Page 6 of The Sin of True Love
“You serious?” Dave asks. “No way. How could you know?”
“My mom’s got a friend who works for the church on the business side. Trust me, it’s real.”
Destiny returns with a pitcher of beer and four glasses. She flashes me a grin and bends just the right way to get a guy’s attention. I fake a smile, and she leaves.
“Jesus. If this got out…” Rodney says.
“No kidding.” I nod.
I see Dave glancing over my shoulder. “Hey, Casey? Speaking of the Reverend. Isn’t that his daughter right there? The girl from yesterday?”
I just grin and shake my head. I know the guys are screwing with me. But when the Rodney and Chris turn, and I see the looks on their faces shift, I’m not so sure. So I turn and look too, and sure enough, I see Michelle sitting in a booth with a blond girl around her age.
My heart skips a beat, and I grab my glass so tightly I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter.
“What the hell is she doing here?” I say. “She told me she was eighteen.”
Rodney laughs. “And? You didn’t have a fake ID at eighteen?”
Before anyone can say anything, I’m on my feet. I march straight over to their booth and sit down beside Michelle, who’s right in the middle of laughing at something her friend just said.
She looks up in shock and nearly flinches away, but then she recognizes me and relaxes.
“Um, excuse me?” her friend asks, all sassy-like. “Who are you? We’re right in the middle of something.”
“Taylor, it’s okay,” Michelle says softly. “This is Casey. He’s…working on the house my dad is having built.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she replies, clearly flirting and clearly tipsy.
Michelle groans. “Excuse her. She’s been drinking.”
“And you haven’t? I figured that must be why the two of you are all the way out here, am I right? Escaping the grasp of The Reverend for the evening?”
Michelle raises her glass–some kind of vodka tonic it looks like–and cheerses the air. “Don’t forget my future husband.”
“So you were actually serious about that?” I press, feeling my anger rising like a ball of molten steel in my windpipe. “You’re actually marrying that prick?”
Michelle shrugs. “Tradwife life, here I come.”
“Where’s the ring?” I press.
Again, she just shrugs. “Arranged marriage. I guess I don’t get one.”
“You know who his family is, right?” I’m furious. “They’re awful. They buy up any cheap, local real estate they can get their hands on and gentrify it–”
“Hey!” Michelle snaps. “Did you not miss the part yesterday where I mentioned I have no say in the matter?”
I keep eye contact with her as all the blood rushes to my cock.
She’s got a fire in her that I don’t think she even knows is there. But I can see it. She just needs to get out from under the thumb of the Reverend and the Williams family.
Don’t worry, baby. I can save you.
“So fight it!” I urge. “Tell your dad you’ll marry who you want. That this isn’t medieval England where women are married off by their fathers.”
What am I even doing? I’m losing control of myself. I’m smitten.
This girl has me behaving in ways I’ve never behaved before. Normally I’m laid-back, cool, easygoing. But right now I’m steaming. I want to grab her, shake her, and get her to fix her life tonight so she can be mine tomorrow.