Lockwood Creek Book Two - This can be read as a stand-a-lone.
A Why Choose Story.
Maddy Lockwood was the Perfect Daughter and to save the Lockwood family she agreed to a marriage she did not want, but now she will learn the hard way that no matter...
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~ ~ Maddy ~ ~
* Twelve Months Before the Wedding *
My mama's house was even more crowded and noisy than usual, and I knew why, but I just didn't want to think about it. In fact, I tried to conceal myself in the sea of faces I'd grown up with to avoid what was coming.
The room hushed.
Gripping my empty champagne glass so tightly, I thought it might shatter as I turned to see Cooper Stanton on one knee.
Oh. My. God! This was it and that horrible feeling fell through me like a stone sinking to the bottom of icy water. And Riley Jo would have a cow if she saw the sight before me now.
When Riley Jo and I were children, we had dreamt of the moment when Prince Charming would be on his knees, taking my hand in his, asking me to his forever.
But the man on his knees here in front of me now wasn't my Prince Charming.
Heck, I didn't think he was a prince of any kind.
Not that Cooper wasn't a catch, and I was sure he would be many a girl's dream. As men went, he was a fine specimen. A wall of muscle, dark and broody and my mama said his family was one of the finest in the South. But peering into those eyes of his, I saw nothing for me—empty, cold even... and definitely no love.
Not that I loved him either.
"Look Frank," I heard my mama gush. This was more her moment than mine. "Why it's 'bout time," she said.
Cooper cleared his throat and frustration dug its claws into my flesh. For me, this was a countdown. Twelve months and I would officially be married to the man on his knees.
Why?
Because I was a Lockwood and as the perfect Lockwood daughter, they expected me to save this family from ruin. And although I'd agreed in part, it still didn't prepare me for the reality of it.
I guess you could say I'd been foolishly wishing for a miracle.
Cooper squeezed my hand, demanding my attention. Face tilted up to mine. "Madelyn Marie Lockwood." He took a deep breath. "Will you do me the honour of marrying me?"
His grip tightened as if holding me in place because he could see I wanted to bolt. Run as fast as my legs could carry me.
I tried to draw a breath around the ache blooming in my chest. I didn't want this man. Hell, we hardly knew each other. We hadn't even had sex, and I wasn't planning on fixin' that tiny detail until I had to, insisting we had to be married first. But the very idea of being intimate with Cooper Stanton made my stomach churn something rotten.
My eyes followed his free hand as it dug inside his pocket, fishing out a small velvet box. Releasing my hand, he held it in the centre of his spread palm using his other hand to open it.
