Page 31 of Broken Player

I nodded. "I was terrified, but a dare's a dare. I had to do it."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like you. You climbed up the tree, and you were fine until halfway up, a squirrel popped out of nowhere and scared you so bad you let go of the branch."

Shuddering, I took another sip of my frozen drink. "I hit the ground, and my arm shattered in three places. I still have the scars from where the bone popped out of my skin," I said, tracing the tiny discolored spots on my forearm.

"That's not the part that had me convinced, though, because honestly, you never turned down a dare as a kid," Charlie pointed out. "The part that had me convinced was how Maddox acted when it happened. He forced mom and dad to take him to the hospital, and he slept on your bedroom floor for almost a week. I think he felt bad and he was so worried about you he wouldn't leave your side. I was convinced he loved you even then, at twelve years old."

A tear slid down my cheek at the memory. I hadn't thought about that in years, but she was right. He stayed with me, and every time I cried out in pain because I moved in my sleep or couldn't get comfortable, Maddox was there stroking my hair and telling me it'd be okay, that he'd always be there for me. I guess that's why it hurt so much when he broke his promise to me and left.

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be," I whispered, and thankfully, my sisters dropped it.

The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast with my sisters, I slid my sunglasses off of my face and jogged downstairs to meet Yates. Spending the night reconnecting with my sisters was what I needed. I felt refreshed and ready to face whatever shit show with his family I was about to walk into.

I climbed into the passenger seat of Yates's blue convertible and shut the door. He flashed me a smile before taking off toward wherever we were going. "You look nice today," he commented, his gaze sliding down my body. I squirmed under the intense scrutiny, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile. I didn't want today to be uncomfortable. Even though I was sure I'd never have romantic feelings for Yates, that didn't mean we couldn't get along and be friends.

"It's a short drive to my parents' estate, but I should warn you they can be a lot to handle. My mother will be the hardest to convince, which means we'll have to be more affectionate than we have been so far," he warned.

"What does that mean?" I asked, feeling dread creep into my body.

"We haven't kissed yet, we barely touch when we're around other people. We're going to have to do those things at this brunch, Ryan. You're going to have to get used to me touchingyou, us being close. We need to be a married couple in every sense of the word," he finished.

I didn't like what I was pretty sure he was implying. Hadn't he said that we didn't need to sleep together when I agreed to this whole thing? "In every sense of the word in public, right? Because I'm not ready to go there with you in private, and I don't know if I ever will be," I emphasized.

I watched his jaw clench, and then he regained his composure. "Of course. Just in public." Somehow I didn't believe he meant the words this time around.

He glanced over at me before returning his eyes to the road. "You're going to give us a fair shot, though, right? Because I like everything I've gotten to know about you so far, and I think we could be perfect together, babe."

We'd been fake engaged for about a week, and it already felt like the lines were blurring where he was concerned. On my side of things, the lines were crystal clear. "I think we can be great friends, Yates, but I don't see anything romantic happening between us. I just don't feel that way about you," I said, keeping my voice soft and as gentle as possible.

I watched as he gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles turned white. "I think you're wrong, Ryan. I'll show you how good we can be together. You just need to give me a chance."

I sighed and studied his profile. What was wrong with me that I wasn't attracted to him? That I felt nothing when I looked at him? "I'll think about it, okay?" We were about to go into his parent's lair, and I didn't want him to be upset with me when we did. I'd have to talk to him about this again later.

He relaxed and shot me a crooked smile. "Okay."

A few minutes later, we pulled up to a massive iron gate, and Yates entered a code on a keypad outside. As the gate swung open, we drove inside, and I marveled at how huge the property was. I hadn't even looked at the house yet. I lived on a ranch, andeven I was impressed by what seemed like miles of lush green grass and manicured gardens.

The house itself was red brick and gigantic. It could fit at least ten of my houses into their one. It made me wonder why Yates had chosen me as his bride to be. His family was loaded, and he was good looking. I was sure I needed him more than he needed me. Maybe that was why he picked me. He knew I wouldn't back out.

He parked in the circular drive and hopped out of the car, jogging around and opening the door for me. He held his hand out, and I gripped it, stepping out of the car as he pulled me against his chest. I guess we were starting with the affection now. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me sweetly, but I might as well have been kissing my brother. I pulled away before he could deepen the kiss, but he didn't seem to mind.

He kept my hand in his, weaving our fingers together as we made our way up the front steps. Before we reached the door, it swung open, and a man in a uniform bowed slightly in greeting. Yates didn't acknowledge him as we passed, but I shot him an apologetic smile. I wasn't sure what the protocol was here, but I was sure ignoring someone who did something polite for you was rude as hell.

A middle-aged woman with her hair pulled back into a low bun and dressed in what I was sure was a designer skirt suit stepped into the entryway. Behind her was a man who had salt and pepper hair and stood slightly shorter than Yates. "Mother, father. Meet my fiance, Ryan. Ryan, these are my parents, Jacqueline and Richard Rutherford."

I held out my hand toward his mother, and she looked down her nose at it, distaste coloring her features. "Charmed," she said before looking back at Yates. His father hadn't done more than glance down at me. He hadn't even said hello. I knew from Yates's warnings that his family would be difficult, but Ididn't expect them to be complete dicks lacking ordinary human decency.

How the hell would I possibly survive an entire year in this situation, having to be around these people regularly?

Jacqueline's cold eyes flicked back to me. "I thought we could discuss wedding plans. We don't have much time to do things properly, so whatever we can throw together will have to do." She said it as if this was all my fault. Maybe she thought I got pregnant and trapped her son. I had no idea what Yates had told her going into this. For the first time, I thought maybe Yates and I should've discussed our story before we did the whole meet the parents thing.

Too late now.

I also noted that she hadn't invited us in to sit down yet. Yates must have read my mind because he finally spoke up. "Mother, can we go sit down before we get into all that?"

She sighed irritably. "By all means, you know where the parlor is, Yates."

---