Page 34 of Dirty Secret Love

Before Cal can reply, I tug Sutton closer and plant a swift kiss on her lips. “I’ll make sure he gets the message.”

Cal blinks, looking between us, his brows shooting up in surprise. “Whoa, what the fuck is happening?”

“We got comfortable and found a great narrative,” I say smugly. “I think anyone would believe we’re an item. Right, darling?”

Sutton rolls her eyes. “I’m still not sold on the nickname, but sure, I think we can pass the test.”

Smiling, I retrieve the ring from its box and hand it over to her.

She stares at the ring, her eyes widening slightly as if expecting it to jump out at her. “What is that?”

“The ring I promised,” I reply, lifting it for emphasis.

“A ring?” She tilts her head, eyebrows knitting in confusion.

“Yeah,” I say proudly, because I’m delivering the best of the best. This isn’t just some ten-carat piece of jewelry, but a much better, bigger piece. “My mother’s ring.”

“No.” she recoils, her voice tinged with horror, as though I’m thrusting a venomous snake rather than a beautiful symbol of commitment toward her.

“Sutton,” I say soothingly, trying to calm her down, even though I have no fucking idea what’s happening to her. I thought this is what she wanted, wasn’t it? “It’s okay, darling. This is the culmination of everything we’ve worked for in the past couple of days.”

“I’m not wearing your mother’s engagement ring,” she declares, her eyes darting between me and the ring. “You’re out of your mind.”

“If we’re trying to convince everyone that we’re engaged, an engagement ring is a good place to start, don’t you think?” I counter, lifting an eyebrow in challenge.

“Fine,” she huffs, “but for the record this isn’t what I expected. You could’ve tried winning one from a gumball machine or maybe picked something from the jewelry store in the next town over.” She grasps my hand, examining the ring more closely, her voice softening in awe. “I doubt your mom would appreciate me wearing her—oh, wow. This stunning princess-cut diamond engagement ring that’s so big and pure it could probably be seen from space.”

“IdoubtMom would care if you wore it—she wasn’t much into material things. Also, this is all I can give you with short notice,” I argue, gently waving the ring in front of her. “This is important.”

As I gesture, the piece of jewelry slips from my grip. I kneel down to retrieve it, and without further ado, I gently take her hand and slide the ring onto her finger.

“And I got the money shot,” Cal announces. “One knee down and all that shit. See, you’re a swoony, asshole.”

“You were taking pictures?” Sutton asks in disbelief.

“I certainly was. Jez put me to the task,” Cal responds, grinning. “We need some proof, but a word of advice, don’t share the pictures. Keep them to yourself, please.”

When I turn to Sutton, I’m taken aback to see tears glistening in her eyes. “What happened?”

She glances down at the ring on her finger, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know. I’ve never fallen in love, but I’ve always believed in happily ever afters. Yet as time goes by, I feel like they might never happen to me. And wouldn’t it be amazing if some day, some guy loves me so much, he proposes to me with his mother’s engagement ring,” she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper.

Gently, she runs a finger over the diamond. “I got the ring, but this isn’t real and what if this is all I get. A pretend ring with a guy who doesn’t truly love me?”

My heart breaks for her. I hate to see her sad. I pull her into a comforting embrace, trying to keep her safe from . . . whatever it is that’s hurting her. Unfortunately, I can’t promise her much, but I say, “You’ll find that man, Sutton. Like I told you before, you’re an absolute catch.” I kiss the top of her head, hoping this is enough.

“Maybe you’re just visiting the wrong libraries,” I add, trying to lighten the mood.

She lets out a soft chuckle against my chest, and for a fleeting moment, I feel like everything might be okay. We just need to go home and show everyone that we’re madly in love—even when there’s really nothing between us.

When I glance at her again, I wonder if that’s actually true?

ChapterEighteen

Sutton

Saturday afternoon,our car glides into the quiet streets of Heartwood Lake. We’re coming back from our trip to . . . I have to admit we haven’t planned what we’ll say if anyone asks. But we can solve that fast. No one has to know that we were on the other side of town where the rich and famous have their secluded homes.

Okay, it’s not like that. Only a few people have homes on that side, but it’s because the county barely sells any land to the private sector to build houses. They claim it’s, to maintain the area as a wildlife sanctuary. I often think their reasons are about as genuine as my “engagement” with River, but I’m not in the mood to debate local politics. Whatever their reasoning, I hope it’s not born of sheer greed.

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