Page 50 of The Fall of Legend
“I’m going out there, Gabe. If you want to come, come. If not, stay here and watch where no one can see you. But I have a feeling you’re going to disappoint the lady in red.”
Q walks away, his footsteps barely making a sound over the beat of the thundering bass.
It’s now or never.
I take one more look at Scarlett, with that wide smile on her face, holding out her glass of champagne for Astra to top it off.
Fuck it.
Here we go.
Twenty-Eight
Scarlett
Ahand lands on my shoulder and sparks streak down my spine.
He’s here. He found me.I steady myself on my four-inch heels and pivot to face ...
Chadwick?
“What the hell are you doing here, Scarlett? Jesus Christ. And that fucking dress. You look like a—” Chadwick cuts off whatever he was about to say, but from the disgust on his face, I can tell it wasn’t complimentary.
“What areyoudoing here?” I ask, and my fingers tighten around my champagne flute.
Annoyed, he bounces his fingers off his forehead, gesturing for me to think about it. “You blocked my fucking number. I had to find some way to talk you out of this ridiculous snit you’re in so we can tell your father we’re getting married over Christmas.”
I blink twice and stare at him.
What in the actual fuck is he saying?My brain recognizes the language as English, but the words coming out of his mouth don’t make any sense.
“Excuse me?” My cheeks are flaming hot, either from embarrassment or rage or both.
“You’re excused—for acting like a petulant child. All I wanted to do was address your problems in the bedroom so we could fix that part of our relationship, and then we could move forward with the wedding planning.”
I’m so shocked and confused that my gaze drops to my left hand, and wouldn’t you know it? There’s no ring there. I am indeed,not engaged, which means Chadwick LaSalle Jr. has lost his damn mind.
I wave my bare left hand in front of his smug face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Chadwick, but you and I are—”
“Sorting out our issues before we make it official. I know. That’s the plan, but now you’re acting like a fucking teenager and blocking me. It’s bullshit, Scarlett, and you know it. I don’t want to have this conversation here, but wearehaving it.”
His index finger raises before me, and he shakes it as he continues his ludicrous speech.
“And if this is all about me not wanting to come to your place? Well, it’s fucking hard to get a boner when I’m surrounded by trinkets and knickknacks—it looks like a goddamned Mother Goose nursery rhyme threw up in there—but I guess we’ll deal with that too.”
My lungs burn as I hold my breath, praying I don’t explode and make a scene. My lips are pinched tightly shut.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” he bites out. “I’ll be waiting for you at your place tonight. So stop with the fucking champagne before you get anotherheadache.” Chadwick grabs the glass out of my hand and finishes it in one gulp before handing it back to me. “Because I’m getting laid tonight, one way or another, and no fucking headache is going to stop me.”
Bile rises in my throat at his words. Is he saying ... is he seriously thinking that we’re having sex tonight?Whether I want it or not?My hands ball into fists as my stomach flips.
“Scarlett? Are you—” Kelsey cuts her question short when she sees who is speaking to me—or really, speakingatme. “What the hell is he doing here?” she whispers.
“Good to see you broughtthe help. Seriously, Scarlett? What is going on with you?”
“Do we have a problem here?”
A man’s voice joins the conversation. It’s deep and just loud enough that we can all hear him over the music and the crowd.
