Page 11 of Faking the Pass
“Who are we kidding? You had no time for a relationship even before you were injured,” Dylan teased. “What Presley really needs is a dog… unless he can find a girlfriend who’s happy with a relationship consisting of being fed once a day and getting an occasional walk around the block.”
“Haha.” I shot him a death glare before we both cracked up. My brother could always manage to make me laugh—even with throbbing surgical pain.
And he wasn’t wrong. Which was why I’d never pursued things with Rosie or any other woman who’d require actual effort.
My eyes drifted back to the screen where a reporter delivered breathless commentary on the upcoming nuptials of my high school dream girl.
No, a woman like Rosie would befartoo much of a distraction—something I never allowed.
Chapter 3
Safe Haven
Rosie
The way I saw it, I had two choices, faint like a Victorian damsel or escape with whatever shreds still remained of my dignity.
I sure as hell wasn’t walking down that petal-strewn aisle.
Gathering the heavy skirts of my gown, I turned to head for the mansion’s front doors. There were dozens of limos parked outside.
Surely I could beg the driver of one of them to take me as far away from here as possible? I didn’t have any money on me, but I did have a showy rock on my left hand.
Under the circumstances, trading a twenty-carat diamond ring for a getaway car felt like a pretty good deal.
Randy grabbed my arm—hard—stopping my forward motion.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.
I glared over my shoulder at him then down at his bruising grip on my arm and growled a response.
“Let go. You’re hurting me.”
He didn’t let go. Instead he pulled me back and spun me around to face him, grabbing both my arms this time and shaking me.
“Iknowyou aren’t planning to just leave me at the altar,” he said. “You can’t back out now. Look at all those people in there. And I spent a fortune on this production.”
“Whose idea was that?” I snapped. “I wanted a small wedding, remember?”
He scowled, his eyes full of disdain. “What would have been the point of that? Small weddings don’t create publicity.”
“See, and I thought the point was to be married. My mistake.”
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Gina earlier,” he said, failing to sound even the least bit sorry.
“Or the fact you were about to be a father.”
“Or the baby,” he conceded. “But you arenotgoing to embarrass me by backing out of this.”
“Embarrassyou? I was the one who was tricked into marrying you. You’ve humiliated me.”
Yanking out of his painful grasp, I once again turned and headed for the exit, managing to make it to the towering iron and glass doors this time.
Randy charged after me. “I’m warning you, Rosie—don’t do this. The scandal will tank the film at the box office. Your career will be over. I can ruin you with a word, and you know it.”
“You’ll never get another role if you walk out on me,” he threatened. “Icreatedyou, and I can destroy you just as quickly.”
Ignoring him, I shoved at one of the heavy doors with both hands. Behind me, Randy made a strangled sound.
