Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Dakota
I lace my fingers through Chance’s as I lead him toward the empty dance floor. Dinner hasn’t technically finished, but I need to get him away from the table, and dancing is the only thing I can think of. The hired DJ thankfully sees us as we make our way, and Brett Eldredge’s smooth voice comes over the speakers with his song ‘Wanna Be That Song.’
“What are you doing, sweetheart?” Chance growls in my ear as he slips his hand around my waist and pulls me close.
“I’m getting you away from those snakes. You don’t need to listen to their bullshit.”
“They’re not wrong,” he whispers, and I wonder if he meant for that to be spoken out loud. He places his head against mine as we start swaying to the music.
I stay quiet for a moment, not wanting to ruin the moment of peace that has fallen between us, but also for the moment, Chance seems to be calming as he leans on me. I might be mad at him and his arrogant attitude, but how he’s being treated tonight isn’t fair. He shouldn’t be judged how he is as a businessman just by his dating history. Anyone who has come into contact with him can see that he’s successful at what he does, and he should be judged based on that.
But sadly, that’s not the world we live in.
For whatever reason, it’s important to them that he also be a family man. They need to see that he can settle down and he can commit, even if the ones throwing insults at him don’t deserve Chance’s loyalty or attention. For the first time, I’m truly seeing the pressure that he’s under, and it makes me feel for him even more. I can’t imagine being told that I can’t get a promotion or work on a case because I’m not married with a family. Yes, there are issues that I face as a woman in the courtroom, but nothing like this.
Playing with the hair at the base of his head under his hat, I take a breath in. He smells of the woods and sunshine, and I close my eyes, wishing that this could be real. This big brute may piss me off in ways I didn’t know a person could, but I still want him to be my brute, even if it’s only for a short period of time.
“Chance?” I breathe, feeling the rising pressure in my stomach. I can’t believe I’m about to suggest what I am, but it needs to be done. Not just for the rodeo, but for Chance.
“Hmmm?” He grips me tighter, and I feel my body press even more against his hard one.
I continue playing with the strands of his hair, loving the privacy wall his hat gives us as he keeps his head pressed to mine.
“I think you need to do it.”
“Do what, love?” The dreamy tone in his voice tells me he’s just as wrapped up in our dance as I am. My body is lax in his and if I close my eyes, I can almost imagine we aren’t dancing in front of a room full of people. People that can determine the fate of his ranch and potentially affect the success of the town should it lose the rodeo all together.
My heart flutters at the use of his word ‘love.’ I know he doesn’t mean it in a way that he loves me. That’s impossible. But that doesn’t stop the way my body reacts to it, or the way my heart wants to believe that it’s true.
“You need to propose. Tonight. Right now.”
His body shoots up as he looks down at me. The curtain of our privacy is gone. I can now see how everyone is looking at us, whether they are openly gawking or trying to be discreet.
“You said no.”
“And now I’m saying yes. You need to, Chance.” I sneak a glance at our table, finding everyone watching us with smug faces. Everyone but Wyatt, who’s sending a death glare to Abby, who in turn, is acting as if her nails are the most important thing in the world.
I’m going to have to find out about that later. I can only put out one fire at a time.
“Did you get a ring?” I whisper, reaching up to continue playing with his hair.
His shoulders drop and the tick in his jaw lessens, telling me this is the surefire way to get him to start to relax.
He flicks a glance over my shoulder and nods.
I lift my free hand and cup his cheek, bringing his gaze back to mine. I stroke my thumb along his skin, feeling the rough stubble along his jaw. “What’s one more lie, right?” I ask with a weak smile.
My heart breaks as I ask that, as I know I don’t want it to be a lie. If Chance were to get down on one knee and propose to me, I would want it to be for real. But that’s not the reality we’re in right now. I have to take what I can get, and that’s what’s best for the town and the ranch.
He stares into my eyes for another moment. The ice blue eyes that used to remind me of everything cold and hard now fill me with hope that maybe, just maybe, we can pull this off. The longer we stand here in our own little world, the song changing to Morgan Wallen’s ‘Dying Man’ as we continue to sway in each other’s arms.
“I’ve asked too much of you, Dakota. I can’t ask you to do this.”
I can hear defeat in his voice, and I hate it. I hate all of this.
“You didn’t ask for anything I wasn’t willing to give, Chance. Yes, I may not have liked how you did things, but I wouldn’t have gone along with it if I didn’t want to.” I continue to stroke my thumb along his jaw, feeling the tension wash away with every swipe. “Ask me Chance, I’ll say yes. Even if you present me with the most hideously ugly ring I’ve ever seen.” I smile and breathe a sigh of relief when he returns it with his own.
