Page 43 (1/2)

Prologue

Three years earlier

Dean walked into the sirlfriend for the past year and a half, with a sense of excite his stoht of what he was about to do As he looked down at the box in the palrinned This was it He was about to ask the woh, daer To show everyone that she was taken That she was loved He wanted to hear her call him husband Hell, he even wanted her to have his children How crazy was that?

Sounds coht Dean’s attention, and he frowned He looked at the clock on the wall next to the bookcase At three o’clock in the afternoon, Linda was supposed to be at work still The waitressing job sucked and he wanted her to quit, but she’d refused, saying they needed the h Soon, she’d be able to ditch the crappy job and be a stay-at-home mom, the way she’d always talked about

When another sound caught his attention, Dean tucked the ring in his coat pocket and headed down the short hallway She was home and in bed; it wasn’t the way he’d wanted to propose, but he could ot to the closed bedroom door the hter spilled out from the small space between the door and the threshold Not all of it feut clenched as he took hold of the handle and turned The sight on the bed had him frozen in place Linda, the wo to marry him, had her mouth wrapped another man’s cock Dean couldn’t speak, could barely breathe He shifted on his feet, and the et the attention of the pair of lovers Legs and arms flailed about as Linda and her nooner attempted to et the blanket wrapped around her nude body, Dean looked over at the blond-hairedon the side of the bed—the same bed Dean had slept in not too nized him as the cook at the restaurant Linda worked at Ah, so that’s why she didn’t want to quit Christ, he’d been such a fool A stupid, lovesick chump

“Apparently you don’t just serve greasy burgers and bad coffee at that shitty restaurant, huh, babe?”

Jimmy stood, his face bleached of color “Uh, I—”

Dean held up a hand “Save it Just take your trash and go”

Linda’s startled cry caught his attention He pointed to her “You ht want to wipe the come off your chin before you leave,” Dean bit out “Could prove e”

“This was a mistake,” Linda said as her eyes filled with tears “A one-ti, I swear, babe I’ve never cheated on you before Never!”

The look of disbelief that Ji, my ass Dean knew he’d been a blind fool, but his eyes ide open now He strode across the roorip “Do us both a favor and don’t speak Just get the fuck out of ht”

Dean released her and went to the door “You have two hours to get your shit and go You really don’t want to be here when I return, trust me”

She shouted his name as he left Dean could hear her all the way out the front door When he reached the elevator and pushed the DOWN button his hand was as steady as a rock Every bit of emotion seemed to have dried up He felt completely numb clear to his bones He’d loved her She’d been sweet and loving They’d been perfect for each other, everyone had said Now the only thing Dean could see was heranother man a blow job It would be forever branded into his brain

As the elevator doors opened, Dean stepped forward Once he was sure he was alone, he reached into his coat pocket and found the box with the pretty diaain,” he said as he stared at it Yeah, he’d been a fool, but he was a quick learner Hell, he couldn’t even claim it was the first time a woman had burned him It’d happened twice before The only difference this time around was the fact that Dean had been ready to marry Linda To hell with it It’d be a cold day before he let a woain

When the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, Dean saw an older wo to enter They traded places, but before the doors could close again, he handed her the box At the confused look she sent him, he explained, “As it turns out, I don’t need it”

She opened the box and gasped “It’s a dia!”

“Yep Keep it Sell it Makes no difference”

The doors slid shut on her next words Dean pulled out his cell phone and dialed his brother Wade answered on the first ring “What’s up, bro?”

“Linda and Ibroke up” He couldn’t bring hih He sure as shit didn’t want to talk about it

“Da to be heading down the aisle soon”

“Yeah,” he choked out “Got any beer?”

“Better, I have whiskey”