Oh. My. God.

It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s everything.

There are times I’ve doubted Marcus, and even more times he’s made me wonder if this is nothing more to him than sex. Of course he’s done some wonderful things throughout, and we’ve been exclusive for months now, but he’s a hard man to crack. But this, oh man, this proves that Marcus is deeper than I’d thought.

Maybe he even cares about me the way I care about him?

“Marcus,” I breathe.

“Welcome,” a tall man in a tuxedo greets us.

I stare at the table, decked out with candles and roses. The background is the crashing blue waves, lit only by the moonlight against the shore. So freaking, beautiful. Tears well in my eyes and I reach over, curling my fingers in Marcus’s. He leads me around and pulls out a chair, I sit down.

“I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper.

He leans down, brushing his lips across my ear. “I’m never what you think, Katia.”

No he isn’t.

“Champagne?” the waiter offers.

“Please.” I smile up at him.

He pours us both a glass, then tells Marcus he’ll fetch the first course. I have no idea where he’s going to get it from, and frankly, I don’t care. This is perfect.

“What did I do to deserve all this?” I ask, sipping the champagne.

Marcus stares over at me, his brown eyes suddenly intense. He looks beautiful beneath the moonlight, his dark hair curling around the collar of his white, button-up shirt. He’s not wearing a tie tonight—instead the top two buttons of his shirt are undone, exposing his gorgeous chest. He looks edible. Perfection.

“You deserve all you believe you deserve,” he murmurs.

He stares at me, right into my eyes, and suddenly I feel nervous.

“Marcus?” I breathe.

“I’m just going to come out and say this, Katia,” he murmurs. “I told you once I was a man who knew what he wanted, and I didn’t hold back. The time has come for me to take another step, because I know what I want.”

Oh God.

“And what I want is you.”

My legs begin to tremble.

“Me?” I whisper. “Why me?”

“We’ve been over this before,” he says, his voice low and deep.

“I still don’t understand it.”

He leans in close, reaching across the table and taking my hand. His finger begins tracing light circles in my palm. “You don’t need to understand; you just need to accept it. Will you, Katia?”

My heart is pounding.

“Will I what?”

“Marry me.”

Oh. My. God.

Oh. My. GOD.

Marcus Tandem wants to marry me.

There’s only one thing I can do.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER 19

NOW

Katia

My heart aches.

It feels as if it’s being ripped from my chest. Marcus stares down at me, his eyes carefully blank. I push up from the couch, hurt, confused, but most of all needing answers. Why was my father here? Why did he threaten Marcus? What do the two of them have to do with one another?

“Are you okay?” Marcus asks, his voice careful.

“Why was my father here, Marcus?”

He stares at me, not showing a damned ounce of emotion.

“Well?” I cry, sitting up.

“I knew him a while ago.”

He’s lying to me. I can see it. I can feel it.

“You’re lying to me,” I whisper, my bottom lip trembling.

“Sometimes people lie to protect; maybe that’s what I’m doing here. Protecting you.”

“And maybe,” I yell, jumping off the couch and spinning to the point I have to reach out and hold it to stop myself passing out, “you’re lying to protect yourself.”

“Enough, Katia.”

“Oh, fuck you!”

He flinches, but stands, holding his temper like he always fucking does. He never gets wildly angry, or screams at me. He’s always so damned calm. Like he has no emotion.

“Enough,” he warns.

“Or what, Marcus? You’ll lie to me some more? You’ll kick me out? Go right the fuck ahead. My father just showed up on your doorstep. I have to explain that to my mother now and you’re—”

He moves like lightning, taking hold of my arm and hauling me up against his body. “You will not tell your mom a damned thing.”

“Excuse me?” I breathe, staring into those intense brown eyes.

“He’s a dangerous man, Katia. If you must have something, have that. Your mom wouldn’t be safe.”

“How would you know he’s a dangerous man? Are you a dangerous man?”

“Yes.”

Oh. Shit.

“What’s going on?”

“None of your concern.”

“I’m your wife!” I scream.

“That still doesn’t make it your concern.”

Anger builds up and spills over. I shove his chest so hard he takes a few steps back. “Fuck you, Marcus Tandem. Fuck. You.”

Then I turn and run out the door. He calls my name but I don’t stop.

Fuck him.

Fuck it all.

~*~*~*~

“Honey,” Dusty says, leaning against the brick wall beside me. “This is going to rock!”

I grin over at him, far beyond drunk. My phone has rung twenty-three times, exactly. Twenty of those calls are from Marcus, which is kind of nice, considering he never tries to chase me up, and the other three are from Candy. My guess? He rang her and now she wants to know where I am.