Page 56 of Exile and Embrace

She smiles as she stands, taking her empty wine glass to the kitchen. “Where was the fire?”

“Well, I thought about something while Dawson was here.” I pull out the little black box. “I’m sorry that I didn’t think about this sooner when I asked you to be my fiancée.”

Ava’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “I didn’t think about that either.”

Crossing the room feels like crossing the middle of the ocean without a life vest.

I stop in front of her and flick open the box.

She gasps, her hand flying to her mouth as she sets down her wine glass on the counter.

Ava is careful as she lifts the ring out of the box and studies it beneath the shining overhead lights.

“This is stunning, Finn, but it’s too much. This is the kind of ring you give the girl you’re going to marry.”

“I picked it for you, Aves. For the purpose of our little game, you are the woman I’m going to marry. I wanted you to know how much I appreciate it.”

I pluck the ring from her fingers and take her left hand.

Her slight smile is laced with a look I can’t quite decipher.

There is a tremble to her hand as I put the ring on her finger and give her hand a squeeze.

“There.” I bring her hand to my lips and give the back of it a kiss. “Right where it belongs.”

As I let go of her hand and walk away, my heart crashes through my chest.

If those lines with Ava were blurry before, they’re nearly invisible now.

But I can’t go there with her. I promised to protect her while she was with me.

And that includes protecting her from me.

14

AVA

The early morning sun is chasing away a cloud of fog as I take my mug of coffee and my phone out to the backyard.

I drop into one of the loungers and put the mug on the table beside me.

Rays of sunlight catch the stone in the center of the ring.

It’s too much.

But it is a stunning ring.

Finn was right. It’s exactly the kind of ring I would have picked out for myself.

I love the little vines and leaves that frame the emerald stone.

I stop admiring the ring and call Zoe.

The phone rings several times before the call connects. “Hey, Zoe. I got your text about the will reading. I don’t doubt that planning it is giving you a headache. How’s that going?”

She laughs and shuts something. “It’s alright. I mean, it is a lot. The executor of Dad’s will is a pain in the ass to track down, and Mom keeps trying to get in contact with me. Billie and Hadley were just visiting too.”

“Sounds like a lot to deal with all at once. I wish that I could be there to help you.” I reach for the mug of coffee and take a sip. “You haven’t talked to Mom at all, have you?”

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