you straight from the pages of a fairytale. I can practically hear the women in the crowd swooning already.”
I don’t take her bait.
She glances over at me. Her feline eyes are narrowed and mischievous. “Aren’t you going to say anything about how I look?”
“I think you’ve probably already heard it enough today.”
She scowls. “Hopefully my real wedding day isn’t as bad as this. It shouldn’t be considering my groom won’t be half as overbearing as you are.”
“Overbearing?”
“Yes. I think that describes you pretty accurately. It means arrogant or bossy,” she explains with a haughty tone.
I want to ignore her comment altogether, but I can’t. I press her. “How exactly am I overbearing?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You do exactly what you like at all times. Just like you did a moment ago, shooing Carrie away and pushing me toward the ladder. Walking in and out of my life whenever you feel like it. I guess it makes sense why you act this way. Growing up as the heir to this empire, I’m sure you carried a lot of weight on your shoulders. Most men would have buckled under that pressure, but you rose to the occasion. Now, I imagine it’d be impossible to separate the man from the heir.”
She might as well be staring at her fingernails. So confident in her assessment, she’s bored.
“I wasn’t aware we were psychoanalyzing each other. Is it my turn now?”
Chapter Sixteen
Whitney
I aim a smirk his way before replying, “You can try, but I doubt you’ll get it right. Go ahead. Tell me everything you think you know about me.”
I’m faintly aware of Thomas speaking to all of the parade cast with a megaphone. I’m too busy staring Derek down to listen. I don’t think he registers Thomas either. Just as the floats at the very front of the line start to move forward, Derek turns fully toward me.
“Do you remember our conversation in Cal’s kitchen at the dinner party? You claimed you were the passionate one out of the two of us.”
I practically snarl at him. “Yes. I remember. So what?”
He chuckles, and I have to bite my tongue not to call him a bad name just to regain the upper hand.
“Well, you’re wrong. You aren’t passionate. You play at passion. You play make-believe. With your heart, with your job, with your life. You’ve deluded yourself into thinking you put yourself out there, but you’re even more guarded than I am. You don’t love Ryan.”
“I could have! Before last night!” I retort as our float starts to move. I wobble on my feet and he reaches out to steady me. I wrench my arm away from him as soon as I’m sure I won’t fall. Wouldn’t he just love that? Me splat on the concrete.
“Think about it,” he prods, voice sharp and steady.
Just then, our float drives out of the warehouse, turning onto a side street that leads into the park, and the bright Georgia sun blinds me. I clench my eyes closed, listening. In a few moments, we’ll be in front of a roaring crowd. Even now, I can hear the upbeat music blaring from speakers inside the park.
“You say you’re this hopeless romantic, that you fall in love all the time—but you know what I think?” he continues.
I blink my eyes as they adjust to the light, unwilling to look in his direction.
“I don’t really care,” I spit back at him, boiling with anger.
“I think you tell yourself it’s love so you don’t have to consider the fact that it’s the exact opposite. Nothing. Empty crushes. Arm’s-length relationships.”
We’re in the park now and I have no choice but to turn toward him and let him take my hands in his. The animatronic owl perched beside us flips through the pages of an officiant book. And they lived happily ever after is engraved in cursive on the front cover of it. I snort. We’re supposed to be sharing our vows right now, staring adoringly into each other’s eyes, a picture-perfect representation of love. In reality, we’re spitting fire. There’s a sea of people behind Derek’s shoulders, a blur of colors I try to focus on. I can’t. I’m shaking with anger, tempted to push Derek right off this float. Oh, don’t worry—he’d be fine. He’d land on a cloud of adoring fans.
“You’re wrong,” I insist through clenched teeth, staring at the gold buttons on his jacket. “I have had real crushes and I’ve been in love, most definitely.”