Black Ties and White Lies(90)

When he tries to turn his head, I use my free hand to clutch his jaw, forcing him to look at Margo. “Apologize to my fiancée, Carter.”

He tries to jerk free from my grip but fails. I’m too angry, too filled with rage to let him out of this. He’s going to apologize to her. I’ll do whatever it takes.

“Fuck no.” He yelps like a child when my grip tightens on his jaw.

“Try that again,” I demand, moments away from beating his head into the table.

“I’m sorry,” Carter mutters, staring at her lap.

“Be a fucking man and apologize to her face.”

“I’m sorry!” he shouts. “Ow,” he groans as my fingers dig so hard into his neck that his face begins to turn blue.

“While you’re at it, tell her how sorry you are for cheating on her. For being stupid and pathetic and walking out on your relationship.”

A large hand lands on my bicep. I look back to find my father giving me a warning stare. I ignore it. He’s going to have to rip me off Carter if he wants me to stop before Carter does as I ask.

“What the fuck.” Carter manages to get out through gasps of air.

Margo is the only one who can pull me from my rage. Her voice breaks through the anger, pulling me out of it. “Beck,” she murmurs, “it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what he thinks of me. It doesn’t matter.”

I look to her, my fingers applying slightly less pressure to where he can get a deep breath in.

“He doesn’t matter,” she repeats, giving me a hesitant smile. “All that matters is you.”

Relief washes over me as I let go of him. The sudden movement has him lurching forward. He groans, rubbing at the handprint I’d left on his neck.

Walking up to my mother, I give her a kiss on the top of the head. “I love you, mom. We’ll catch up when he’s not around. Sorry to ruin our dinner.”

My dad and I share a knowing look. He doesn’t argue with me or try to convince me to stay. Words aren’t needed for us to come to an understanding. We’ll talk later. But I can’t be in the presence of Carter for another second and keep my temper at bay.

Before going, I stop in front of him and look at him down my nose. “Don’t fucking speak to my future wife again. In fact, don’t even breathe in her god damn direction unless it’s to utter an apology.”





“It was good to see you again.” My words come out so quick they sound all jumbled as I stand up from my seat. I give them both an apologetic smile. I was really looking forward to catching up with them, but I’m seconds away from losing Beck’s retreating form in the crowd of diners.

“We’ll speak with you later, darling,” Beck’s mom says, giving me a soft smile. I don’t even bother to look at Carter. It’s beyond me how I gave years of my life to that man. He fails in comparison now that I’ve gotten to know Beck. It’s wild to me that I’d spent weeks crying over someone who clearly didn’t deserve me. Hell, I don’t know if any woman deserves him. He’s as pathetic as they come.

I give them one last wave before I rush toward the exit. Beck disappeared in the few seconds it took me to say goodbye to his parents. When I fly out the front doors of the building, I’m disappointed when I don’t see Beck anywhere. My heart thumps in my chest as I look in every direction, trying to find where he went.

Fighting past the panic of where he went, worried about how angry he was and him being alone, I pick a direction and search for his body through the throng of people. He’s nowhere in sight. I stop in front of a narrow alleyway, pulling my phone from my handbag in hopes I’ll be able to get ahold of him.

I’m about to click on his name in my contacts when a hand snakes around my waist and pulls me deeper into the alleyway. I let out a loud shriek, gasping for air as I prepare to scream for help. The body engulfs my back, pulling me against a familiar chest. I’d know him anywhere by his smell, the scent I’ve grown far too attached to.

“Beck.” I let out a sigh of relief, only now realizing how worried about him I was.

He turns my body to face his, backing me up until my shoulders hit the brick of a building. I immediately wrap my arms around his middle, going underneath his suit jacket so I can feel the heat of his body as I do my best to comfort him.

His hand comes up to cradle the back of my head, holding it against his chest. “I’m so furious he spoke like that to you, Margo,” he admits, his voice hoarse. “I can’t begin to apologize enough on his behalf.”

I squeeze him tighter, relieved to have found him. His heart beats against my ear, the rhythm wild and untamed. “You don’t have to apologize for him.”

“He never should have spoken to you like that. Fuck, I could kill him for that.”

Pulling away, I cradle his cheeks between my hands. He presses his left cheek deeper into my palm, his eyes searching my face frantically. “Forget about it. It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it fucking matters.”

I shake my head at him. God, the intensity in his eyes has me locked in a trance. I’m drawn to the pure anger radiating from him. I feel something deep inside that his anger is in defense of me. “It doesn’t. Not one bit. We’re what matters, Beck. Not him.”

A muscle ticks angrily away at his jaw, like a visible countdown before he loses the restraint of his control. He places his forehead against mine, taking a deep breath. For a long moment, we breathe in each other’s air. I hope my steady breaths help calm his erratic ones.