Page 65 of Between Now and Always

She blanches, her eyes wide and impossibly blue against the backdrop of her suddenly very pale face.

“No… we couldn’t. We have families. Careers.”

“You wouldn’t give all of that up to be with me?”

“You shouldn’twantme to. You shouldn’taskme to. I love you, Carter. I’ll never stop. But I won’t ever give up my entire life for anyone again. I just got it back. I’m finally free. I’m finally doing what I want.”

“It’s good to know what your priorities are. But I guess I’ve always known. You chose money over me before, ” I say, stung by her rejection.

She jerks back, as if I spit in her face. Her eyes narrow and she draws her shoulders up.

“I know you had a great childhood, but, I grew up in a house of horrors. I would have doneanythingto save Cameron from that. She’s mysister. A completely helpless baby. My father is violent and sadistic. And he doesn’t have that thing called fear of prosecution and jail that stops most of us from strangling each other to death,” she rages, her finger stabbing the air as if she’s conducting a symphony.

“I know.” I try to grab her finger. She slaps my hand away.

“I found out months ago that the money’s mine already. If I wanted to, I could go to Texas and demand the will be enforced and be rich beyond my wildest dreams. I wouldn’t be working sixty hours a week,” she says in a voice made harsh by disappointment and hurt.

“The money is yours?” I gape.

“But I’d rather find a way to blow all that money up than keep my father’s secrets. I admit that it was a misguided decision. But,I won’t apologize for not being willing to sacrifice my sister’s chance at a better life to run away with you, no matter how much I liked kissing you. That money was a way out. Oneyoucouldn’t give me.”

I flinch.

“That was below the belt,” I say.

“It’s true. I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m just being honest,” she says in a frank voice.

“And Carter, even if I was willing to walk away now, there’s not a place in this world we could live in peace if what we hope isn’t true. But, wecouldlive right here and figure out how to be friends.”

The way she says that, as if it’s a suitable substitute for everything else we could be, pisses me off.

“Fuckyour friendship.I want to be your lover.I want to be yourhusband. I want to plant my fucking seed in you and get the chance to watch it grow.”

My bedroom door opens. I freeze and my stomach plummets. Beth straightens and scoots away from me, her eyes widening in pained surprise before she closes them. When she opens them half a second later, the disappointment in them cuts me in half.

Lisa, the sound tech I left the bar with, steps into the living room wrapped in a towel.

I’d forgotten she was here.

I only let her come up because I’d spilled beer all over both of us.

“I’ve been done with the shower forever, what are you doing out here?” She asks in a coy, but accusatory voice.

“Uh Lisa…shit.” I gawk at her, trying to figure out how I’m going to make this nightmare scenario work.

She looks at Beth, her eyes narrowing. “Who is this?”

“Lisa, you should go,” I say between clenched teeth.

“If you wanted company tonight you could have asked me, she’s not even pretty,” she says with a nasty gleam in her eyes.

“What the fuck did you say?” I demand.

Beth stands up abruptly, stalks to the door, and yanks her coat off the hook.

“Beth, please wait.”

She whirls on me, the cold fury in her eyes stops me cold.

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