“Your aunt. I was just getting ready to tell her about your happy news. She’s going to be so excited.”
Drake wrapped an arm around Gloria and steered her over to the couch. “Mom, I understand it was a lot to take in at once. But you’ve got this all wrong.”
Her smile faded. “Care to explain?”
He glanced at Gloria. “Yes, you deserve an explanation.”
“Aren’t you happy that you married my daughter?” Gloria asked, concern evident in her brown eyes.
Drake was torn. The question was a double-edged sword, and any answer he’d give would be bad, in her opinion. He’d always been truthful with Gloria, but he couldn’t be now. If he told her the truth—which wasn’t an option—he’d be admitting that he’d married her daughter in a drunken state, in a cheesy Las Vegas wedding chapel, and he wasn’t happy about it. If he said yes, the response would send her on a rocket to heaven and it would take a miracle to bring her down. There had to be a middle ground. He glanced up at Love, who was staring at the floor. No help.
A knock sounded and drew their attention to the door. Drake hoped it wasn’t that damn concierge returning to make matters worse. He stood and followed Love across the room.
She glared at him before she pulled the door open. In front of them, on his knees, with a ring in hand was Love’s ex-boyfriend.
* * *
Oh, my God!
Love swallowed at the sight of the jerk who’d broken her heart, and the gorgeous ring in his hand.
“Love, you’re beautiful.” Derrick flashed a dimpled smile. “I couldn’t let another day go by without telling you how I feel. I love you. I want to marry you. I want us to have forever.”
Love was speechless. She’d dreamed of such a proposal from Derrick Harper when they were together—over a year ago. He was successful, cultured and handsome. He was everything she’d thought she wanted. The life he could offer her was appealing on some level. But the pain that he’d left in his wake still stung. The horrible breakup had devastated her, and she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. In fact, she hadn’t seen him since. And now he was proposing? She couldn’t believe this was happening.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Drake asked incredulously.
Derrick rose to his feet. The smile he’d been sporting a few seconds earlier turned into a sneer. “Drake. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here.”
“Answer the question.” Drake’s voice was a low growl, and Love knew that this confrontation could turn physical. Drake had never cared for Derrick. The way Derrick broke up with her—with a text—had made Drake’s disdain grow by leaps and bounds.
“Derrick?” Gloria stepped between Drake and Love. “You’re here.”
Love frowned at her. It wasn’t a question, and there was no hint of surprise in her mother’s tone.
“How did you know I was here?” Love asked him, knowing the answer already.
“You didn’t tell her I was coming?” Derrick asked Gloria.
She averted her gaze as a blush crept up her neck to her ears. She pushed a strand of her gray hair behind her ears. “I didn’t. But you can leave.”
Derrick narrowed his eyes. “What? We talked about this. I flew all the way here.”
“Mother, how could you?” Love felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
“I didn’t. Your father called and asked for the details of the family reunion. He told me that Derrick wanted to win you back, because he realized he made a mistake letting you go. I’m sorry, Lovely. I should have told you, but I thought I was helping you.”
Love couldn’t stop the snort that escaped. “Help? You encouraged a man who broke my heart to come to my family reunion and propose? Mother, do you realize that he broke up with me with a text message, after he cheated on me with his colleague for months? That means I wasn’t worth more than a few characters.”
She felt Drake’s hand on her shoulder. The soft squeeze that came next soothed her frayed nerves, and she shot him a grateful glance out of the corner of her eye.
“I’ve got this,” he whispered in her ear. “Harper, you’re out of order. For you to show up, after a year, and expect her to fall into your arms and accept that whack proposal, you must be crazy. It’s obvious to me that you don’t think much of Love.”
“How is this your problem?” Derrick asked, his dark eyes icy.
“Love is my problem. When you don’t respect her, I have a problem with it. You’ve already hurt her enough. I’m not going to stand here and let you try to insert yourself back into her life so you can do it again.”
“Drake.” Love squeezed his arm. “I’m okay.”
He looked down at her, his eyes soft. He shook his head slightly before turning a hard glare back to Derrick. “Get out. Go home. Don’t call her again.”
Derrick snickered. “Why don’t you let Love talk?”
Drake stepped closer to him, nose to nose. “Don’t let the fact that I’m a surgical resident make you think that you won’t see these hands.”
Gloria spoke up. “Derrick, you need to go. It’s too late, anyway. Drake and Lovely are—”
“Mother, stay of this,” Love snapped. The way her mom had reacted to the news of the marriage hadn’t been a shock. Gloria had always shipped a potential Love and Drake union, and she was itching to tell anyone that the two of them were married. Love couldn’t let that happen. So far, they had managed to not outright admit it to her, but they hadn’t fully denied it, either.
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the two men in front of her ready to go to blows any minute. “Derrick, you need to leave. You’re not welcome in my life anymore.”
“I don’t believe you.” He held up the ring. “You know we belong together. It just took me longer to realize it. I was stupid, full of myself. Then I realized that you were everything to me. I want to marry you.”
“I can’t do this,” Love said, pulling Drake back out of the doorway. “I’m done.” Without another word, she slammed the door in Derrick’s face.
Drake barked out a laugh. “That was good. I’m proud of you.”
“Lovely, I’m sorry.” Gloria pulled her into a hug. “I’m so sorry. I should have never listened to your father. Why didn’t you just tell Derrick that you and Drake were together?”
Sighing, Love backed away from her mother’s embrace. “Mother, I need a minute. I’m upset and I need to talk to Drake. Alone.”
Gloria’s shoulders fell. “Fine. I’ll go.” She gathered her purse and headed toward the door. “I’ll see you at the dinner tonight, right?”
Love turned away from her hopeful stare, and nodded. “I’ll be there. And, Mom, please don’t say a word to anyone about what the concierge said.” She didn’t give Gloria a chance to answer, but simply walked into the bedroom and closed the door.
Love sat on her bed and stared at her painted red toenails against the plush beige hotel carpet. It had been several hours since her mother had left. She and Drake had gone to the Hunk O’ Burning Love Wedding Chapel, only to find that it was closed due to a “family emergency.”
Drake had then sped to the