Page 53 of Love in Fine Print

I hung up and replayed what I’d just said in my head. I sounded like a dick. Which made sense because canceling plans on someone, just hours before, was definitely a dick move. I knew she deserved more of an explanation than that.

Instead of calling back I decided to text. That way, I could proof my message before sending it.

Me:Tried to call you but it went straight to your voicemail. I just wanted to let you know the reason I won’t be able to see you tonight. I’ve been seeing someone casually for the past month or so and last night things turned more serious. I’m really sorry this is so last minute. I feel like out of respect to both her and you, I don’t think it would be a good idea to hang out.

I read and reread the text before pressing send. It wasn’t Shakespeare but at least it explained why I was standing her up.

As I held my phone in my hand, I had the strongest impulse to call Olivia. All day I’d been wondering what she was doing, how she was doing. Was she having second thoughts about this arrangement? Or had she even thought about me or our agreement at all?

It was driving me crazy. I scrolled through and found her name, and my thumb hovered over it. It seemed like no one actually called anyone anymore. I could text, but things were often misinterpreted over text.

Which didn’t bode well for the messages I’d just left for Kelly. A slight niggle of guilt twisted in my chest at flaking on her. In fairness to me, my life had taken a plot twist I hadn’t seen coming in a million years.

I stared down at my phone, knowing that I wanted to speak to Olivia, but also knowing the phone was not going to cut it. This was an in-person conversation. And she had wanted to see me tonight. Also, technically, Olivia was my fiancée. I could go see my fiancée.

“My fiancée,” I said aloud for the first time.

Hearing myself say the word out loud triggered a memory of something that had happened in this very house ten years ago.

“My fiancée,” I repeated as I headed up the steps to Gran’s dressing room. It was one room I hadn’t touched since movingin. It still had all of her clothes, shoes, and jewelry. I felt like once I went through all that, she’d really be gone.

Dolly’s nails clicked behind me on the stairs as she followed. I opened the door and headed straight to the antique desk where Gran kept “the good stuff.”

Ten years ago, I’d been visiting when she brought me into this room and pulled out a tiny ornate wooden box with a hummingbird etched on the top. She opened it, revealing her wedding ring, and said that she wanted me to have it. It was a vintage three-stone diamond ring set in a platinum gold band.

At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought because I truly believed I would never need it since I planned on being a bachelor for life. But now things were different. Now I was going to be getting married. I knew that Gran wanted my wife to wear her ring, but would she still want it under these unusual circumstances?

Just as I thought the question, a gust of wind blew causing the chimes that hung outside the window to ting as they hit each other. At the same moment, goosebumps rose on my arms as a strange sensation passed through me. I told myself that my body’s reaction was due to the breeze, but deep inside, I couldn’t help but wonder if it had more to do with something supernatural taking place.

I didn’t believe in ghosts, but I also didn’tnotbelieve in ghosts. If there were ever a time Gran would have made herself known, it would be when I was deciding to give Olivia the ring.

As I stood contemplating the afterlife, a certainty settled over me that giving her the ring was the right thing to do. I grabbed the small box, pushed it into my pocket, then rushed down the stairs. Dolly was right behind me. I grabbed my keys off the entryway table and her nose was already pushed against the door.

“You want to come with me?” I asked the question, even though I already knew the answer. Maybe it would be good if she was there. I didn’t normally rely on a dog as a wingman, but like I kept saying, this was not a typical situation.

We both hopped into the truck and on the drive over, a movie in my head kept playing out all the different ways this could go wrong. Olivia and I were in a strange position where we’d signed a legal agreement to get married, but we didn’t actually have a relationship.

Would she be upset at me just showing up at her door?

What if she had company?

We’d agreed not to have sex with anyone, but that was after we were married.

What if she was making the most of her last couple of weeks as a single woman?

My mind was still racing with possibilities as I drove past my favorite Chinese take-out spot; I figured showing up with food and a ring was less strange than just showing up with a ring. I made a quick U-turn and parked outside. Since I had no clue what she liked to eat, I just ordered a bunch of things.

Once I’d secured our food, I hopped back in the truck.

“No,” I told Dolly whose nose was halfway down the bag.

She whined but took her face out and laid down beside it.

The drive to Olivia’s, which was across town, felt like it took two hours but was closer to twenty minutes. Thankfully, the time allowed me to come up with a game plan.

Unlike the impromptu voicemail I’d left Kelly, this time I wanted to say the right things.

When I found a parking space right outside her complex, I wanted to do a backflip. I grabbed the food, and Dolly and I headed up to the wrought iron gate. As we approached a delivery driver was coming out and he held the door for us.

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