Page 79 of The County Fair Queen

"Rivers," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Is today 'bring your family to work day?'" Siobhan said to the producer as she sulked on the sofa. "Did I miss the memo? My family is just as interesting as his. I don't see why he gets special treatment."

"You don't have a family," I pointed out.

"I have an ant farm. I've shown you pictures. If you think I'm going to sit back and let you demean my litter, you've got another thing coming."

"Baby?" Rivers said, gently tugging at my chin until our eyes locked. It was a good thing, too, because the glare I was aiming at Siobhan was full of pure, unbridled rage. "Hey there," he whispered, light and low. "There you are."

My knees may have trembled.

Couldn't help it.

"Sorry for the commotion," he said, flicking his finger at the ridiculous crowd of our friends and family behind him. "I promise, it wasn't my doing. I wanted to ask you over dinner tonight, but you know Lurlene. Once she gets an idea in her head, there's no stopping her."

"So youareasking me to marry you? And this is… what? Your way of making sure I can't say no. I mean, I'm not sure I would say no, because you're probably the love of my life, but God, Riv. I need you to pace yourself. You're unhinged."

"You would say yes?" He asked, his eyes widening.

"Not the point!" I growled.

He chuckled. "I'm not asking you to marry me. Not yet, at least."

I frowned. "So, this is some kind of trick? You wanted to build up my hopes just to knock them all down? I'll tell you something; this is cruel, even by your standards. You're giving me emotional whiplash." His fingers combed through my hair, and despite the fact that it had taken me an hour to style it into perfection, Ileaned into his touch, enjoying the way his fingers felt against my scalp.

"Beau? Buddy?" Rivers said. His son skipped toward us, reaching for the box in his father's hand. Once it was secure, the little guy dropped down to one knee and grinned at us.

"Hey, Phillip," he said, waving at me.

I snorted. "Hey, little guy."

"So, here's the thing," he said. "Me and Daddy were talking the other day. We've both seen how sad you've been since you found out you bankrupted Nostalgia Nation the same way you bankrupted Rainbow Records."

"We don't speak of this," I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him. "It was in the contract I made you sign."

Rivers sighed. "I already told you. Nine-year-olds can't be legally bound by a contract. I don't know how many times I have to remind you."

Beau huffed. "I was speaking."

"Sorry," Rivers and I both said.

"You should be. Now let me finish, cause you're going to want to hear this, Phillip." He paused, sizing us up like he was worried we might interrupt him once he got going again. "As I was saying; we've both seen how sad you've been. We know this isn't what you planned on—coming home and losing your show before it even aired an episode—but that's where you are. Home. You're happy you stayed, aren't you?"

I raked my fingers through his hair and smiled. "There isn't anywhere else I'd rather be."

"Good. So, Daddy and I were talking, and we came to a concussion."

"Conclusion. We came to a conclusion," Rivers corrected.

He stared daggers at his father. "Would you let me say this already?"

Rivers extended his arm like he was a studio showcase model onThe Price is Right."By all means. Have at it."

His eyes locked on mine again, and he lifted the box until it sat awkwardly only inches from my face. "You've been my favorite singer ever since I can remember. Before you came back, me and Daddy used to dance around the house singing your song while we cleaned. He wasn't happy a whole lot, but when we'd dance, his whole face would light up, and he'd smile so big it looked like he was trying to swallow the world whole. He didn't do a lot of smiling, but your song always put one on his face. Then you came back."

I sniffled.

"I haven't seen him happy like this in a long time. Not after Momma died. But he's finally happy again. We both are. So, we have a question for you. Daddy says it's your choice, and you can say no and it'll be fine, but I'm not taking no for an answer."

---