committed her first felony at age fifteen.
Cedric, my only friend from my past, and Nina’s bodyguard, was the only one who knew me both as the penniless piece of white trash and the business mogul. He’d never judged me, making moves himself to get out of the timeless hell we’d lived in. But he was never anyone I could love or ever have sexual interest in. He had been like a brother to me until I disappeared from Tennessee, and he had done the same himself a year later to join the Army to better his situation. From what Cedric told me, all of our friends from those days were either dead, in jail, or still up to the same shit they had been when we’d escaped. Now, I had only one thing keeping me tied to Tennessee.
>
And one day soon, I would have to face my demons to rid myself of that life once and for all.
I wanted the way Devin looked at Nina for myself one day, but deep down I knew the man who would wholly capture my heart would have to know all the parts of me, and the truth was I knew I would never share that part of myself with anyone. Love had and always would be an illusion to me. I wasn’t incapable, my circumstances were. And I honestly didn’t know if I would ever let myself become a victim to it…again.
So it was time to put away the ridiculous notion that it could happen for me. Suddenly, I was excited about the no-strings arrangement with Daniello. Little did he know he was already giving me exactly what I needed.
Walking out of work that evening, I felt confident in my decisions about my future. As lonely as it might be to keep my past out of my present, I couldn’t commit. I refused to live another lie, so I was walking tall before I reached my Stinger. I smiled as I noticed the black SUV idling next to it, waiting for me. The chauffeur opened the back door as I approached and I slipped in without hesitation and sat opposite of Daniello. We greeted each other with appreciative eye appraisals. He was dressed in jeans and a designer black shirt that accentuated his perfectly cut chest and showcased his thick, muscular arms. I kicked off my stilettos and tucked my feet beneath me, making myself comfortable, which seemed to please him.
“Have you thought about what I proposed?”
“Oh, you mean the scenario where you are in charge of absolutely everything and I am supposed to just accept it and enjoy the ride?”