His hand trails up my side and over my shoulder, resting on my cheek. We stand still, embracing and looking into each other’s eyes. To the rest of the room, we must look like a couple very much in love, sharing an intimate moment that they are just privy to, and that’s what we want to them to believe. In reality, we’re just working out an amendment to our agreement. And addendum that we are negotiating wordlessly.
Chance leans in and kisses my forehead while whispering, “Are you sure about this, sweetheart?”
“As sure as I’m going to be,” I answer, closing my eyes and holding on to him.
Everything is going to change in a moment. I’ll no longer be his fake girlfriend; I’ll be his fake fiancée.
Addie’s going to kill me.
After another couple of breaths, he nods and pulls a box out of his jeans pocket and drops to his knee. Holding my hand, he looks up at me with hesitation as the whole room collectively gasps. The music lowers and the murmurs start.
“Dakota…” he starts. He swallows, and my eyes are drawn to the movement of his Adam’s apple. His palm goes sweaty in mine, and I can’t help but feel bad for him. This is so out of his comfort zone and I’m sure that it goes against everything he’s ever believed about himself in relationships.
“Breathe, Chance,” I say with a reassuring smile, giving his hand a squeeze.
He takes a breath and gives me a weak smile. He clears his throat before continuing. “Dakota. You know I’m bad at these things, but…will you marry me?”
He opens the box to a vintage looking ring. It has a marquise diamond set on a gold band, surrounded by smaller channel diamonds.
“Chance,” I say, stunned. The ring is gorgeous, and nothing like what I thought it would be. I look from the ring to him, seeing the hesitation, and if I guessed, fear, in his face. “Yes, Chance. I’ll marry you.”
He slides the ring on my finger and stands, pulling me into a hug, burying his face in my shoulder.
“Bet you never thought you’d say those words,” I joke quietly as the room erupts into claps and stunned cheers.
“No,” he responds with a weak laugh. “I had sworn off those words from every coming out of my mouth.”
I pull back and look up at him with a wide smile. “Welcome to engaged life, Mr. Declan.”
“Same to you, Ms. Myers.”
“Don’t you mean soon-to-be Mrs. Declan,” the man from the steakhouse says from our side. His name escapes me, but I’ll never forget how everything he said to Chance tonight was said with a snide or sarcastic comment. “You know, seeing you on one knee wasn’t something I ever thought I’d see or hear about, Chance. I have to say, if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’d never believe it.”
“Well, believe it, Bennett,” Chance grits between his teeth as he slips an arm around my waist and pulls me to his side.
“I think what you meant to say is congratulations. I’m so happy for you,” I say with the widest smile I can muster, when really all I want to do is punch this guy in the balls for talking to Chance like that.
“Yes, of course. Congratulations to you both,” he replies with a slimy smile and a tone filled with anything but true happiness.
For our fake engagement.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to celebrate with a drink,” Chance says gruffly, pulling me away.
He doesn’t give Bennett a chance to answer, instead just makes a straight line for the bar at the back of the room. Or, as much as we can with being stopped every foot by another person offering us congratulations and well wishes. There were even a few marriage tips thrown in from some of the older women, which I would appreciate if we were actually going to make it down the aisle.
He signals to the bartender to get a double shot of whiskey and a red wine for me, which he remembers to do all on his own this time. He stands with his back to the wall, assessing the crowd while pulling me in close. I’m sure we look like a happy couple sharing a moment after a big event, but I know that Chance needs this to regroup.
I wrap my arms around him and place my head on his chest, listening to the quickening beat of his heart. His hand is splayed wide across my lower back as he holds me close, no doubt keeping a close eye on when his drink will be coming.
My instinct is to crack a joke and lessen some of the tension, but I know it would be too much for him right now. He just put himself out there in a way he never would have normally. Even if he were to find a woman that he could think about spending forever with, there’s no way Chance would have proposed in such a public setting. Nothing about him has ever given the impression that he’s comfortable with any of the celebrity status he’s been given around Whiskey Falls. This leads to a whole new level of resentment for everyone in the room. They’re the ones that pushed him to do this, all because they believe in some bullshit theory that he needs to be married in order to successfully run a rodeo.
Well you know what? Fuck them.
I hold him tighter to me, wishing I could take it all away. I push aside my own feelings toward him, whatever that might be as they seem to change daily and grasp him tight like it will help me protect him in some way.
By the time our drinks come, I vow to make sure that these people will never judge Chance by some bullshit standards ever again, even if it means I’ll lose him forever.