Society Girls: Rhieve Read Online Free Page A

camera snapping away, but I don’t let it spoil anything. Right now, it’s just me and Rhieve.
    “Well?”
    “It’s not an engagement ring.”
    “For you, it is. You’re not a solitaire type of woman, Rhieve. You like statement pieces.”
    “I do.”
    “I know.”
    She tentatively reaches out to touch the ring. There’s a square diamond measuring over five carats in the middle, surrounded by forty-two square and round diamonds totaling another five carats. The ring is big, heavy, and took a nice chunk out of my bank account. Nothing I couldn’t afford, and I would’ve paid ten times as much to see the wonder and happiness in her eyes that I’m seeing now.
    “It’s perfect for me.”
    “Does that mean you’ll let me put it on your finger?”
    “Yes,” she says, and then looks up into my eyes. “Thank you for thinking of me. You could’ve just gotten me a standard ring, and I would’ve worn it, but this…this is stunning.”
    “It’s only what you deserve.”
    I slide it onto her ring finger before I say anything else. There’s so much I want to say, but it’s not time yet. She’s not ready to hear the truth from me. I’m finally ready to tell at least part of it, though.

2
    R hieve
    I’m freaking out inside right now. This is supposed to be fake. All of it is supposed to be fake. There aren’t supposed to be flowers floating in the pool with candles all around. Calum shouldn’t be on bended knee while I sit on the diving board. And there definitely isn’t supposed to be a ring I absolutely love and would honestly be my dream ring if I saw it in the jewelry store.
    Yet, I’m sitting her as he slides that ring on my finger, while all of my childhood fantasies are coming true. Including the one where I’m getting engaged to Calum, the boy I loved. Past tense. I’ve got to keep reminding myself that he’s not that sweet boy anymore. He’s the man who sleeps with any woman he can, owns sex clubs, and flouts every tradition he comes across. He needs me to make him look good, and it doesn’t matter that he’s doing some nice things for me. It can’t matter because none of this is real.
    “You need to kiss,” Camari reminds us.
    I knew this was coming, and I thought I was ready. All of this romantic stuff has thrown me off my game, and I need to get my head together once we’re done here. I have no hope of it while he’s in front of me with that strong jaw, and piercing blue eyes. I’m lost in him as he leans towards me.
    I want to keep my eyes open, and make this not matter, but they flutter closed as his lips brush over mine. He’s still holding my left hand, but he uses his other hand to cup my cheek. It’s too tender, and when he flicks his tongue over the seam of my lips, I open for him, expecting him to get rough. His reputation precedes him, but he surprises me yet again.
    His tongue strokes lazily inside my mouth, like he has all the time in the world. He doesn’t. We don’t. This is just for pictures, no matter how good it feels.
    He’s either not remembering that, or it feels as good to him as it does to me, and he doesn’t care. I’m going to have to be the one to put a stop to this. In a minute…or five. Maybe ten, because his lips are magical, and his tongue is making me forget why this is a bad idea.
    “Rhieve.”
    It’s just one word whispered against my lips, but it sounds like a prayer as he says it. His accent is almost non-existent, reminding me of the little boy I loved. That shouldn’t be enough to break the spell I’m under, but it is. This isn’t him , and I don’t want either of us to pretend it is.
    “Was that enough?” I ask, pulling away.
    “Not even close,” he whispers, making my heart race even faster.
    “Candi?” I ask again.
    “Oh yeah. You two nearly burned up my lens. Do you want to touch up your makeup before the formal pictures?”
    “Yes,” I say, jumping up and moving away from Calum as fast as I can. “I’ll be right