Page 82 of Snow

Snow stared at her. For several seconds, he honestly wondered if he had missed an entire section of the story.

“I’m sorry...what?”

She turned toward him, and despite the remnants of tears on her cheeks, there was an almost comical amount of disbelief in her expression. “You heard me. According to this morning’s news, Rick Montgomery and I are officially engaged.”

Snow just stared at her, completely speechless.

“Hold on, I’m confused. Are we talking about the same Rick who cheated on you?”

“Yup.”

“The guy you just spent the last ten minutes telling me you want nothing to do with?”

“Yup.”

“Okay.” Snow dragged a hand over his jaw. “I’m gonna need you to explain how the hell you got engaged without actually being in a relationship.”

For the first time since she had thrown herself into his arms, something resembling a genuine smile tugged at Nova’s lips.

Nova pulled out her phone and handed it to him. “Because my father and Rick’s father apparently decided my participation wasn’t necessary.”

Snow looked down at the screen. The headline was impossible to miss. His gaze moved over the words once, then again, because surely he had misunderstood what he was reading. But he hadn’t.

He could feel the anger slowly working its way through him as the pieces finally clicked into place.

Her father had publicly announced her engagement without her consent, effectively handing his daughter’s future over to another family as though she were some goddamn business asset he had the authority to negotiate.

Snow lifted his gaze from the phone. “Your father did this?”

Nova nodded. “I’m sure that Rick’s dad played a role in it as well.”

He looked back at the headline before returning his attention to her. “Does Rick know?”

Nova sighed. “He does now. But he wasn’t aware of what our parents had planned.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah. I talked with my sister, and my brother spoke with Rick, and according to him, Rick was pissed.”

The whole damn thing sounded like something straight out of a daytime soap opera, except apparently Nova had been cast as the unsuspecting bride without anyone bothering to give her the fucking script.

“Okay, so that I’m crystal fucking clear about this...” Snow turned fully toward her, needing to hear the answer even though she had already given it to him. “You are not engaged to this guy."

“No.”

“You’re not seeing him?”

“No.”

“And you have absolutely no intention of marrying him?”

Nova’s lips curved into a small smile. “That would also be a no.”

Snow nodded slowly, but he wasn’t finished. There was one more question he needed answered, and this one had absolutely nothing to do with Rick, her father, or the clusterfuck they had created.

“Is there anyone else?”

Her lips twitched. “No.”