Page 113 of Wicked Knight

I look back at her father and give him a curt nod. “I'll keep checking in if that’s okay.”

“It is.”

Mackenzie steps away from her mom as I walk up to her. I plant a kiss on her forehead and give her an encouraging smile.

“Next time,” I say in that habitual way.

“Next time,” she replies.

I kiss her again, this time on the lips, then I head out.

I may not have moved mountains, but at least I took a step in the right direction with her family. Now they know that I want her.

But I still have to find a way to get her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mackenzie

My face still hurts. My skin is still burning as if fire is beneath it, but there's a fire in my heart too, one of hopefulness and faith from hearing Dimitri say he wanted to marry me.

All this time, I never considered marriage. I just thought it was never a possibility because of our circumstances.

Hearing him say those words means he chose me.

Hearing him say those words to myfathermeans he's chosen me above everything else and what we have exists outside of the feud between our families.

Mom slips her arm around my waist, pulling me out of my thoughts and we both stare back at my father who looks so defeated.

After what happened last night, I can just imagine the worry he's been going through. It's like we've been in a situation where all our backs are against the wall and one wrong move will obliterate us.

Yet I want to know more about what Dimitri and my father were talking about. I move out of mom's grasp and walk up to my father.

"Did I hear right?" I ask. "Was Dimitri really talking about marrying me?"

Dad furrows his brows, but he doesn't look angry. He looks more perplexed than anything. "Yes, he did say that. But sweetheart, it's not an option we can consider."

Mom steps forward surprising me and shakes her head at him.

My mother is normally so placid and compliant. She goes with the flow all the time. But the face I'm looking at now doesn't look like someone who's going to be doing as they're told.

"Adrian, this is insane,” she says. “How can we do this to them? Dimitri wants to marry Mackenzie, so we have to find another way that doesn’t include her marrying someone else."

Dad frowns. "I'm stuck and I don't know what to do. I feel like a complete jerk, but I have no options left."

Mom walks up to him and takes his hands into hers. "Remember you were that boy once, Adrian. You found a way."

I look at them both as they stare at each other and I realize I don't know what they're talking about. How was my father ever like Dimitri?

"That was different," he says. "Your father wasn't in the same situation as me. It's easier to get around someone who hates you and doesn't think you're good enough. Doing so means making sure theyknowyou're good enough. That's what I did to get you."

His words send a pang to my heart and I look from one to the other, realizing now what they're talking about. This was something about my parents I didn't know.

Mom releases his hands and gives him a optimistic look. "We have to find a way, Adrian."

The determination in her voice gives me some semblance of reassurance although I know I'm clinging to threads.

Everything is falling apart around us, there's very little to hold on to, but I have to try not to lose faith.

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