The Proposition 2: The Ferro Family (The Proposition: The Ferro Family) (5 page)

“I know that, but is
this seriously why you picked me up this morning? Because you didn’t want to eat alone?”

He pops a fry into his mouth and nods.
The movement makes his dark hair fall over his brow. He sweeps it back with his hand and tips his head to the side while pointing a new fry at me. “You hate eating alone.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then, what is the point?”

“This wasn’t supposed to be a date! Sex, Bryan, you said you wanted sex and that’s it.” I whisper-yell at him, leaning across the table, but it doesn’t stop the waitress from cho
osing that moment to reappear.

Her eyes go wide as the grumpy expression on her fac
e vanishes and is replaced by an amused and somewhat interested look. “Need anything else, hun? Well, anything that I can get you?” Bryan nearly spews his milkshake as my face turns cherry red. The waitress looks me over and then winks at me before she walks away.

Bryan is practically choking, but finally manages to speak. “Can we add her to the
agreement? I think she’s into you.” His body shakes as he tries to repress his laughter and fails.

I’ve slumped forward to hide my face at the same time I
’ve slid down in the booth. Someone, shoot me. I kick Bryan under the table. “I want to leave.”

“Yes, you said that already. All good things come in time.”
My lips are drawn together, trying not to say the line running through my head. Bryan and I used to banter so well, but I don’t want this. It’s not real. He’s extorting me. I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. “Oh, come on, Hallie. I know you want to say it. Just say it. Be you and stop acting like the repressed version of yourself that your boyfriend turned you into.”

“I’m not discussing Neil with you.”

“Yeah, because there’s nothing to discuss.”

“I hate you.”

“Yeah, you said that already.”

The waitress walks past and drops a check on the table. Bryan picks it up and chuckles. “Want her number?” He holds up the tab and shows me her handwritten message on the top
:
Call me XOXO
followed by her number.

I make an
aggravated sound and shove out of the booth. We have to get on with things so I can stop Maggie. I can’t be in two places at once. I wish Bryan would just get on with things, but he doesn’t. I try to walk out of the restaurant without him, but he grabs a belt loop on my jeans and tugs me back to him as we walk outside into the crisp air.

Then his arm is around my waist. He’s walking next to me and
whispering in my ear, “Got some place to be?”

“No, you’re the only person who I’m whoring myself out to today.” He flinches and his hand slips from my side. I continue to walk, not noticing that he’s stopped. When I turn back
, Bryan is watching me and I can tell that there’s a war waging within him. He knows damn well what he’s done to me, but he did it anyway.

“You’re not a whore.” The wind whips
the hair out of his eyes as he stands there, unblinking. His voice is calm, even.

The corner of my mouth tugs up into a sad smile and I shake my head. “I know what I am, what I have to do, and I already said yes. I am what you made me, so let’s not sugarcoat things. I don’t want to pretend.”

“I do.” His confession surprises me.

My lips part, but I don’t know what to say, so I stand there gaping at him. A car pulls into the parking lot and drives between us. Neither of us moves, we just stand there frozen with unspoken thoughts.
He looks away and takes a shaky breath before that playful smirk returns to his face. It’s his mask, a guise that hides every thought in his head, so no one will ever know what he really thinks or feels about anything.

I hate it. I want him to throw it away, but I don’t dare ask. The guy I knew isn’t in there anymore. He can’t be. I step toward him and look up into his f
ace. The pull between us is strong and I know I’ll regret this, but I say it anyway. “Then, let’s pretend. I’ll be me and you be you. No time has passed, we never broke up, you don’t hate me—oh, and you didn’t threaten me. I’m here because I want to be. I’ll be her, I’ll be the version of me that you remember, because that’s what you want, isn’t it? I wrote about the past, but you want to relive it, so we will.”

Bryan studies my face as I speak, his eyes lock with mine and don’t look away. “And?”

“And you will act like the man you are now and stop this fake crap.”

