Joe’s eyes flew open in surprise. He leaned into his mother’s ear, but she didn’t respond to whatever he said, intent on cutting up a piece of chicken.

His gaze turned to me. I snuck a glance at the people around us. Would it be more humiliating to sit through the rest of this disaster or get up and leave? Sighing in defeat, I offered him a tiny smile of acceptance. I had promised to come for dinner, and I wasn’t going to break my promise. But after that, I never wanted to step foot in this house again.

Joe’s shoulders slumped, and he barely touched the rest of his food throughout the rest of the meal, refusing to look at me. I tried to eat, but everything tasted like chalk dust. I would have given up, but Hilary kept flashing me her smile. She knew I was uncomfortable. I didn’t want to make her any happier about that than she already was.

What was this big surprise, anyway? I could tell that Joe was caught as off-guard as I was. That scared me more than anything.

Everyone else ignored me, not that I minded. I was done with pretending and wanted this dinner to end so Joe and I could leave.

When dessert was over, Joe’s father stood, motioning to someone standing in the doorway. One of the catering staff handed out champagne flutes while another poured champagne into the glasses.

J.R. raised his up, looking down at Joe. “As everyone knows, Mike Morgan was running unopposed in the state senate race, but he was forced to drop out due to health concerns.”

I felt lightheaded. Mason’s prediction was coming true, and there wasn’t a darn thing I could do about it.

J.R. lifted his glass up. “It is with the utmost pride that I announce that my son, Joe Simmons, is entering the race for the Arkansas state senate seat!”

Joe’s lips pressed together and his eyes hardened as everyone clinked their glasses together shouting, “Cheers!”

Hilary clinked hers with Joe’s, but he ignored her, glaring at his father.

No one bothered to touch mine.

“It’s already the end of September,” Joe’s father continued. “We only have a little over a month to get this campaign rolling, which means we need to take off running. We’ll get started first thing in the morning.”

Betsy stood. “If everyone wants to adjourn into the living room, we can discuss business in there.”

All the guests stood and left the room as Joe jumped up and headed toward me, livid. But J.R. grabbed Joe’s arm. He tried to jerk out of his father’s grasp, but then J.R. leaned into his ear. Joe’s face turned white, and his anger faded as he accompanied his father out of the room.

What had J.R. said? I started to follow, but Betsy intercepted me, blocking my exit. “I hope tonight was a satisfactory demonstration of what your life as a senator’s wife would be like. I’m not sure how long you’d survive when you find it a struggle to answer the most mundane questions about your education and your breeding.”

I finally found my tongue. “Breeding? Is being a senator’s wife akin to being a horse? Do I need to provide my pedigree papers?”

She laughed, but the sound was brittle. “I can see Joe’s attraction to you. You’re a pretty little distraction from all his troubles over the past year. But it’s time for Joe to resume his family responsibility. He’s been groomed for this his entire life.”

I shook my head. “Do you know if he even wants this?”

Her gaze hardened. “Do you?”

I didn’t.

Her eyes glittered with victory at my hesitation, and she offered a smile. “Rose, this life isn’t for you. I’ve watched you tonight. You struggled with what silverware to use. You’re poor white trash, and you live in that cesspool Fenton County. It’s no wonder you feel out of place and discouraged around Joe’s family and friends.” Her voice lowered. “The sad truth is that you’ll never fit in here. You have your place, and Joe has his. The sooner everything gets back to the way it should be, the better off everyone will be.” She patted my cheek. “I’m sure a street-smart girl like you can figure that out.” Then she turned and left me standing alone in the dining room.

Angry, I stormed to the living room, expecting Joe to be in the living room setting everyone straight, but he stood in the middle of a group of men, all of them patting him on the back with congratulations. He didn’t respond to any of them, looking shell-shocked.

Hilary stood to the side, her champagne flute in one hand. When she saw me, she lifted it and smiled, then took a sip.

I could either stand here and fight or turn around and leave. I wanted to fight. Fight for Joe and me. Fight and prove to every person who’d ever hurt me that I was done taking other people’s crap. But Joe stood in the center of the group doing nothing.

Why wasn’t he fighting for me?

I spun around and left the room.

Joe found me as I was climbing into my truck. “Rose! Wait!”

I hesitated, unsure of what to do. Part of me just wanted to go home.

But he caught up with me, grabbing my shoulders. “I didn’t know he was going to do that. I swear.”

I looked up at him, clenching my jaw. “You’ve been doing a lot of swearing tonight, Joe.”

“You have to believe me. I didn’t know about any of this.”

I closed my eyes. “I believe you.”

Part of me was so hurt by this evening, and the rest of me was angry. The angry part won out. “How could you let Hilary make me look like a fool?”