Page 92 of Burn It Down

Glancing to my right, I see a picture, but I can’t make it out.

“What the fuck?” he barks, letting go of my hand, instantly putting me on edge.

“What’s wrong?”

“What the fuck isthis?” He holds the phone up to my face. Thankfully we’re on a straight stretch of uncrowded highway so I can risk looking at the screen.

But what I see forces me to pull over onto the shoulder anyway because surely, I’m not seeing this right.

It’s a screenshot of our city’s Sunday newspaper. Across the Lifestyle page is a massive, bold headline:

Governor’s Daughter To Wed State’s Wealthiest Bachelor

Underneath it, still in bold, but smaller font:Coraline Cosey set to the tie the knot with investment firm CFO Jacob Ellington.There’s even a picture of Cora and I smiling for the camera from some event we attended last year.

“What the hell? Dylan, I have no idea what this is.”

Immediately, I reach for my phone, taking it off DND, and call Cora. While her phone rings, my text alerts start going off.

“Jacob, I can explain.”Well, that’s not what I was expecting her to say. “Iamflying to the U.K. for that panel, but not until tomorrow. I had someth—”

“Cora,” I interrupt, realizing she’s not giving me an explanation about the article. “Have you seen today’s paper?”

“Like, the newspaper?” she asks confused.

“Yes. There’s an engagement announcement in it.Ourengagement announcement.”

“What?” I hear her fingers hitting the touch screen of her iPad as she searches for the article in question. “It’s with great pleasure that we announce our engagement and upcoming nuptials. Coraline has given me everything by saying yes andwe can’t wait to begin our life together as Mr. and Mrs. Ellington,” she reads.

“I didn’t give that interview, Cor. My fucking father has gone too damn far,” I growl, already knowing this is his handiwork. “Since you’re still home, can you help me set this record straight before you leave instead of waiting until you get back?” Even if she leaves tomorrow, her trip will be over a week long and I’m no longer interested in hiding Dylan like all my gay porn website URLs growing up. But I also want andneedCora to have a say in how the end of our relationship plays out.

She sighs in defeat before answering. “I’ll see if Ines can make it happen.”

“Thanks, Cor. I owe you.”

We hang up and I immediately punch my father’s number on my screen, setting my phone back in its holder on speakerphone, ready for war. Dylan and I are still sitting on the side of the highway because I’m far too angry to see straight and driving right now would be reckless.

“Jacob,” my father sings. The smug lilt to his voice tells me he knows exactly why I’m calling.

“Cut the shit. You hadno rightto put meorCora on the hook like that. My relationships aremybusiness.”

My father stays infuriatingly calm while I seethe. Dylan reaches over and tentatively places his hand on my thigh, allowing me to wrap my fingers around his and squeeze, thankful for the outlet.

“All I did was speed up the inevitable, son. You can thank me later. Cora will make a wonderful wife.”

“Thankyou? All you’ve done is create a mess.”

“No, Jacob. I’ve undone the messyouhavecreated. I’ve simplified things and gotten you back on track. I’m willing to overlook whatever’s gone on between you and that grease monkey the past few months and never mention it again. I’llchalk it up to your rebellious phase happening late in life, but contact with him ends now.”

It’s not smart to goad my father, but fuck it. This is war.

“Well, that’ll be hard to do, seeing as he’s sitting right next me.” I could leave it there, but I’m on a roll and damn it feels good to finally unleash myself. “He’d say hi, but he currently has his mouth stuffed full of my cock.”

Dylan snorts and quickly covers his mouth with his free hand. I flash him a smile and the glint in his eyes has my blood boiling for a reason far different than this conversation with my father.

“Charming, Jacob. We’ll talk about this when you get to the office tomorrow.”

As he hangs up, I blow out a breath, my left leg is bouncing, and my hands are clammy. Oh sure, I wish I had all the confidence to just say that shit and laugh it off, but what I just said is a big fucking deal.

---