Page 35 of Princess and Country

“—Last fall.”

My hands pressed against my banging heart. I inhaled, trying to stay calm. I swallowed a few times, then cleared my throat.

“Care to explain?”

“I was unhappy, Princess. Like it took all I had to go to class every morning. I tried. I did.” Jeff’s hands framed my face, and his lips brushed mine. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I couldn’t say anything. You know my parents—”

An infinite number of knots strangled my stomach. This wasn’t good.

After a long minute, I found my voice. “Tell me this is a joke. That you’re messing with me.” Jeff shook his head, his gaze down. “I can’t believe you did that. And that you didn’t tell me. I don’t know which one is upsetting me the most.” I punched his chest, my eyes filling with hot tears. “You’re messing with your future.”

“Business is not my thing. Spending hours in a classroom, listening to a boring teacher lecturing me about stuff I don’t care about isn’t either.” Jeff huffed a laugh. “I’ve been thriving. Everything is good. You don’t even know if you want to go to college yourself, so you should understand where I come from.”

“It’s not the point. I still have time to choose a path.” I gritted my teeth. “You can’t be a college drop-out at nineteen. You need a plan. This is not right.” I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing.

Mama would flip a switch when she learned about it. Jeff’s mama too.

My boyfriend sucked in a breath. It looked painful. He knitted his fingers through mine and met my eyes. “Don’t cry, Princess. I’m happy. Don’t worry about me. I’ve worked over fifty hours a week for months.”

“You’ve got a steady job?”

“I’ve been working at this pub in Nashville. With the tips, I’ve made some great money, and I’ve met all kinds of people from the music industry. I have contacts, Dah. Lots of them. For you and Carter. There’s this guy I want you two to meet. He’ll come to see you play. Anyway, I’ve been saving money to buy a house. I couch-surfed and piled out each dollar. All of it. And I saved the money I made working at the garage too. We’ll be fine. I’ll take care of you. I want a place for us. When you turn eighteen, I want you to come live with me. I want us.”

I blinked.

“You what? Whoa. There’s a lot to take in here. You lived on other people’s couches for months and didn’t tell me. Was it even safe? This is worse than I first thought.” Could Jeff read the hurt in my eyes? The lining of my throat itched. “You didn’t trust me with your secret—” My voice cracked. Jeff’s hands searched mine, but I pushed him back. “No. It’s not fine with me. You should’ve told me. Does Carter know?” He shook his head. “We care about you.” Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I stifled the sob forming deep inside me. “It’s not fair.” I palmed his chest. I didn’t recognize the boy before me. “Were you ever going to tell any of us, or did you intend to keep it a secret forever?”

My cheeks burned.

My lips tingled.

My heart heaved in my throat.

“What else did you lie about?”

“Nothing. I swear.”

“And I should believe you? Forget it. I’m done. I won’t stay here and watch you throw your future away.”

I opened the door and jumped from the truck, storming toward my house.

Jeff’s footsteps resonated on the cobblestones as he rushed to catch me.

“Princess, let’s talk about it. Don’t overreact. It’ll all be fine. I promise. I’m doing this for us.”

“Don’t ‘Princess’ me. You have no right. Don’t tell me you dropped out of college for me. I might be young and inexperienced, but I’m not stupid.” I stopped in my tracks, out of breath.

“Dahlia—” Jeff leaned in to kiss me. I stepped back.

“No. Don’t.” The words scorched my tongue. Hurt flashed in his eyes. I stretched my arm to keep him a foot away from me. My heart pounded. And broke for the man I thought I knew everything about. Fury boiled inside me. “Do you plan to work in that pub for the rest of your life?” My fingernails ripped the flesh of my palms. I pivoted on my heels to keep my back to my boyfriend, refusing to let him see my face, and folded my arms over my chest.

“Why are you so upset? I have everything figured out. Wait until you meet that guy. I’m doing it for the band. For you and Carter. And for us. It’ll all work out in the end. Don’t you trust me?”

Jeff clamped his fingers on my upper arms and forced me to turn around until our faces were level. Some of my anger vanished. Jeff had this ability to calm me down, even when I was mad at him. Something in the way he stared at me soothed the storm in my belly.

“Yes. I do. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. Or your brother. I’m upset, though. Upset that you didn’t trust me. I always trust you so I can’t understand why you weren’t honest with me.”

Pain filled Jeff’s dark irises. “I trust you. But I was scared you’d be disappointed in me. And the last thing I want is for you to be upset with me. I love you. As if my heart doesn’t know how to beat when you’re not around. I—”