Page 69 of False Promises

Neither Dahlia with Jeff. He would have told me. Dahlia was always there for him. Even when darkness threatened to kill everything good between them. She would have never deceived him on purpose. He was the one who made her life hell. And she stuck by him. Through the good and the bad. Until they surfed the wave and found their way back to each other.

And there was Belinda and Stud. They loved each other. A whole lot. Their relationship had strong foundations, based on respect. Everything they did, they did together. As a team. As a family. Because that’s what being in a serious and committed relationship meant.

Why was everything with Savannah always ending up more difficult than it had to be? Every time I thought I had her figured out, that we were moving forward together, I felt like she didn’t care about me or my feelings, and I was back to square one.

Right now, my anger wasn’t just motivated by the gown’s exorbitant price tag, but by the hit to my pride and reputation too. We had agreed with the designer that Savannah would wear the stupid dress on the red carpet tonight. That she’d be photographed wearing it. This could have been the beginning of a lucrative long-term partnership between them. My words meant something to me. June even got her a spread in the best fashion magazine in the country to talk about the movie and her look for the event. The whole nine fucking yards. Now it was all reduced to a stupid joke.

My bowtie felt too tight around my neck.

I breathed out, trying to calm the nerves catching fire inside me.

I could feel my anger rising. Soon I’d rip at the seams if I didn’t talk myself out of throwing a fit.

Savannah would drive me insane.

She was fire and water. Heaven and hell. Black and white. Right and wrong.

All. At. The. Same. Time.

Opposite personalities that lived in the same body. Same mind.

She had a way of driving me crazy. A ball of fury bounced around in my chest.

After last night’s chat, I really thought we were doing better at communicating. That we had agreed to work toward a common goal—our relationship—together.

My blood turned to lava.

The gasket of my patience would pop any second. I cleared my throat, trying to keep my composure from bursting and destroying everything in its wake. “Savannah, you threw a tantrum to get that dress. You monopolized my assistant’s time to get your hands on it. We came to an agreement with the designer after he refused, at first, to let you wear it.”

Savannah watched me with doe eyes and her famous pout—yes, she wore it like an award. She grinned at me as if I’d said nothing. As if she didn’t care I had to pull strings for her to get the gown and had to fork out a pretty penny so that it arrived on time.

“All that matters is you love the way I look tonight. Don’t be silly. It’s just a dress. A ridiculous piece of fabric. Not a reason for you and me to fight.”

She circled my waist. Her scent washed through me.

Savannah kissed my cheek. “Don’t get upset, Carter. I look best in this gown.” She paused. “Unless you think I’m ugly.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Do you?”

“What? No. No. You look amazing, already told you. It’s just—” How to say the words without sounding like an egotistical jerk? The one she often accused me to be.

She tapped the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. “Then I’m happy we agree.”

She squeezed my hand and without another word, exited the room, leaving me to ponder the last minute on my own.

My anger broiled inside me. I breathed out and pushed some of my wrath down.

Did I really want to let a dress spoil my night?

Getting upset about a gown seemed childish. But still…

We fought over it weeks ago. Damn it.

Yeah, at this instant, my life was a joke. I laughed it out, unable to decide if I wanted to scream at the world or forfeit the entire night and take the next flight home. Home. Where was it? I belonged nowhere anymore. I had no family. No roots. How did I end up even more lost than I already was?

When did my life become so twisted? When did dealing with stupid shit became my new reality?

In the middle of the gigantic bedroom, I failed to reload my confused mind.

My spirits sank. And so did my heart. The narrative I’d created in my mind since last night was just that. A narrative.