Page 58 of Unmasking My Dark Knight

“Ah, who could forget the corn maze? I’m glad we survived.”

I smiled. He was good at this. This small talk chipped away at my need to feel perfect. For once, I was less interested in how I was perceived, and more in how he felt. “What about you? How are you liking this whole wedding adventure we’re on?”

Ro thought about it, helping me take my seat on the bench. We both placed our wine glasses on either side of us. “It’s far different from the week I expected to have. Far, far different. But it’s nice being back with your family. It’s been a long time since I last saw everyone.”

I leaned closer to him. “Why did you think it’d be so different?”

“For starters… I didn’t expect to be part of the entire experience. Staying at a place like this? It’s impossible for someone like me.” he clicked his tongue, nodding his head.

“I hate to say it, but I’m kinda glad Leo got sick.” I sounded like a jerk, but why did I care? Gustav’s former best man was kinda creepy—not in a haunted Halloween house way. Ro, however… well, Ro was Ro. “Gustav made the right choice in calling you up. You deserve to be here.”

“Never thought I’d hear you say that, or be happy about another person's sickness. But thanks, I think?” he laughed, totally amused.

“What’s the next part?” I asked impatiently, wanting to know.

“What do you mean?”

“You said… for starters. That typically indicates another reason that made your week different.”

Ro and I were on the bench, sitting so close our thighs were touching. My dress slightly spilled over his black slacks. We kind of matched like a cheesy couple going to a funeral together.

Ro’s knees bobbed up and down, and a breeze came through the willow branches above our heads. It pulled at my hair, lifting it softly across my cheek. There was this long silence that lingered between us, and he looked so serious, almost like he was in pain. I couldn’t even move, breathe, or think.

“Spending time with you, like this," he said hesitantly but sternly. "We may have had a rocky start, but since the moment we cleared the air… all I’ve wanted was to spend time with you. You’re not that spoiled little rich girl I remember from high school. Maybe your crush wasn’t reciprocated then, but I sure hope you’ll come back around to it. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head, Ivy Jade…”

Romeo was saying all the right things. Each confession more impactful than the last. And I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. How could I, though, when I wanted to kiss High Jynx? Was it right or wrong? Did it even matter? Everything I felt for both men began to feel like one singular emotion, and it was messing with my head.

Ro leaned in so close, his lips nearly hovering over my glossed ones. “I’d like to kiss you, Ivy Jade.”

This was it, the moment I always dreamed of. Our timing was right, and our hearts settled into who we were as people. I wasn’t that young, naive girl anymore, and he wasn’t the lost boy who clung to my family each summer.

I answered, pressing my lips onto his, savoring the weight and the pressure of how hard he kissed me. Both of us were consumed, possessed, and eager to explore. My hands practically took hold of his cheek, pulling him deeper. My mouth parted as I tasted the velvety wine straight from his tongue. The rush of all my feelings came straight out. The subtle stubble against his jawline felt divine as he kissed down my neck.

Romeo scooped me up into his arms, sitting me on his lap as I tilted his head towards the willow tree, licking him, devouring him.

Ro’s hand wrapped around my lower back, bringing me closer till all I felt was the firmness of his hard, broad body. After all these years, I never thought Romeo Scott would have kissed me. Or did I kiss him?

“You taste so good,” he whimpered, as his hand skimmed down to my ass.

All of my dreams from before were coming true. But maybe my dreams had changed. Maybe I didn’t want the knight in shining armor; maybe I wanted to take a chance on the dark knight.

“I can’t,” I shook my head, “I can’t do this, Ro.” I hopped out of his grasp. “I’m so sorry,” I said. I tried to fix my dress, smoothing it out before turning away quickly, and walked as fast as I could, leaving him alone in the garden, fighting the urge to run.

“Ivy Jade!” he called for me, but I simply couldn’t look back. I couldn’t break our hearts anymore than I already had, because the one I needed lived far away from this garden, and I needed to go to his kingdom, to tell him how I felt.

CHAPTER 23

Romeo

Ireally thought I was going to tell Ivy Jade right there in the garden. Once she leaned in for the kiss, once her body was pressed against me and her sweet tongue mixed with mine—all I could think about was how much I wanted to tell her.

Well, that, and of course, the rings I still kept a secret.

She looked so fucking beautiful in her dark dress as we walked around the lush garden, and I hadn’t expected any of it to happen. But the way she looked at me was the same way she looked at High Jynx, and I had to tell her what she meant to me. What she meant to… High Jynx.

And then it stopped as suddenly as it started.

“Ivy Jade!” I called out to her as she walked back towards the chateau.