Bryan’s chest rises and falls as his eyes drift to my dark hair. He lifts a curl and winds it around his finger,
studying the smoothness of my dark strands like he’s never done so before. “You don’t want that.”

“Uh, no, you don’t want that. Bryan
…” my voice trails off. I’m so frustrated. Butterflies are swirling in my stomach and I swear to God that they’re going to fly out of my nose if I don’t either kiss him or step away, but I can’t. We’re locked together like two pieces of a puzzle. I drop my eyes and suck in a jagged gulp of air. Bryan’s gaze heats my face, slowly caressing it, relearning the lines and curves that were once so familiar to him.

“Hallie.” I look up when he calls my name and before I know what
’s happened his hands are on my cheeks and his lips are pressed to mine. It’s the softest kiss I’ve ever felt, gentle as a snowflake’s caress. It leaves me shaking and craving more, but he’s pulled away.

Bryan’s lips are parted as he watches me.
He finally says, “Things are this way for a reason. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to know more.”

Bitterness chokes me.
“Trust you. That’s rich.”

“I trust you.”
Damn, those eyes. They penetrate me to my core, stealing glimpses of my soul. His expression is so sincere that it scares me.

I give a knee-jerk reaction
and counter, “You shouldn’t. You don’t know me anymore, and as soon as I get the chance, I’ll get even with you for this. I swear to God, I will.”

I mean every word I say.
Vengeance burns through me and a steady stream of heat makes my fingers curl at my sides. Despite the attraction, I can sense when someone is out to hurt me and I know—without a doubt—that Bryan will decimate me. I feel the sensation swirl within my gut, warning me to stay away.

The
luminous smile returns to his beautiful face before he clicks his tongue and raises a brow at me. Leaning in close to my face, he whispers, “I’m looking forward to it.”

I need liquor. Seriously. My heart has been pounding since that kiss and it won’t slow down. The constant adrenaline rush is making me frantic. I want to run, scream, and dance all at the same time. Manic laughter tries to bubble up from within me, but I grip my hands together and twist, trying to force it back down.

Bryan
, on the other hand, seems completely cool and collected. We’re laying on the lawn behind the mansion at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. There’s an enormous grassy field that stretches from the back of the house all the way down to the water. Lavish houses line the opposite shore, but none are as large as this one. It’s one of the oldest homes in the area and it was turned into a state park before I can remember. There aren’t many people outside today, it’s a bit too brisk, but Bryan doesn’t mind and neither do I.

We lay in the grass, side by side, and stare at the sky. Bryan’s hands are tucked behind his head revealing
the toned body that I used to know so well. But he’s older now and the lines of his chest and waist have changed. Rather than growing softer, he’s become more angular with a trimmer waist. The muscles in his arms curve perfectly. The thought of having those arms around me flashes through my mind, but I swat the thought away. Eventually, he’ll stop playing and demand what he wants, but for now Bryan is content to stare at clouds and pretend we’re friends.

After a prolonged silence he confesses, “When I was a kid I wanted to live here. I thought I could buy this house.” He laughs softly and glances over at me. “That was the first time I learned that some things can’t be bought.”

I don’t respond because his admission gets under my skin. Apparently he can’t buy a house, but he can buy me. I press my lips together and stare at a cloud that’s all fluffy, curvy lines.

Bryan’s eyes are on the side of my face, but I don’t look at him. When I do, I get lost
in the depths of him and only see what I want to see. I wish so badly that we remained friends, but things didn’t turn out that way, and now here we are, with me plotting to get even with him on the lawn of one of our old hang outs. Yeah, we were weird. Bryan and I used to walk around here when we were together. The only other people around are the elderly and flocks of geese and ducks that reside down by the water.

