Page 174 of Forgot to Tell You Something

I don’t want anyone to find me right now.

Finally, I spy my parents’ graves. I know they’re not there. It’s just a marker, but it’s the closest thing I have to family. I spend the next few minutes rearranging the flowers and brushing specks of dirt from the stone, but I can hear my father’s voice.

‘I can’t answer it if you don’t ask it.’

Settling down on the grass, I let the tears spill down my cheeks. God, I miss them.

“Hey, folks. I don’t know if you’ve been watching the latest episode, but my life took a sharp turn into complicated. For the umpteenth time this year.”

I snuffle, wiping my nose on my arm. I’m the epitome of grace.

“Owen asked me to marry him. I said yes, and for a moment, I was so happy. Happier than I’ve ever been in my life.” Pulling my hand forward, I wiggle my fingers, watching the stone sparkle in the moonlight. “But he made some big dollar deal with his ex-fiancée, and I won’t ever see him. He won’t ever see our baby. It’s atonof money, whatever that means, and he promised me a fancy house. I don’t want the damn house. I want him, and I want him here with me.”

Drawing in the cool night air, I toss my head back, gazing at the stars. “What should I do, Dad? Do I suck it up, knowing I’ll be miserable? Do I let him go back to his old life with Charlotte? Or do I sit Owen down and tell him that those aren’t the rules we’re going to play by?”

Then it hits me. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. If I’m going down, I’m doing it my way. In style.

Owen wants me to stop running? Fine, I’m planting my feet and I’ll be damned if marriage or millions will change my mind. Most importantly, I’m done letting Charlotte rule my emotions, my thoughts, and my relationship.

Screw her. Owen is my man, and I’m keeping him.

Owen has begged me to toss out the rule book since we met. I’m starting a new one. Tonight. And these rules, he’d better abide.

On the way out, I find an open side exit. Glory be, that issomuch easier than climbing the fence. I turn back on my cellular service, and within seconds, the phone buzzes. It’s Ken again.

Better let him know I’m okay. After all, he did nothing to me.

“Hi, Ken.”

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you scared the hell out of me,” Ken chides, his voice frantic. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling for the last two hours.”

“I went to see my folks.” I fiddle with the skirt of my now tattered dress, wondering if it might double as a Halloween costume next year. “What’s up?”

Ken clears his throat, his signal that a story is imminent. “You missed quite the show.”

“There was more?”

“To say the least. Things got loud.”

I unlock my car door, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Surprising with that crowd. I doubted they were capable of any genuine emotions.”

“Well, Owen had enough for everyone. He called off the deal in front of the entire room. That role that Charlotte mentioned? Owen told her to shove it up her bony ass, along with any payout.”

I wrap my trembling hands around the steering wheel. “He didn’t need to do that.”

“That’s the thing. He did. The payout was huge, Lu, and he thought it would make your lives easier. But when you walked away, he realized that he lost the only thing that matters to him. All the shit tonight? He hates it. Owen only does the dance because he knows that he can save lives. That’s what he’s good at. That and adoring the ever-loving fuck out of you.”

“He doesn’t adore me.”

“Bullshit. Yes, he does. He asked you to be his wife, Lu.”

“Right before he neglected to tell me he planned on working with his ex-fiancée for the rest of his life. Owen offered me a ring to appease me.”

“Lu, he just passed on ten million dollars. He asked you because he loves you. I knew he was going to ask tonight. I was privy to the details. My job was to keep you there since you are well known for disappearing like Cinderella at the ball.”

“I never wanted Owen to have to choose between love and money. But I can’t live my life knowing he’s flitting around the globe with Charlotte, while I sit at home waiting for when—and if—he comes back.”

“He passed on the deal,” Ken reiterates, each syllable enunciated to drive home his point. “Do me one favor. Please talk to him before you make any decisions.”

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