"No!" I retort, draining my beer. "I just ended it."
"Why?"
God, this fool.
"Because we were too young."
Issac frowns, tilting his head to the side as he points his beer bottle in my direction. "That's it?"
"It was too intense; we were too young…"
"Youarekidding me, right?"
I meet his eyes, shaking my head. "It was the right thing to do; look at how I've lived, Issac. I couldn't have given her my word then."
"Because you'reBlake James?" Issac rolls his eyes. "You lost a girl you loved because you wanted to screw around? God, you're stupid."
Gritting my teeth, I refuse to rise to his bait.
Memories of Danielle staring into my eyes, her fingers stroking my neck as we inhaled each other's breath fill my mind. The erratic pounding of my heart when her lips pulled into a bright smile, the way she made me feel when she brushed her lips against mine.
"I'm done with this conversation."
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. You better not fuck her over, James." Issac stands up, tossing notes onto the table for the bartender. "Danielle's amazing." This isn't like Issac.
"If you like her so fucking much, why won't you see her throughout the fake marriage?" I rise to my feet, knowing the two of us squaring up to one another isn't a pretty sight to behold.
"I told you why."
"So? Fuck what you have to see her like, if you know she doesn't mean it, that it means nothing to her—have your fucking relationship with her."
Issac nods, a sad smile on his face as he shakes his head at me. "Maybe I will. Write that into your fucking vows."
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sink back into the chair, exhaling heavily.
Why the fuck did my dad do this to me?
Dragging my phone out of my pocket, I scroll through the numbers until I see hers.
Danielle.
She answers, and I hang up like the coward I am.
Fuck Issac and Danielle.
They can do what they want; I'm in this for the long run.
Five years.
Then I never have to see her again.
Until then, I'm getting married tomorrow in a little office, away from prying eyes.
Danielle could barely look at me when the arrangements were made, and she even went as far as to make sure it was during her lunch hour.
Who gets married on their lunch hour?
It's hard to separate emotions from transactions in the world of business, but it's not something I've struggled with.
