“I’m inside if you need me. Get it over with before it’s too late.” With that he disappeared through the door.
“Jack, what the hell are you doing living in this dump?” she asked marching up the steps.
Why she always insisted on calling Donovan’s home a dump, I had no idea because it was always spotless. His parents had been killed in a car accident two years ago, and for some reason Donovan always had to keep the place neat as a pin, like his mom used to keep it.
“Nice to see you too.” I tried to ignore her, but no such luck. She was standing with her back against the porch railing, after testing it to make sure it was secure.
Yeah, I hid a smile.
“We need to talk about the wedding and the fact that I don’t want, you know who, standing for you.”
I gulped the rest of my beer down and slowly put the empty bottle on the floor at my feet while I watched her. “I need to talk to you about the wedding.”
“I’m waiting.”
Sighing, I asked, “Do you love me, Mia?”
She opened her mouth to reply then shut it again. “What kind of question is that?” she finally asked, standing up and flickering her keys in agitation.
“A simple yes or no will do.”
“Well, do you love me?” she asked me with one of her come-hither looks, which I seemed to be immune to.
It was now or never. “No, I don’t.”
Her face fell as she fussed with her bag.
“You still haven’t answered me.”
“We’ll start to love each other. What does love matter? Now about your…friends.”
Fuck.
“Let’s not discuss my friends; they are not open for discussion. They’re more than friends; they’re like family. Do you want to marry me?”
She hesitated. “Jack, stop asking stupid questions. Of course I want to marry you. You’re just being silly.”
Sitting up, I rested my elbows on my knees and stared at her. “I can’t marry you Mia.” I’d said it, now to face the music.
“Yes well, we both know the wedding will be going ahead, so I suggest you get any fantasies you are having out of your head, because this wedding will take place in four weeks. Now as you’re unwilling to co-operate about guests, mainly the two you want to be part of the wedding party, I’ll leave you alone to do whatever it is you do up here,” she said without missing a beat, leaving me stunned on the porch.
“Don’t just sit there, go after her and finish this,” Donovan said, walking out onto the porch.
Shit. I shot up from my chair and rushed after her, only to watch her put her foot down and shoot down the lane.
I was an idiot. Of all the reactions to my ‘can’t marry you’ statement, I hadn’t expected her to completely ignore what I’d said. Standing on Donovan’s drive I wasn’t sure who the biggest idiot was. Me for letting her go and not reacting sooner, or Mia for not listening to any damn thing I said.
Donovan walked up to me and slung his arm around my neck. “You, my friend, are a fuckup. What was so wrong with saying ‘Mia the wedding is off, get over it’? How the fuck could you stay sitting there and let her go. What’s wrong with you?” Letting me go he stomped inside.
The fact was I’d planted the seed in Mia’s head, so hopefully, I prayed, she’d start to think about what I said, otherwise I was going to have to go through with this whole charade thing. I couldn’t see any other way out of it without Mia’s co-operation. At least if she cooperated things might settle back down pretty quick, but something that still bothered me was why did she want to marry me, when there was no love lost between us?
I needed to head home, because I was running out of clothes and I missed my horse. Kayne, one of the trainers, had been looking after Trigger for me. I also hoped to see Thalia and see her smile.
“Either go and fuck her or stop grinning like an idiot.”
Reece had appeared from where, I’d no idea, but he was standing about ten feet away waiting for my comeback. He was going to be disappointed.
“Tell Donovan I’m heading home for a bit.”