Below Unforgiven (12 page)

His mouth opened, and no sound came out.

“Yes, I lied again. And if you ask me another question, I’m going to lie to you, and you’re going to fire me, and then I’ll be taking a bus back to my grandmother’s.”

His fingers stilled on the door. I saw the disbelief in his expression, and then something that I didn’t recognize.

After a moment, he moved back to the driver’s seat and started the car. Pulling out of the parking lot in silence, he gestured to his phone. “I already plugged the address into Google maps. Will you bring up the route?”

Really? He was just going to drop it, just like that? “It says make a right.”

He turned to me, drowning me in his forceful gaze for long seconds. Finally, he nodded.

“Then… we go right.”

Demon Knight

Well, I had wanted to know.

I had wanted to know what I was dealing with, and now I wished I hadn’t.

Vulnerable Vivian was a character that I hadn’t expected to meet this weekend.

I had a million questions, none of which she’d answer, I knew it. If I began with rapid fire, she’d clam up and ignore me. If I demanded she tell me, I’d be right back to being numero uno douchebag. And since it seemed that this other guy already held that title, there was no way I was tearing it from his deadbeat, abandoning hands.

Where was her kid?

Did she have the baby?

Did she give it up?

Does
he
have the kid?

Does she
want
the kid?

Was any of that relevant, seeing as how she’d be nothing but a memory by Monday?

Would she only be a memory?

The silence in the car was stifling. When I realized that I’d just had an entire conversation with her about my pregnant ex and how exactly I’d murder her (and my maybe-unborn-child) I wanted to ask her to take the wheel while I jumped off the mountainside.

She was tying her hair in knots. I reached over, spinning the clasp of her necklace around to the back of her neck. “Vivian, I want to apologize for what I said earlier. About Kelsey. If she is pregnant, with my child, then I’ll be there for her.”

She sighed, long and exaggerated. “Grrrreat. Now, you’re being someone else. Don’t apologize for being who you are. I don’t want your pity.”

“Well, then, can you talk about what happened, please? I won’t judge. I won’t pity you.”

“We’re not eighty-five percent through the weekend yet. I can’t just go dumping my demons on you.”

Her blue eyes were guarded.

I reached for her forehead, smoothing out her scowl with my index finger.

“I want your demons. I want your story. I want more of you than I should.”

She sighed and rested her head against her hand, propping her elbow on the door. “I met Matthew in the winter semester of my second year. Our class was doing
Beauty and the Beast,
and we preformed for a group of kids from a local elementary school. He was a teacher.”

“What grade?”

She pointed at the stoplight ahead. “You need to take this left. And third. Does it really matter?”

“Go on.”

“Anyway, we dated, we fell in love, and I got pregnant.”

“Vivian,” I turned into the church parking lot, recognizing Robin’s and Luke’s cars. “Don’t stop talking,” I urged, gentle.

She smoothed her skirt, fixated on her knees. “My parents were angry at Matthew. In their eyes, he took advantage of me, because I was a lot younger.”

“How much younger?”

“He’s thirty.”

I struggled to keep a straight face.

Too old for her. Her parents were right.

“It was bullshit, but you know how parents can be. They had no insurance, and I had no insurance-I couldn’t be covered under Matthew’s since we weren’t married. I was having a lot of problems with the pregnancy. There were complications at the end, and I had to have an emergency cesarean.”

I remembered seeing the stretch marks on her skin.

The evening sun, hot on my neck, surrounded us with warmth as we sat in front of the massive church.

“The baby died. I almost died. Matthew… left.”

A small puff of air escaped her lips. The hush was deafening.

I exhaled, long and slow.

“Jesus Christ, V.”

She paused, glancing at the church and then back at me. “I think he’s in there.”

I shifted my eyes to the building, and then back to her with a feeble smile.

“And your parents? They kicked you out?”

“No.” She took a deep breath. “I left. I couldn’t stay there. They gave me money to pay for my next semester, and I gave it all to Matthew. They were so disappointed in me, and I couldn’t see that in their eyes anymore.”

“Why would you give this guy money?” I demanded, recognizing immediately that I sounded too critical. She swallowed, those eyebrows pulling together.

