The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (39)

“What the hell is going on here?”

“Ask your son,” Jamie sneered.

Thomas wasted no time regarding his son, who looked positively murderous. My heart skipped a beat. Knowing Ever was Exiled, I wasn’t so sure I shouldn’t heed his current mood.

“Well?” Thomas demanded.

Ever’s gaze had fallen on me while he blatantly ignored his father.

I stopped breathing.

Why must I anticipate his every move with bated breath?

It was all for nothing anyway. He rolled his eyes and calmly strolled from the kitchen, leaving his father without an explanation and me feeling more empty than ever.





PROMISES WERE SOMETHING I FOUND impossible to break, which was why I rang the doorbell ready to play the gentleman. I was surprised when Bee, dressed in a white cocktail dress, appeared on the other side of the door. Her parents were the type who felt it was beneath them to answer their own doors because of their wealth.

The panicked look on Bee’s face cleared the moment she saw me.

“You came.”

I sighed and handed her the bouquet of roses. Elliot and Melissa would have expected nothing less for their daughter. “I said I would.”

She scanned my gray wool blazer, white dress shirt, black tie, and chinos before nodding her approval and waving me inside. Her parents, dressed in their dinner finery, waited for us in the sitting room.

“Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery,” I greeted with excitement I didn’t feel. I played my role well, shaking her father’s hand and kissing her mother’s cheek.

“Son, I told you before. Call me Elliot.”

“Habit, sir.” I fought an eye roll.

“I can’t find fault with a good upbringing, can I, son?” He clapped me on my back and offered me a drink even though I was underage.

I shook my head, knowing it was a test.

One of the help came to announce that dinner was served. Bee was standing dutifully by my side, probably as rehearsed, when her mother beamed at the bouquet she held. “What lovely flowers, young man.” To her daughter, she said, “Shouldn’t you put those in water?”

“Excuse me.” My girlfriend wasted little time fleeing the room and leaving me with her parents.

“Shall we?” Melissa announced.

I followed them to the grand dining room. The feast was a little much for a casual Friday dinner, but over the top was the Montgomery way. And how I got into this mess.

Bee returned just as we were seated.

“Son, I’m glad you could find time in your schedule to join us for dinner. Barbette tells me that you are no longer playing football.”

“That’s right. I had to make room for more important endeavors.”

“I see. Care to share?”

Not a chance. “It’s mostly extracurricular. I’m hoping it will improve my chances of being accepted into a good architecture program. I figured it was time I was serious about my future.” Just keep feeding them bullshit.

“Yes, the future is exactly what we wanted to discuss.”

Bee was damn near catatonic when I glanced across the table. We both knew what was coming, had prepared for this moment, but it didn’t stop my skin from crawling. I just wish Bee had given me a fucking heads up. The look on her face told me she knew what would happen tonight and even after everything she still hadn’t trusted me to keep my promise. I felt my jaw clench as I recalled just how much I lost and how far I’d gone to help my friend. Too fucking far.

“And that would be?” I questioned with a hint of hostility. Fuck pleasantries. He was just lucky I was still seated and not headed for the door.

“You and my daughter have been an item for years now. Long before I can say I cared for Barbette to start dating,” he lied through his teeth.

“We have.”

“So I assume that her best interests are your priority.” His words felt like shackles slamming shut, and it was all I could do not to chew off my own leg and get the hell out of here.

But Elliot Montgomery wasn’t wrong. Bee was one of my best friends, and I cared about her. I definitely wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.

“I’d do anything for your daughter.”

I should have been able to lie with practiced ease and profess that I was in love with his daughter, but a vision of brown eyes and a messy ponytail kept the words locked away.

I gritted my teeth.

Four’s been nothing but trouble since she kneed me in the balls. It was like she’d been holding me by them ever since. I needed to get over this infatuation I had with the troublemaker like I needed my next breath. If I took her to my bed, it would never stop there. She’d want more, and I would take everything she had to give before destroying her. Just like Olivia Portland.

And even if Four turned out to be unbreakable, I already knew that I wasn’t. Four will unleash me if I let her. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“And her honor?” Elliot probed. “What would you do to protect that?”

Tired of this dance, I met Elliot’s stare dead on. “What is this about?” All pretenses abandoned, I needed him to get to the fucking point.

Elliot steepled his fingers as his demeanor shifted from gracious to stern. “We’d like to know if you plan to marry our daughter.”