When he looks away, Bryan takes a deep breath, and asks, “Why’d you write it about me? I mean, you could have written anything you wanted about any of your lovers and you chose me. I want to know why.” He has trouble asking the question. The way his voice comes out tells me so.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Besides, I already told you. It wasn’t meant to offend anyone.” Screw that, it wasn’t meant to be seen by anyone. I have horrible luck. For every good thing that happens, three more sucky things pop up at the same time. Bryan is a clusterfuck of payback for my good fortune.

I steal a glance his way when he doesn’t answer. His dark lashes are closed and he’s
breathing deeply, like my response pained him. When his eyes open again, he sees me. Bryan rolls onto his side and we’re nose to nose. “I don’t care if this whole thing blows up in my face, it’s worth the price.” I say nothing as my pulse pounds harder and his lips draw nearer. His emerald eyes dip from my gaze to my lips and back. In a low voice he says, “Pretend you love me. Kiss me, Hallie… Just once.”

Those words take hold of my heart and rip it from my chest. How can he say things like that to me? After everything we’ve been through, after the way he’s been treating me. I steady my voice, not trusting it to come out as sternly as I need it to. “You have no right to say things like that to me.”

“Don’t you wish for things, Hallie? Don’t you dream of second chances?”

He’s plunged a dagger into my heart and
is twisting it. I might as well be the thief from last night because his words are killing me. I realize what bothers me most about all of this and it’s crippling—I never stopped loving him. It didn’t matter that we parted ways and never spoke again, my affection didn’t die. It’s still there, burning bright and he knows. I can’t protect myself from him, I’ve never been able to mask my emotions from him.

My words turn to ice and I steel my voice, “There is no such thing as a second chance. Ask my mother or my father—whoever he is. Ask the man who adopted me and spared me from so much for so long. Ask me why I don’t wish or want anymore. Ask me Bryan.” But he doesn’t. Instead, he just st
ares at me with his lips parted, surprised. “Dreams are poison. They turn to dust too quickly and infect every part of your life like a cancer that can’t be stopped. I refuse to waste my life looking backward Bryan. There’s nothing there for me, so tell me why we’re reliving the past? Why’d you bring me here?”

Bryan rolls onto his back and breathes. He watches the sky for a long time before taking my hand, and weaving our fingers together. I want to pull away, but it’s not because I don’t enjoy his touch, but the opposite. Every caress of his skin on mine leaves me craving more.

“Do you hate me?” he finally asks. When I open my mouth to respond, he adds, “Tell me the truth. I’ll know if you’re lying and I don’t need more lies—not from anyone, especially you.”

His hand remains holding mine. My first response was to say I don’t hate him, but I don’t know him anymore. “Bryan, I don’t know what to think—of you or this. It seems like you wanted to be with me again, but then I don’t understand why you—” My words
erupt into a shrill scream when I feel something cold and sharp dig into my ankle. I dart upright, shrieking.

Bryan copies me and looks around for the source of my
outcry. A big fat duck is standing by my foot and staring at me like I’m insane. It’s right next to me and I had no idea it was there. I’m hysterical and practically crawling my way onto Bryan’s lap as the beast honks and steps toward me.

Bryan
doesn’t know what’s happened, but doesn’t push me away. His arms close around me and he asks.

“It bit me! Get away!” I’m yelling at the
duck and kicking my foot at it.

“Seriously?” He smiles and looks between me and the overly affectionate
animal.

“Yes! The fucker
frickin bit me!” A few old ladies on the patio gasp at my language, but the duck stands there, licking his chops like he wants more. Frantically, I gesture to my leg and stutter out more phrases, most of which are totally incoherent.

“Calm down. Let me look at it.” Bryan tries to pry me off, but I can’t let go. That monster is still there, waiting to eat my leg off. I cling to Bryan, digging my nails into his
shoulders, and refusing to release him.

I shake my head furiously.
“No!”

“Okay, okay,” he says softly, not trying to put me down. Somehow he manages to get to his feet and carries me to one of the lawn chairs. The
duck stays where we were laying and stares at me, blinking it’s beady black eyes. “Let me see your ankle.”