“He owes over $150,000 in my medical bills. He insisted on paying them. I don’t want him responsible for that. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life feeling like I owe him anything. I’m
paying him back.
Slowly, but I’m doing it.”

“It was his responsibility.”

“It was
both
of our responsibility,” she argued, pulling the door handle.

What the-

“Is he
taking
the money from you?” I demanded.

She nodded, sliding her sunglasses down over her eyes. “He’s just a teacher, and his credit is going to be destroyed. I can’t let that happen.” She took a deep, calming breath. “He was my first love, Keaton.”

She said the words as though they explained everything.

Halfway across the parking lot, she turned to me, waiting.

I sat still behind the wheel.

No wonder she’d agreed to this weekend. No wonder she worked so many small jobs, and was worried about me taking her away from them.

Robin was right. She’d been through shit.

These weren’t your average demons. These were nuclear
warhead
demons. She needed a knight in shining armor, not a fucking alcoholic, scumbag LA director.

“We’re late,” she insisted.

I watched her standing in the parking lot, her long, dark hair tossing in the warm breeze (down, as I’d instructed her to wear it) and her shoulders rolled back with every ounce of pride that she possessed.

And suddenly, I felt like the biggest fucking dickhole on the face of the planet.

Paying her to humiliate herself in this overdone farce, I was hurting her in the worst way possible. I was using her needs to suit mine, and my money was about to be mailed to some loser ex who had crushed her playful spirit.

And I liked her. In less than twenty-four hours, she absorbed me,
consumed
me, taking over my every thought. I liked her, and there was no way I’d forget her by Monday.

There was no way I’d forget her
ever
.

“Keaton?”

“Are you nervous?” I asked, catching up with her and dropping my keys into my pocket.

She recovered quickly, reaching for her hair. “Only about being this close to you when we walk into the church. I’m a little worried that you’ll burst into flames.”

Flames? I exhaled relieved laughter, so thankful she was still my bright, sarcastic, playful…
fake
… hired girlfriend.

“Not as long as I have my angel at my side,” I tucked my hand in hers, and she groaned.

“Oh, no, angel?
Worse
than firecracker,” she complained, tightening her grip on my hand.

Stopping suddenly, I pulled her close.

She turned to me, beautifully confused. “What?”

I lowered my mouth to her ear.

“You know what’s better than first love, kiddo?
Me.
”

Her fingers tightened on mine. I pulled away, grinning, and she gave me an exasperated smirk, shaking her head as I turned toward the church.

“
Wait.
” Her insistent tone drew my attention.

“What, V?”

She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, standing perfectly still.

Begging me to kiss her.

I thought of her mouth on my finger. I thought of my finger in her
mouth
. Even after the marathon masturbation session I’d had in the shower after we rolled around on the bed, I still was rock hard. I caught her lips in mine, stifling her soft moan as my hands slid up her back and over her throat.

I threaded my fingers through her hair, exhaling into her mouth, my teasing tongue drawing against hers. My lips were no longer playful, but tender, and I tried to apologize for all that she’d been through in her young life.

I wanted to make her feel just a fraction of what I was feeling inside when she kissed me.

“Keaton! Come on you two, get in here!” Robin’s voice broke the stupor I’d fallen into, and I watched Vivian’s eyes pop open.

“I saw Robin come out of the church. She was watching us the whole time,” she announced proudly. “You’re welcome.”

I listened to her words as she hurried ahead to my sister.

An act, just an act.

Just a scene from our movie.

Clearing my throat, I followed her to the front of the church.

“That fucking bitch!”

We stilled at the threshold, Robin’s voice carrying through the aisles. Vivian looked horrified, and I grasped her hand, shrugging. “Robin’s never had boundaries,” I told her as we passed under the giant statue of the crucifixion hanging on the wall.

“Must run in the family,” she quipped, and Robin rushed forward, nearly knocking Vivian over with a hug. Her hair was spiked, dotted with cubic zirconium hair clips that matched the stud in her nose and bottom lip.

“Viv, Madeline’s sister is refusing to show up. She’s the fucking maid of honor!”

