Page 90 of Guarded Secrets
Delaney pulled her into a brief hug. Stepping back, Keeley caught sight of Owen standing in the doorway, the box with the remnants of the cheesecake in his hands and his brows drawn low over his eyes.
He shoved the box onto the counter and grabbed Keeley’s hand. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Outside.” Without breaking stride, he towed her out of the house and down the flagstone path to the pergola. Fairy lights twinkled overhead, and the scent of wisteria perfumed the air. He dropped her hand to stand with his hands on his hips.
“We’re getting married.”
“What?”
“You told Delaney you’re fine. That’s girl code for not fine. I don’t want you unhappy. We’ll get married.”
Her heart gave a hard lurch in her chest, then sank. She wanted Owen, and she wanted to marry him. But not like this.
“You’ll marry me because I’m unhappy?”
“Yeah. We’ll get married, and if you want a couple kids, I’m good with that. Hell, we could have three or four if that’s what you want.”
This was not how she imagined Owen proposing marriage. Or how they’d have the important discussion on whether to have kids.
He thought he was giving her what she wanted but had left out the heart and soul. She crossed her arms in front of her like she would ward off a chill. “What changed your mind?”
Owen gestured toward the house. “They’re all married. They’re all having kids. That’s what you said you wanted, so that’s what we’ll do.”
Keeley felt a layer of ice forming over her heart. Ice was a good thing. Maybe being frozen would keep her heart from breaking.
“You’re saying we should get married and have kids because that’s what our friends are doing.”
“No.” He scrubbed his hands over his face and paced the width of the shelter. “I mean, yes. You want marriage and kids. You’ve been looking for a man, and you even have a fucking dating app. You went out with the asshole Jaxon, for god’s sake. No more. We love each other so you’ll marry me.”
“No, thank you.” She suddenly felt as fragile as ice crystals forming on the surface of a pond. “I need to go.”
“What do you mean you need to go? I just asked you to marry me.”
“No, Owen, that’s not what you did. Tell the others good-bye for me.”
She was wrong. Ice wasn’t working to keep her heart from shattering. When she would have rushed past him, he grabbed her arm, but she reeled back. “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”
He released her but didn’t step back. She hitched a shoulder to wipe the dampness from her cheek.
He looked like he’d been struck on the head by a sledgehammer. “Oh shit, you’re crying. I made you cry. I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Not your problem.” She tried to edge past him.
“Let me fix it, Keeley. Please don’t leave.”
She gave a watery laugh. “You can’t fix this like a leaky faucet, Owen.”
“I’ve hurt you. I love you more than anything in this world, and I hurt you. I’m sorry.”
He looked upset and desperate, and because she loved him, she almost relented.
It would be so easy to simply go along with his non-proposal and make the best of it. But there would be an emptiness in that life that would eventually tear them apart.
She stiffened her backbone, breathed in through her nose, then out through her lips. “I love you, Owen, more than anything in this world, too. I also want a future that includes marriage and family. But right now, I don’t want that with you.”
“Why the hell not?”
