Beckett
I CAN LOVE YOU LIKE THAT
Performed by John Michael Montgomery
ONE YEAR AGO
HIM: Dinner and drinks?
HER: Careful who you text that to. Some people might consider that a date.
HIM: You deserve a date, my Maisey-girl. Too bad there aren’t better options for you in Swift Rivers.
HER: The dating pool is more pitiful than I remembered. Maybe I should have stayed in Bakersfield. I was working in L&D, like I’d always wanted, and I had guys asking me out. I haven’t had a single date since I came home.
HIM: You couldn’t stay away. You missed me too much.
HER: That ego of yours is ginormous. I missed ALL my friends and family and my horse.
HIM: Admit it. I’m your favorite.
HER: Puh-lease. Titan ranks higher than you.
HIM: Wanna bet?
PRESENT DAY
It was a cruel kind oftorture, knowing I had hours to go before I could take Maisey upstairs and divest her of that dress. The gown was a masterpiece of temptation, hugging her like it was made for sin, showing off just enough to ruin a man’s concentration, all while hiding enough to drive him wild. It was graceful, elegant, almost demure, and still the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
I wasn’t an idiot. I knew the stares that followed us as we made our way through the ballroom were ninety percent about her, about the utter perfection that was Maisey, while the remaining ten percent were waitingto see which of the rumors about us were true. Were we real? Were we fake?
I couldn’t wait to set them all straight.
I was lucky to be the one escorting her tonight, and I promised myselfI’d never forget that. She was a gift, and I’d nearly let her slip through my fingers. From here, we would succeed or fail simply based on what we put into this relationship, and I was determined to do whatever it took to keep her happy for the rest of our lives.
As we neared the DJ’s booth next to the tables piled with auction items, Chief Nattingly intercepted us with Delilah on his arm. His blue uniform was snug over his rounding belly, but everything else about him was fastidious, from his neatly clipped dark hair with its hints of gray to his manicured nails. His eyes matched his daughter’s, a bright blue that stood out against his uniform.
Delilah wore a red dress, glittering with so many sequins it was almost blinding. It kissed the floor in an elegant swoop but was cut low at the bodice and back so that it left little to the imagination. While it was elegant, it leaned more toward the sex-kitten look she wore when out on the town than her business persona.
Some people would consider her glamorous. But, to me, she didn’t come close to Maisey’s beauty. Delilah was missing the inner shine, the glow of goodness that radiated from my girl. Add in my recent doubts about her and the attacks on Maisey, and any friendship or empathy I’d once had disappeared.
I scoured her face for any hint she was behind what was happening to us as she took Maisey in, but all I saw was typical Delilah—a smile that didn’t always reach her eyes and an act that ensured people overlooked how smart she really was.
The chief gave Maisey a small smile, “You look lovely, Maisey.” Then he glanced down at Delilah and patted her hand. “But I think I have the prettiest girl on my arm tonight.”
Del gave him a smile she reserved for her daddy. Sweet and tolerant. “You have to say that because you’re my dad.”
“It doesn’t make it not true. Right, Beckett?”
I inhaled sharply. Did he actually expect me to say Delilah was prettier than Maisey? Prettier than not only my date but my fiancée? Screw that. Even if it were true, which it absolutely was not, I would never hurt the person I loved like that.
I ground my teeth together before doing my best to ease the situation while still speaking the truth. “Delilah always looks beautiful, but we’ll have to disagree on who’s the luckiest man tonight, because my Maisey-girl will always be at the top of my charts.”
Maisey squeezed my arm, and when I looked down at her, I saw gratitude and love wash over her face.
“Delilah, why don’t you take Maisey to get a drink—my treat—while I talk with Beckett?”
“It’s an open bar, Dad,” Delilah said with a little laugh. “But we women can take the hint. Right, Maisey?”