Page 1 of Give My Everything
CHAPTER1
BEN
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly,” she says, letting out a huff of laughter that belies the confusion I can hear in her voice. “Can you say that just…one more time? Because it sounded for a second there like you said…”
“I think we should get married.”
She freezes, her confusion morphing into completely puzzled curiosity.
It’s kind of like the look you see on a teenager’s face when they sit through sex ed for the first time: slight discomfort, mostly bewilderment—but definitely a thread of interest.
Remmy’s reaction isn’t surprising to me. Not at all.
To her, my statement comes out of nowhere. Completely unbidden. Without any kind of depth of thought as to what it would mean for her. For me. For us.
She doesn’t know the careful planning that’s occurred before this moment, the deliberation I’ve gone through in determining what should be my next steps in moving toward my ultimate goal.
Remmy may not have been my first choice—or even a true consideration—until just moments ago when I first sat down with her on the rooftop bar at my restaurant, but that’s because I didn’t know shecouldbe a consideration.
And the longer she sits there just staring at me, the more I am convinced Remmy is without a doubt the most perfect person to play this game with me, the ultimate companion in a game of retribution that has been a long time coming.
I relax back in my chair, my body tilted just slightly to the side as my fingers brush over my five-day beard growth.
The facial hair was Ivy’s idea. My baby sister told me I look too scary with my face cleanly shaven every day and said I should soften myself with a beard.
Like our brother’s.
Though why she thinks Wyatt’s vagabond-esque appearance makes him look any amount of affable is beyond me.
She doesn’t seem to mind Lucas’ hair-free face, although he is nothing but soft and silly and playful, that special kind of charming only boy bands can pull off, the kind that enthralls young girls. I can see why she doesn’t find him…what were her exact words about me?
Too severe.
Quite the opinion from a thirteen-year-old, but that’s Ivy.
She might come across to many as a dainty little wallflower hoping to fade into the crowd, but I’ve been watching her bloom over the past year or so, her voice getting louder and stronger without even speaking a word.
So I’m trying out the facial hair, even if it is itchy as shit.
Remmy remains silent across from me, though her posture has relaxed just slightly. She doesn’t look ready to bolt out of her seat, which I consider a definite positive when taking into account her shocked reaction to my proposal.
“Nothing to say?” I taunt playfully as I reach out and take hold of a coaster that sits on the table between us. Tapping it twice, I continue. “I would have assumed you’d have quite a strong opinion. Thatisyour style, after all.”
Her eyes narrow slightly before she relaxes her face just as quickly.
Learning to put on a mask comes from years of conditioning, though hers isn’t as good as most of the women in Hermosa Beach.
Any other woman who was irritated at me wouldn’t have allowed that tiny wrinkle between her brow. Her face would have stayed pleasantly neutral, regardless of how much anger was brewing beneath her skin.
That’s women for you—master manipulators who hide their true intentions with a smile and a hand down your pants.
Not Remmy, though.
She’s never been able to conceal how she really feels. Sure, she’s quick to shift her facial expressions into what she thinks should be shown, but she’sneverfast enough. Ever.
She and I don’t know each other well, but Idoknow she’s got a rebellious streak in her that has driven her mother mad. I also know she dated Lucas for the better part of a decade even though she never planned to be with him forever, and that she carries more secrets behind those hazel eyes of hers than anyone else would ever be able to guess.
And that’s just from my casual observations. That comes without even trying to know her or understand her or her motivations.
