Owen’s gaze slid to me. “You really love him? He’s who you want?”
I nodded. “Yes and yes.”
He swallowed, openly sad.
Dane stepped toward him. “You’re done here. You’ve said your piece, she listened, she’s made her wishes clear. Now leave. And this time, don’t make the mistake of coming near Vienna again.”
“Or Heather,” Wyatt added. “Stay away from both my girls, Owen.”
She scowled at her father. “Who I date is my business.”
“You’re not dating him, you’re playing games.” Melinda slashed a hand through the air. “It stops now.”
Heather put her hands on her hips, glaring at both her parents. “You can’t meddle in my life like this—I’m not fourteen.”
“Be assured that I won’t go near either of them again, Wyatt,” Owen interrupted. He looked at me, the image of defeated. “You probably won’t believe me, but I do love you, Vee. All I wanted was to have the chance to prove it. I was determined to win you back. But somewhere along the way, I let bitterness take over. I really didn’t mean for things to get like this; didn’t mean to go this far.” He swallowed. “I won’t bother you again.” He bowed his head and disappeared into the house.
I let out a long breath and rolled back my shoulders.
Heather began arguing with her parents, pointing her finger and jutting out her chin.
Dane crossed to me, eating up my space. He slid a hand up my back and curved it around my nape. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Glad it’s over. Can we go?”
He swiped his thumb over my mouth, as if to wipe away any trace of Owen. “Sure. Once I’m done with that bitch over there.” He made a beeline for Heather.
Uh-oh.
She paused in ranting at her parents when she saw him coming. Her eyes widened as he stepped right into her space.
“You went too far,” he said, his voice low but like a whip. “You knew what would happen if you fucked with my wife again, but you did it anyway.”
“Again?” echoed Wyatt.
“Say goodbye to your blackmail money, Heather,” said Dane. “Because that money well is going to dry up the moment the man’s wife finds out about the kid’s existence.”
She shook her head, her eyes panicked. “You won’t do anything. You won’t.”
“Blackmail?” Wyatt repeated. “Will someone please tell me—” He cut off at a hard nudge from Melinda, who was staring at the house.
Tracking her gaze, I saw Junior standing on the doorstep, his headphones hanging around his neck. He glanced from person to person, taking in the tension and seeming uneasy.
The others then noticed him, but it was Melinda who hurried over to Junior and tried leading him back inside with little success.
“Let’s just go, Dane,” I coaxed, crossing to him. I put a hand on his back. “I’m hungry and tired and my head’s starting to throb again.”
His gaze slid to me, dark and hard, but then cut back to Heather. “Don’t even think about turning up to the reception on Saturday,” he told her. “You’ve burned every chance that Vienna asked me to give you—you’re now officially out of them.”
Chapter Thirty
Looking up from my e-reader the next evening, I sighed at the cat sitting in front of me on the bed. She was staring at me, twitching her tail. “He’ll be here when he’s done in his office,” I told her.
Dane had been very insistent the first night he brought her home that Blue didn’t sleep in the room with us. But after hearing her meowing and scratching at the door for what felt like hours, he’d given in. She didn’t actually sleep near us, though. She made herself comfy on my closet shelf. Understanding she’d claimed the spot as her own, I’d moved her bed in there.
When Dane had earlier headed upstairs to his office after dinner, I brought her to my room. I’d fed, petted, and played with her before she disappeared into the closet for a nap. But, yeah, she was apparently tired of me now. She wanted her hero.
I went back to my e-reader, needing to wind down a little. I felt completely wired. Up until now, I hadn’t been nervous about the reception. I mean, it was just a party. But now that it was only two days’ away, I felt constantly restless.
I wasn’t nervous in a bad way. It was the kind of nervousness you felt during the run-up to something important. There was a sprinkle of anticipation and a thread of