Page 59 of The Sweetest Devotion

I smirked, grabbing my Sprite and forcing down a mouthful. “What if I’mneverready?”

Cain chuckled, appearing handsome and young. “I’d like to think I can be somewhat charming.”

Charming, sure.

According to my father, I only needed to last three years in our marriage before I could receive my inheritance. Could I go three long years in a sexless marriage?

“But if I don’t want to?” I pressed, needing to hear him say it again.

Cain gave a stiff nod. “Do I want to wait until after we’re married? Not at all. It’s not up to me, ultimately. I don’t intend to touch you until you want me to touch you.”

I turned, facing him, giving him a better view of me. “And if I say yes, you can touch me?”

Not breaking eye contact, Cain responded, “I’d very much like to fuck you in that dress.”

So he was attracted to me.

Swallowing thickly, I remained calm. “But since I’m saying no?”

He shrugged simply. “Then I’ll wait.”

“No crushing pills or ripping IUDs?”

The frown that took his face let me know he regretted those words. “I’d never do that, Kennedy. I’m a lot of things, but not a monster.”

It was mid-February. If we got married in December, that would only speed up my countdown until I was truly free of this arrangement. Worst came to worst? He wouldn’t let me go and allow us to divorce. Odd-case scenario? I got to know Cain and fell in love with him.

A sense of panic overcame me at that thought.

Really, in the end, I didn’t have a choice. Prolonging the inevitable would only lengthen the time frame of this whole nightmare. I told myself I was doing this for the greater good. For my father.

I buried my discomfort as I raised my Sprite in the air for a toast. “I guess we’re getting married in December, Dice.”

Cain studied me. He ran his thumb along his bottom lip as he tilted his head, shaking it slightly. “Cain. I don’t want to be ‘Dice’ with you.”

“To a December wedding, Cain?” I reiterated, still holding my glass out.

Cain went and clinked his wine against my soda. “To a December wedding, Wife.”

I took a sip of my Sprite, gulping it down as my hand shook, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

12

It was my day off,but there was no place else I would’ve rather been than the shop. I told myself I wasn’t working Friday morning as I stepped into the garage to just take inventory and the atmosphere. I had a couple of people requesting paint jobs and rim placements, but other than that, I was free to go anytime I pleased.

Not that that was going to happen any time soon. I lived for this life, the hustle, the buzzing sound of a drill, the people from the neighborhood who only came to Rod’s because they trusted us before anyone else, the feel of grease and metal in my hands—the garage was home to me.

Chatter filled the garage of Rod’s Repair as mechanics were working away on clients’ vehicles. I stood off to the side with Armin, an old classmate of mine who’d bought a restored Chevy Nova. The rusted body was in need of something fresh, something vivid to make it really stand out like the beauty she was.

Armin scrolled through his phone’s image library, showing me several paint jobs he’d Googled to see which I liked the best for his ride.

“Whatchu think about the red, Keith?” Armin asked as he tapped the screen of his phone.

Red was a staple for some classic cars, and the Nova would look nice in that finish. Although, I was leaning elsewhere as I rubbed at my jaw. “It’s nice, but that black is clean.”

Armin whistled. “Shit, that’s where my head is at. My girl was thinkin’ the navy-blue, and that’s cool too.”

He went back to search for the navy-blue paint job.

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