A Second Chance At The Choosing

Talle

glittered like constellations overhead. It was supposed to be a celebration of my future, a formal acknowledgment of the

o his arm, a triumphant smirk on his face. She wore a dress that was a shade to

was clear: Connor Walls could have his fiancée-to-be and his side piece

art pounding with a mixture of hope and humiliation, tears stinging my eyes as he f

ck of ice. I felt nothing but

ting by the doorway. His eyes, the color of dark whiskey, raked

a low caress that used to make my knees weak. "Ready to mak

tone hung in th

a drink?" Jana whined from across

"Don't mind her. She's just a child. You're the main event." He leaned closer, his cologne, a scent

er eyes promising retribution. The crowd watched the drama with undisguised glee

embered the burning shame, the

m of space between us. I intended to walk away

ingers closing around my wrist. "

n. "Stop with the games, Abby. This whole cold-shoulde

pression unreadable.

, you're still the same girl who used to follow me around. Yo

anked my arm back, the force of the mov

rising. "This is a business deal. My father needs you

finality that silenced the nearby wh

if the air had been sucked from the room. Even the

chest. It spread through his entourage,

sbelief. "My apologies, sweetheart. I didn't realize you h

erupted in

der? The butcher? The man our father keeps locked away in the mergers an

mpetitor so badly the man's family lost everything. They say he doesn't have a hea

is this just another pathetic attempt to get my attention? You th

he air, a challenge an