Page 55 of Exile and Embrace

He clinks his bottle against mine. “Amen to that.”

A couple of hours later, Dawson leaves while the women are still bent over the papers.

Empty pizza boxes sit on the counter and nearly a dozen beers are scattered across the table.

I grab my coat and my keys. “I have to run out for a few minutes. I shouldn’t be too long. I’ll get the mess cleaned up when I get back.”

Ava waves a hand. “Don’t worry about the mess. Brooklyn is going to be on her way out shortly and then I’ll get it cleaned up.”

I cross the room and lean over to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll handle it when I get back. Just take the rest of the night to relax. You’ve had a long day.”

Brooklyn looks between the two of us with a soft squeal. “The two of you are too cute for words.”

Laughing, I leave and shut the door behind me.

As soon as the door is shut, I slump against it and run my hands down my face.

The line between our fake relationship and the real attraction I have toward Ava is starting to get blurrier than ever.

I breathe out a deep breath and head to a jewelry store not far from our house.

When I walk inside, stones glitter at me from the shelves.

I look around for something that suits Ava.

I’ve never seen her wear more than a necklace, but I can’t remember for the life of me what that looks like.

Sometimes, she wears tiny hoops or stud earrings, but I have no clue whether they’re gold or silver.

The picture at the redwoods.

I pull out my phone, hoping that her necklace is visible or that she’s wearing earrings in the picture.

Sure enough, there are a pair of gold studs in her ears.

Thank fuck.

A man steps out from behind one of the counters. “Is there anything I can help you find tonight?”

“An engagement ring. Something simple. Understated and beautiful.”

The man nods and leads the way over to one of the counters on the far side of the room. He rounds the counter and unlocks the glass door, reaching inside to pull out a tray of gold engagement rings.

“This one is perfect.” I point to the ring in the middle of the tray.

There is a small emerald in the middle of the ring, surrounded by filigree that reminds me of vines and leaves. It’s not as simple as I thought it would be, but everything about it screams Ava.

The man nods and talks about sizing for a moment before I pay for the ring. It looks like it should fit on her finger.

Worst-case scenario, I get it resized.

With the ring in my pocket, I head back to the house.

I have no clue what to say to her as I walk past her car. Brooklyn’s bike is gone, leaving the two of us alone.

I take a deep breath as I walk into the house.

Ava looks up from the table, soft music playing in the background.

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