The Dare - Dyken Rachel Van - Страница 40

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"I'm just going to go use the restroom." I forced a smile and barely made it to the ladies' room without bursting into tears.

It was all wrong.

This was not how the story was supposed to go.

Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy marries girl. Never once in the story is he supposed to meet girl, tell her he can't like her, admit he'll never marry her, then marry her anyway to save his damn career.

"Honey?" Grandma's scent enveloped me, followed by her arms. "Oh honey, I was afraid you'd be upset."

"Then why did you do it?" I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Give me one good reason."

"He's your match," Grandma said honestly. "I've known him for quite some time. He's lonely, Beth. He's afraid, but he likes you, possibly loves you. Don't deny that you've seen glimpses of what you could have together. I know about high school."

"Don't you get it?" I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed my eyes. "This isn't high school.This is my life!"

"Is that why you compare every man you meet to him?"

"Who told you that?"

"Your sister."

"Damn her." More tears streamed down my face. "And why did she tell you?"

"You aren't the only one with struggles. She had a hard time fitting in the family, always feeling like second best. It made me wonder why you felt the same way. Funny, how we all want someone else's life and always think we're worse off than everyone else in the room."

"Your point?"

"I want you to wear red."

"Like a harlot?"

"No." Grandma pulled me into an embrace. "Like the brave, courageous, beautiful woman you are. Let Jace pull that out of you. Love always asks us to take a chance, and I won't lie to you, sugar. You may fail. But wouldn't you rather try and know you failed than wonder for the rest of your life what would have happened had you taken a little leap?"

"Grandma," I choked on the thick tears in my throat, "my love life isn't a game. I feel like you've ripped out my heart, handed it to Jace, and now everyone's just waiting to see if he's going to keep it or throw it into the ocean."

"Why wouldn't he keep it, sweetie?" Grandma kissed my forehead and smiled warmly. "What use would the sharks have for it?"

I rolled my eyes and managed a small smile. "He'll throw it, believe me. All he keeps talking about is how he can't have me, how he'll walk away."

"I know men," Grandma whispered. "After all God cursed me with loads of them. And I know how they think. I imagine Jace is trying to convince himself more than convince you."

"So where does that leave me?"

"I imagine," Grandma looked thoughtfully into the mirror and fluffed her hair around her face, "it leaves you exactly where you've always wanted to be."

"Stuck on an island with a lying politician?" I joked. "Sorry, Grandma, that was never my fantasy as a little girl."

"Of course not, sweetie. That was mine." She winked. "Your fantasy has always been the white horse, the fairytale, and the happily ever after. No story is ever the same. How boring would that be? To always have a happily ever after? How unoriginal." Grandma tucked my arm in hers. "I want magic."

The tears threatened again.

"I want mischief." she continued. "I want madness. I want red dresses and red lipstick followed by starry nights and fireworks. And Beth, I think you do too."

"You think I want madness?"

"I don't think it." Grandma patted my hand and started walking away. "I know it. So what are you going to do? Are you going to risk it all for him? Or are you going to walk away from an opportunity to do the one thing that fairytale books don't teach."

"What?"

"Fight for your man."

"I thought he was supposed to fight for me?"

"How can he when you won't even show up for the battle?"

My eyes narrowed as Grandma sauntered off toward the crowd. I wiped my tears, pinched my cheeks, and followed. Jace lifted his head and gave me a breathtaking smile. With the ocean crashing behind him, he looked like some sort of Greek god on vacation. Smile still in place, he stalked toward me, his muscles glistening in the sun.

"Holy Thor," I whispered. "I'm going out guns blazing." I smiled to myself. Good Thor, I'm going out with a fight.

The number of steps I took? Three.

The number of seconds I waited before my lips touched his? Two.

The amount of time it took for Thor, god of Thunder to respond? One.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on for dear life as he lifted me in the air and twirled me around.

"What was that for?" He set me down, his blue eyes sparkling.

"My fairytale isn't over yet." I kissed his mouth again.

"Who said it was?"

I shrugged.

His forehead touched mine. "I gave my word. I don't go back on my word."

"I know that now."

"I'm sorry about… everything. I'll find a way to fix it. I swear."

"Even if you don't." I shrugged. "The fun's in the adventure, right?"

"Right." He cupped my face and kissed me lightly across the lips. "But you deserve more."

"I have more," I answered honestly. "And it's time you realized you can have more too."

With a deep breath, I took a step around him and joined everyone else for drinks, wondering how in the heck I was going to survive another three days without getting my heart broken. Because after making the decision I've made, I was going to fight until I couldn't fight anymore. And if he still walked away in the end, I would let him.

"Interesting logic. Trickery and then seeds of wisdom." The agent nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm not so bad." Grandma shook her head. "Had I set them to their own devices, they would have taken years to get together. Now look at them."

"Right. Look at them. Both missing."

"I didn't say I had all the kinks worked out. I am eighty-six."

"So you keep saying."

Jace

"I'm going to hell."

"Say hi to Jake when you get there." Travis slapped me on the back and ordered a beer.

We'd decided on going to a luau instead of doing a typical bachelor or bachelorette party. After all, the only things we needed were pictures, and it was easy enough to convince the parents that I wasn't interested in that sort of thing.

Beth seemed relieved.

Beth… Just thinking her name got me aroused in all the wrong places. It made me want her, not just physically but emotionally, which was ridiculous. I was three days into our relationship, and it was a fake one at that. And here I was, drinking my sorrows away and lying to not only my parents but the world.

"For what it's worth," Travis slid a beer toward me, "Grandma's two for two."

"Yeah, not helping." I took a long swig. "I'm still going to hell for lying to everyone, and I doubt Jake will be there, considering he's fully turned over a new nauseating leaf."

"Right?" Travis laughed. "It's like he's a new man."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Travis's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I've always been the good one, no changing necessary, other than being so humbled by Grandma that I was an embarrassment to not only myself but society."

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