Tate Montgomery grabbed his jaw and winced when a sharp pain shot through his mouth.

"Dammit, Nessa. You didn't have to punch me."

"You didn't have to get your goons to drag me into your car!" Nessa slapped his arm but there wasn't much force behind it. "What were you thinking, Tate?"

"You won't pick up my calls and I needed to talk to you," Tate explained. He waited until she scooted herself to the far end of the backseat and crossed her arms before taking in her attire. He smirked. "Nice coconuts."

Nessa's hands curled into fists. "What did you just say? You want me to kick you in the nuts? Because that's what I heard."

"Oh, calm down. I know what I did was wrong and I apologize. I just wanted to talk to you. My father said he called your parents. Are you okay?"

Nessa looked out the window, ignoring his statement. One of her sandals had gone missing in the tussle and she wondered if one of Tate's hired men had picked it up during her "abduction."

"Nessa, I just wanted to make sure you weren't mad at me. I told him I'm dating Petunia but he refused to listen. He's as stubborn as a mule. More so."

She stole a look at Tate. Despite their messy break-up, he had also been a childhood friend to her. He was a few years older than her but he had grown up with domineering parents just like she had. The main difference between them was that Tate was more than happy to reap the benefits of his father's work. Nessa wanted to pave her own way.

"Did your parents get mad at you?" he asked.

"No. They wanted to know all about my new boyfriend."

Tate looked taken aback and adjusted his tie. "That's surprising. I thought they liked me."

"Sure," Nessa said sarcastically. "Who wouldn't love the guy who dumped their daughter because she wasn't good enough?"

"It wasn't because of that and you know it. I tried, Nessa. I really tried. You would go on and on about your ghosties or whatever you called them. I tried to be patient when it came to all the part-time jobs and the ridiculous outfits." He made a point to give her body a once-over to reiterate his statement. "All our lives we've been told  we were going to marry one another and I needed a break. Just like you want to break free from depending on your parents. Can't you understand that? It's not like I ever said it would be permanent."

"Why are you telling me this?" Nessa asked. "We broke up a long time ago and you're dating someone. It doesn't matter anymore."

"Of course it matters."

"You want something, don't you? Did your father threaten to cut you off if you didn't date me?"

"Nessa—"

"Or are you actually jealous?" Nessa leaned back, a sly smile on her lips. "You're jealous, aren't you? Knox Marsden was voted sexiest businessman last year by the city newspaper."

"I'm not jealous! Was he really?" Tate adjusted his tie again.

Nessa frowned. "Then why? Why do you care about my parents' opinion of you and why are you using force to get me in a car?"

"Can't I miss you?"

"No. You broke up with me, remember?"

"I know but now my father is upset with me and I—"

"I'm not going to date you because of your father!"

"I don't want to date you." Tate waved his hands in front of him while shaking his head.

"So, spit it out. What do you want from me?"

His lips tilted upward. "I thought it was obvious. I want you to marry me."

Nessa stared at Tate's handsome face for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

"You weren't supposed to laugh," Tate said. He leaned back into the leather upholstery and sighed.

"Right, and I'm sure your precious Petunia would love it if you married me."

"I could break up with her," he offered. "If you wanted to get back together. I stepped on the grass on the other side, Nessa. It's not greener. It was just a mirage."

"Do you honestly think I'd take you back after what you said to me?"

"Is that what all the hesitation is about?" Tate chuckled. "I didn't mean that. We've been together since we were kids. I'm the one who taught you to tie your shoes, remember? I'm the one who bandaged up your knees when you fell."

"Stop talking like you're some kind of saint. You sound like a groomer," she hissed. "Besides, you're only four years older than me."

"My thirty seems like a lifetime away from your twenty-six. We've been apart for two years and that's more than enough. I know I was brutal when we broke up but we both know how you and I are going to end."

"One of us will be murdered?" Nessa raised a brow.

