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 a

mirk on his face. She was wearing a dress that was a shade too tight, and the faint, purplish marks on h

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

ss that used to make my knees weak. "Ready to make it official? I prom

ation 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 scen

her eyes promising retribution. The crowd watched the drama with undisguised gle

embered the burning shame, the

m of space between us. I intended to walk away

around my wrist like a manacle. His grip was tig

"Stop with the games, Abby. This whole cold-shoulder act i

ression unreadable. "

ll the same pathetic girl who used to follow me around like a lost pup

anked my arm back, the force of the mov

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

a finality that silenced the nearby wh

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

chest. It spread through his entourage, a

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

erupted in

aider? 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 he

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

he air, a challenge an