AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dan looks pleased by Derek’s praise. I’m not. He’s only stating the obvious.
“I understand,” my friend and business partner says. “Tell me more about you.”
He’s not going to grill this guy about why he’s rushing Perrie to the altar?
“Well, I’m co-CEO of an environmental tech company. A buddy of mine and I started the firm, and we’re moving our headquarters to Seattle next month…”
As Derek drones on, I get irritated. Not only does he sound like a self-important asshole, but I realize he intends to take Perrie far away again. Deep down, I’d held out hope that she’d come back to Phoenix after graduation…
“What do you think of Seattle?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “I haven’t been yet. Derek says it’s amazing…”
So he doesn’t care if she likes where they’ll live?
“What will you do there?”
“I’m sure she’ll find a job,” Derek answers for her. “She’s so smart and charming. There are lots of great start-ups and little women-owned businesses where she could make a difference.”
Maybe he doesn’t mean it, but the douche sounds condescending. Perrie will make a splash wherever she’s employed, not just in “little” corners of the workplace. Besides, none of that sounds like they’ll fulfill the dreams Perrie expressed before she left for school. “Sweet pea?”
She shrugs. “I’ll figure it out. It’s a big city with a healthy economy…”
And a lot of rain. She’s always loved the desert’s heat, sun, and stark beauty. To her, storms ruin a gorgeous blue sky. And Derek wants to take her to one of the rainiest cities in the country.
Does he know her at all?
Sure, she might be willing to make that sacrifice if she really loves him. But the way she seems reluctant to look at the guy, much less touch him, leads me to wonder if she does.
“Well, that all sounds wonderful,” Dan says when Derek finally shuts up. “Are you excited, Perrie?”
“Thrilled.”
She doesn’t sound like it. I’m calling bullshit.
“So was your engagement your big announcement, sweet pea?” I ask her directly because I don’t want Asshole thinking I’m talking to him.
“Part of it.” She swallows nervously, then finally cuts me a sidelong stare. The flare of awareness when our eyes meet shows all over her face. Then she turns to Dan and squeezes his hand. “We’d actually like to get married here, with your permission.”
“I’d love that.” Dan looks like a pleased, proud father.
I want to throw up. “When?”
She hesitates. “Saturday.”
In six fucking days? That’s how long I have to see if tying herself to Derek would be the biggest mistake of her life and stop her?
“Oh, wow. Well…” Dan rubs his hands together. “We have a lot of planning to do, then. How about we sit down to dinner, and you can tell me what you’re envisioning.”
While Perrie’s father wastes his time with that, I’ll figure out how to get her alone so I can hear her side of this clusterfuck—without her fiancé butting in.
* * *
Perrie
Hayden can see right through me; I’m sure of it.
I escaped the tension of the dinner table to do the dishes, but I’m still a nervous wreck. Hayden glared at Derek throughout the entire meal. I know the million and one reasons my fiancé doesn’t like my childhood crush. And my father seems oblivious to the undercurrents.
