into my bones and pray one day she’d be singing that song about me.
“Kelli,” I murmured. “Did you get a chance to talk to her?”
“I did. She got the highlights, but that’s enough to paint a picture. I don’t see it working out for us.”
“Why not?”
“Negotiations fell apart somewhere around nursing home.”
“You could explain to her that—”
“I’m not marrying her, Belle. Putting Mom aside, it’s obvious that she believes we’ll be one of the ninety-six turning an arranged marriage into a lifelong commitment. It wouldn’t be fair to give her the hope that goes along with I do. My search for a wife continues.”
“Let’s stop talking about this too,” I said, dropping my head on his shoulder.
“Don’t like the thought of me pursuing other women?” he teased.
“Not even a little.”
“Do you like the thought of me covering you in caramel sauce and licking my way to the tasty parts?”
“Hmm. Tell me more.”
“Remember two summers ago when we broke the bed? We’re going to make that time look like two fumbly teenagers who learned all they know about sex from eighth-grade health class.”
“Nathan, what are we still doing here?”
We turned to rush off and I was nearly taken out running into Carter.
“Whoa.” He steadied me. “No need to run to me. I came to ask you to dance.”
Seeing him brought me sharply into focus. “Sorry, Nathan. I can’t run off. I have to stay for the party.”
“Are you sure?”
I kissed him. A quick peck but what I’d been dying to do all day. “There’s still the surprise,” I said.
Nathan held my hand till the last second, and then we were alone.
Carter reached for me. I skipped out of the way. “Sorry, but I can’t dance with you either. I’m done with your mind games, Carter. This is where we stand. You drop this proposal garbage and we both move on. As friends. As strangers. As people who nod to each other at parties and never speak. Whichever you want, but we agree to leave the past in the past.
“If you don’t drop it, I’ll treat you as you obviously see me: as an enemy.”
Carter listened to my speech with an open face and relaxed stance.
“Well?” I prompted.
“I must be playing mind games if this still isn’t clear to you, so let me spell it out in no uncertain terms.” He swallowed the distance, bearing down on me. “I will not drop the proposal until you admit you lied about that day in the woods. It doesn’t matter what you say or do. I won’t change my mind. Was that straightforward enough, or should I say it another way?”
I fisted my satin ruffles—fury eating away my last ounce of doubt. “Remember you said this.”
“Another infamous Adler threat?”
“The threats are over. My pleading with you is done. I’ve hung up my last attempt at appealing to your better nature. You forget how well I know you, Carter Knight. I know all the buttons to push and the strings to pull.”
“Is that supposed to mean something?”
“Like I said, I’m tired of going around and around with you.” I flicked over his shoulder to the clock. “You’ll see what I mean soon enough.”
Sidestepping him, I walked out of the ballroom and through the front door. The gates were always left open, but guards encircled the fence, double the presence than there were a week ago.
I posted up to wait. I told them to arrive at nine thirty on the dot. If they were the punctual type, they’d top the hill in the next three minutes.
The cars rolled up in two.
“You can let them in,” I told the guards. “They’re tonight’s entertainment.”
We went through the process of stating names and checking IDs, and finally they were let through. I hurried up the path, my surprise falling in line behind me.
“Do you need anything before you go on?”
“No, Miss Adler,” said Mr. Joseph, the man I spoke to on the phone. “Give us ten minutes to change and we’ll be ready for your introduction.”
“So fast? Wow. That’s why you’re the professionals,” I said. “You go on in eleven.”
I took them up the back way into the room where they’d get ready. “After you’re changed, we’ll enter through the ballroom’s back door and I’ll announce you. This will be great. Everyone’s going to be so excited.”
“We’re excited,” Joseph replied. “Every three years, you all step onto our tiny patch of rock and shake things up. It’s an honor to be a part of your event.”