“Robin, honey, you’re going straight to hell if you keep saying that word in here,” my mother scolded as she joined us just inside the church doors, and I spied Madeline bawling in Luke’s arms over by the altar. “Keaton, shit is hitting the fan. Help.”

I lowered to kiss my mom, amused that ‘shit’ was more acceptable than ‘fuck’ in God’s house. My mother was devoutly Catholic, but definitely had her own set of rules. Her chestnut-brown bob brushed against her cheeks as she shook her head in disappointment.

“Madeline’s sister bailed?” I asked her.

“Madeline called her a… bad name,” Jane admitted, turning to Vivian. “Vivian, you are absolutely stunning. Robin, look at her,” she crooned, and Vivian blushed sweetly.

“Thank you, Jane.”

Robin stomped her foot. “She called her a
cunt!
Couldn’t she have waited until after the ceremony?”

“
Robin
,” my mom snapped, and as my sister shouted the dreaded C-word, even the priest cringed toward our little conference in the back pews.

“Vivian will stand in. What size is Madeline’s sister?”

Vivian’s eyes shot to mine, and I watched the shades of blue move from fury to cooperative in seconds. “Of course, I’d be honored to stand in.”

“She’s a seven! Vivian, you’re what, a three? She will never
fit
into her gown, and there’s zero time to get it altered.”

“Robin,” I pulled my wallet from my back pocket, fishing out a credit card. “Call someone, make it happen. Ask them how much for an emergency.”

Robin snagged the credit card from my hand, pressing her palms together and looking up at the ceiling. “Thank fuck for rich Hollywood directors.”

My mother groaned at her language again, linking her arm through Vivian’s. “Come on, honey. Let me introduce you to everyone. Keaton, Robin told me about Kelsey. I never liked that girl, anyway, but now is not the time, I know, I know,” she rambled, patting Vivian’s hand. I tucked my hands into my pockets, smirking as I followed them down the aisle.

Luke turned away from his fiancé, reaching to hug me. He patted my shoulder twice, and I grinned at my little brother, all grown up. He was nearly as tall as I was, and definitely better looking. We’d spent last night catching up on the front porch of the house, and Luke told me all about Madeline and their plans to move to Chicago.

I tried to keep my bitterness over marriage and women out of our conversation, just briefly mentioning that I’d met Vivian Hale and asked her to the wedding.

“Vivian’s
hot
,” Luke had said, leaning forward in his porch chair. “But don’t mess with her, Keat. Robin’s like mama bear around her. She took Vivian in and decided that she’s her charity case for the summer.” He lowered his voice even more. “I won’t lie, I thought about doing some bad things with that girl. But I’d never cheat on Mad.”

I had listened, surprised at the uncontrollable protectiveness that I was feeling for Vivian. I watched Luke turn to her, gathering her into a familial hug. “Viv, so glad you’re here. I hope you’ll make my brother behave this weekend.”

She smiled confidently, reaching for my thin tie. With a playful tug, I was bent to her face. “I’ve got this,” she purred, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

Jesus Christ on the wall, I hadn’t gotten a hard-on in church since I was fucking fifteen. I cleared my throat and tucked her against me, hoping that it wasn’t too obvious. “She’s got this,” I repeated, winking at Madeline.

Madeline Mackelroy was the opposite of Vivian in appearance; fuller figure, honey blonde hair, and pensive brown eyes. She listened to Robin for a moment, and then turned to Vivian. “You’ll stand in? Are you sure? At least Keaton is the best man, so you’re together anyway,” she agreed, nodding, as if trying to convince herself, not Vivian. Tears pooled in her eyes. “I can’t believe my sister. I just can’t.”

“I’ll help in any way that I can,” Vivian promised, and I heard Robin already on the phone with a seamstress.

“Should we begin?” The priest asked, looking very much like he wanted to hit the bottle and call it a night after dealing with our circus of a family.

We went through the rehearsal without incident, a rare feat for the Thorne family. Vivian played the doting maid of honor, actually producing a tissue from the small pocket in her skirt when Madeline got choked up again. By the end of the rehearsal, I was astounded at her abilities.