Page 59 of The Unplanned Wedding

Knox

What. The. Fuck? How dare she imply that she’s going to fuck someone else?

I cannot allow that. I will not allow her to do that.I stalk after her.I will not let her be with anyone else, only... she’s not mine to stop...I come to a stop. I track her as she walks off the floor and curl my fingers into fists at my side. I want to go after her and tell her this isn’t over, not by a long shot.

Only. I made sure it is. I effectively killed any feelings she had for me...Which is what I wanted, right? Then why do I feel like crap?Like I burned my bridges. Like I'm making a big mistake.You’re doing this to protect her from you, remember?

My chest tightens. My guts twist themselves up in knots. I have a sneaking suspicion this cockeyed plan to announce my intention to marry someone else so I can protect my heart and stop myself from wanting my assistant is doomed to fail.I'm an idiot.

No matter how many barriers I throw up between us, no matter how much I know it’s going to make me vulnerable to be with her, no matter how much I tell myself that I’m wrong for her and that she’s too fragile formy preferences, that she deserves better; when I see her with another man, all that reasoning disappears.

I watch as she reaches the edge of the floor and is joined by her friend Zoey. The two of them speak, then Zoey scowls at me. They turn and march toward the exit. It’s only because she has company that I let her leave. Else I’d have insisted my chauffeur drop her home... But apparently, she doesn’t need me for that either.Fucking hell.I’m not the kind to indulge in self-pity...but... This occasion warrants my getting drunk, at least.

I stalk over to the bar to join my brother. The bartender begins to pour me a drink, but I grab the bottle of whiskey from him and proceed to chug it down.

“Something got your panties in a twist, ol’ chap?” Tyler asks in a mild tone.

I stay silent.

“Does it have anything to do with your assistant flouncing off the dance floor in a right strop,” he murmurs.

I draw in a sharp breath but opt to stay silent. Around me, the music rises to a crescendo. The bass feels like it’s slicing into my chest and cutting into my heart. A heaviness grips my being. It feels like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. Tyler signals to the bartender for a drink, then leans his elbows against the bar.

“I understand how you’re feeling.”

“You have no idea,” I say through gritted teeth.

He sighs. “You’re your own worst enemy, you know that?”

Tell me something I don’t know.

“If you have feelings for her?—”

“I don’t.”

“If you do... Then why don’t you tell her about it?”

I throw back more of the whiskey, then wipe the back of my hand across my mouth before I turn to him. “Getting me to do your dirty work?”

“What do you mean?” He scowls.

“If you have feelings for Priscilla, why don’t you man up and tell her about it, huh?”

His jaw hardens.

“You think if I pursue things with my assistant, it’ll result in my breaking things off with Priscilla? If so, you’re wrong. I have every intentionof going through with marrying her. And you’re going to have to watch as the love of your life becomes someone else’s wife.”

His eyes flash.

“No, actually, as she becomes your brother’s wife. Imagine as she walks down the aisle to marry me.”

His nostrils flare.

“Imagine watching her at family gatherings with her hand in mine.” I goad him because, in some way, I can also imagine my assistant in Priscilla’s place, marrying someone else and being with someone else, and fuck, if that doesn’t turn me into a mass of rage. “Imagine as she looks me in the eyes as I?—”

He grabs hold of my collar and raises his other fist, when, “Whoa, whoa, hold on you guys.” Brody reaches us, his chest rising and falling. “You do not want to get into a fight. I guarantee, it’ll be all over the tabloids, and that’s not going to help any of us.” He pants like he saw us from a distance and came over to break us apart.

Tyler makes a low noise in his throat, then releases me. “Next time, I won’t let you off.” He snatches his glass, tosses back the liquor, then drops a few notes on the bar counter before stalking in the direction of the exit.

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