"Marriage," Tate said softly. "You and I together is how this story is going to end. You know that, right?" He lifted a hand and raised her chin upward. "I've always known it. Even when I was breaking up with you, I knew it."

His lips pressed against hers and for a moment, Nessa forgot about the past two years. She put aside the memories of an eighteen year old girl who had given her everything to a boy she thought she loved.

Tate Montgomery had been her ideal man from the time she became Edward Cruz' stepdaughter until the moment he had told her he wanted to break up. He had been her first kiss, her first lover, and her first heartache.

She let the feelings of excitement bubble up in her as his kiss became deeper. A roar of passion deafened her judgment until a blaring horn caused them both to jump.

They were both breathing rapidly when Tate opened his window with a curse. "What the hell is going on out there?"

"I don't know but we'll look into it," one of Tate's men said. Tate rolled the window up and turned back to Nessa, ignoring the honking from outside. "So? What do you say? Are you on Team Tate again?"

"Do you really want to get back together?"

"Of course. As long as you can promise to quit these jobs and the ghosts and—"

"No."

"No? W-why not?" Tate's brows drew together. "Why wouldn't you want to get back together? Is it because of Marsden? You need to stay away from him, Nessa. He's bad news."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you find it suspicious that his fiancée left at the altar? Then his hotel  burned down. For all we know, he did it himself to cash in on the insurance policy. Then there's—"

Nessa rolled her eyes. "Tate, I don't care."

She wasn't going to tell Tate that she had lied about dating Knox but she didn't want to hear any of his gossip either.

"This is important," Tate insisted. "One of the guys I play racquetball with told me that he saw him at—"

"Enough! I don't want to hear it. If you really want to know why I won't get back with you, it's because I'm looking for the real deal. Someone who will love me forever. Someone who will love me even after I die. A true love. I want that and nothing less."

"That's a fantasy," Tate said. "No woman but you would give up me for some fantasy love. Think this through."

"You're wrong, Tate. Every woman wants a love like that. To forever hold a place in a man's heart without conditions or strings...every woman wants that."

Knox Marsden sat in the backseat of his car while Jason pressed on the horn of his car.

"Keep doing it," Knox muttered.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Jason asked. "From their conversation at the charity event, they seemed close."

"I need to talk to her and if this is the only thing we can do to get her out of that car, so be it. What kind of man hires goons to kidnap a woman?"

Jason shrugged as he pressed the horn again. "I don't know but those goons are coming this way."

A tap on the driver's window told them they were no longer alone. Jason rolled down the window. "Can I help you?"

"Is there a reason why you're honking your horn like that?" The man in a black suit and dark sunglasses asked.

Knox leaned forward. "My girlfriend is in that car. I want her to know I'm waiting."

The goon frowned. "I think the whole neighborhood knows you're waiting, sir."

Knox opened his mouth to respond  until he saw Nessa's figure coming out of Tate's car, still dressed in her Hawaiian costume.

Knox stepped out of the car and called out to her. She looked surprised and told the hired men that Tate was waiting for them. After they stepped away, she tilted her head and studied Knox as if he were a bug in her salad. "What do you want?"

His lips turned into a genuine smile. "I have a proposal for you?"

Nessa's mouth fell open. "You want to marry me too?"

She looked down at her outfit. "I should wear this more often."

Knox couldn't mask the shock in his voice. "Too? Did Montgomery propose?"

"Maybe," Nessa said with a smirk. "Are you jealous?"

Knox cleared his throat and looked away from her. "You must really have a high self-esteem. This is not that kind of proposal."

"It's not?"

"No," Knox answered.

Nessa rolled her eyes. "Fine, but saying you have a proposal for me could be misleading."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is," Nessa argued.

"I'm not fighting with you," Knox said slowly as if he were talking to a small child throwing a tantrum.

"Your loss." Nessa shrugged. "I don't know what proposal you have but you better ask nicely if you expect me to agree."

Knox nodded and gave her a stilted smile. "Nessa Cruz, will you come work for me again?"