But all I had was his word –andthe sight of that big rock on her finger.
Probably, if I had any dignity at all, I would turn and stomp out through the back door – or maybe even through the front. But my dignity was long gone, and stubbornness was rapidly taking its place.
If Bryce thought I'd just toddle off in secret, he didn't know who he was dealing with.
With a guarded expression, Bryce turned and looked toward the front door. From here, neither of us could see it, but we could definitely hear it, considering that the ringing had been replaced by pounding as if she were trying to bust her way in.
I couldn’t stop myself from saying, "Just so you know, that's coming out of your security deposit."
He turned to look at me. "What is?"
"The broken door if she busts through."
"Thatdoor? Trust me. It'll hold just fine."
I made a scoffing sound. "Boy, you're just full of jokes today."
"Meaning?"
"You just asked me to trust you."
His mouth tightened. "And you don't?"
I gave a bark of laughter. "Not if your fiancée's on the front porch."
"Yeah, except I don't have a fiancée."
There was a part of me – a really foolish part of me – that desperately wanted to believe him. Still, I had to say it. "The ring on her finger says otherwise."
Abruptly the pounding stopped only to be replaced by the doorbell yet again.
I gave Bryce a hard look. "Aren't you gonna get that?"
His jaw tightened. "Well, I'm not gonna ignore it."
"Could've fooledme."
"Oh, I'm gonna answer," he said. "But I want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"You're not gonna take off in the meantime."
Now Ireallydidn't know what to do. I'd already decided that I wasn't going to be driven off. But now that he'd asked me to stick around, I couldn't help but wonder if agreeing to his request would make me a total doormat.
Why did things always have to be so complicated?
And now, she was pounding again.
"Fine," I said. "I promise." And then, I reluctantly asked, "Should I wait here? Or come with you?"
"Whatever you want," he said. "I've got nothing to hide."
Hah! Likely story.But I didn't say it, because there was a tiny part of me that actually believed him and agiantpart of me thatwantedto.
It was in this spirit that I followed after him as he strode toward the front door and yanked it open nice and wide. He stared at the visitor for a long dreadful moment before turning to give me a look. "So you wanna say hi to my fiancée?"
Chapter 38
