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Riley shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other, then cuts a stare at my brother. Asking his permission to tell the truth?
“Look at me,” I demand. “He didn’t ask you a question. I did. I want an answer. I deserve an answer.”
“No. Under our previous agreement, I’m not even allowed to speak to you.” Riley looks down like he’s ashamed.
As he should be. I’m angry and I’m too betrayed to feel sorry for him. “So you would never have come back?”
He winces. “I have another decade left on my student loans.”
In other words, no. Whatever his feelings, he never loved me enough to choose me.
“And the ‘loan’ you were going to give me…was my brother’s money?”
“Yes.” Riley barely manages to get the word out.
The difference between him and Xavian couldn’t be clearer. Riley threw me under the bus to line his own pockets, regardless of how I felt or what I wanted. If I’d been the gullible child Parker accused me of being and blindly married Riley, he would have been a serviceable spouse. He would have kept a respectable job and probably been a faithful husband and a dependable father. But our entire marriage would have been built on a bed of lies.
Xavian, on the other hand, gave up his future—his dream—for me. Because he wants me to succeed. Because he believes in me. Because he loves me. Because he would do anything for me.
I finally believe that.
He’s the sort of man I deserve to spend my life with, someone I can trust with my whole heart.
I turn to Riley. “Pack your bags and get out.”
He doesn’t even argue. He merely nods, tosses all his crap into his suitcase, empties his shampoo and shaving cream from the bathroom, then slinks for the door. “I’m sorry, Corinne.”
“I can see that.” But it’s too little too late. “Let me give you some advice. If you don’t want to spend the rest of your life alone, learn how not to be a selfish douchebag. Figure out how to put someone else first.” I point Xavian’s way. “Learn how to be more like this man.”
As Riley slinks out the door, Xavian slides his arm around me and smiles. “Can I put that ring on your finger now?”
“He’s bamboozling you. He’s leading you astray!” my brother insists.
I roll my eyes. “He’s not. Just stop.”
My brother turns to him. “I’ll tell the world you’re not Xayden Coast if you walk away from her tonight and never look back.”
What the hell? I gape at my brother, who’s obviously serious. And it pisses me off so much. But what about Xavian? Is he even remotely tempted?
“Fuck you. I don’t care what you tell the world anymore,” he assures Parker. “I don’t care what they think. But if you keep this shit up, the truth will eventually come out. It always does. Then…it will be on you. And it won’t be pretty.”
I turn to Xavian with the biggest smile. He could have responded to my brother’s PR kickback ploy by taking the deal. Or even threatening to release that video from our engagement party. But he chose me and protected me again.
He always will.
“You’re an asshole,” my brother hurls. “I’m going to—”
“Do what?” I give Parker the full force of my anger. “Stop meddling in my life!”
“I’m only trying to help.”
“Don’t.” I could threaten to turn Xavian loose on my brother. While he probably craves—and deserves—the vengeance, he’d rather have me. “I don’t need it. And I won’t want it ever again.”
My brother gapes. “You’re serious?”
I nod. “Think hard. Think about everything you’ve done in the name of ‘helping’ the people you love over the years and how that’s worked out.”
Beside me, Xavian approaches Parker. It’s probably the closest they’ve been to each other in half a decade. Xavian has every right to punch my brother in the face. He probably has the itch, too. Instead, he claps Parker on the shoulder. “Listen, I’m going to do whatever I have to in order to persuade your sister to marry me. Because I love her. You’re worried I’m a manwhore? Not anymore. She’s it for me. You’re worried my family isn’t good enough? The Reeds are gold, and if you spent time with them, you’d know that. You’re worried you’ll no longer have any sway over your sister? You shouldn’t. She’s a fucking adult. She’s smart, savvy, and ambitious. You did a good job raising her. Let go.”
Parker frowns like Xavian’s speech is painful. “But I…”
My brother is struggling to accept all this. I try to find the words to bring him around. Despite his faults, I’d rather have Parker in my life than not.
But Xavian helps me out again. “So what happens next can go one of two ways, and this totally depends on you. If she marries me, we’re always going to have Corinne in common. She’ll always be your sister, and she’ll always be my wife. We can either be civil or we can be enemies. I’m willing to bury the hatchet and drop the animosity. I’m also willing to keep fucking fighting until one of us destroys the other. It’s your choice.”
