Page 25 of Shes my 1 Try

“He asked me to marry him.”

“He fucking what?” I gulp down the mouthful of bourbon, the burn twice as bad as my throat works to get it down without choking on it.

“Yeah,” she swirls the amber liquid in her glass, a sad smile drawing her mouth down as she brings the drink to her lips. “On Christmas morning when I opened the box. He got down on one knee with a fucking ten-carat diamond ring and asked me to be Mrs Simon Hampstead. He said we could get married in Vegas and then jet off to Hawaii or wherever else I wanted to go for our honeymoon.”

“Holy. Fucking. Chicken. Nuggets,” I gasp, wrapping my head around it. “So what happened?”

“I said no, of course.” She says it so matter-of-factly, as if it were the only logical answer. I’m gobsmacked and it takes me a minute to absorb it.

“Why?” I finally manage, my glass clinking on the marble bench top.

“Because I’m a fucking idiot and a coward,” she says, swiping a tear from her cheek.

“Ines, no.” Sliding off the seat, I dash around the bench and pull her into my arms. She’s stiff at first and I know her. She thinks she’s not worth comforting, but I don’t let her go. Eventually, she caves and gives into her emotions. Her chest heaves and hot tears splatter on my jersey, joining the ones I cried on the train ride over here.

“I…I’m the big…biggest idiot on t…the face of the…earth,” she stutters, her shoulders jerking with the force of her tears.

“You’re not an idiot,” I soothe, rubbing a hand up and down her back. “Scared, maybe?”

“I don’t understand what I have to be scared of, though,” she mumbles against my shoulder, before pulling back and ripping a piece of paper towel off the tube and blowing her nose. “Simon was perfect. Loving, caring, attentive. He never judged me or asked me to be anything other than what I was.”

“Maybe that’s the problem.” Ines frowns at me in confusion, and I rub a hand up and down her arm. “Your parents’ marriage was one based on money, right?” she nods and I continue. “Your dad expected your mum to be the perfect wife. Keep the staff in line at the house so it always looked spotless. Make sure you and your brother were dressed right. Speak only when spoken to and, god forbid, have an opinion of your own. You watched your mother fade away. Become nothing. All because of money. Simon has money. A lot of it.”

While Ines is accustomed to a certain lifestyle, her father indulging all manner of her passion projects. She still earns her own money, her ability to spot a good real-estate deal and flip it has gotten her where she is today. A sub-penthouse apartment in the middle of Sydney, with a killer view.

“I never understood my mother,” she muses quietly. “She let Dad tell her what to do and what to wear every moment of her life. It was like she didn’t have a mind of her own.”

“Are you afraid that’s what Simon will expect of you? To give up your independence for him?” Wide eyes stare back at me, her hands clamped around the glass to stop them from shaking.

“Is that so wrong? To want to stay who I am? I mean, it took a long time to like me.”

“Not in a million fucking years, is that wrong. For what it’s worth,” I offer her a warm smile. “Whenever I saw you two together, Simon never came across as a controlling douche. In fact, the man just wanted to adore you. He wanted to be in your presence and have some of your light shine on him.”

Ines’s bottom lip wobbles, her face contorting with the effort of trying to control it all. Simon is the only man I saw her truly being herself with. All the others forced her to douse her light so they could be the centre of attention. Not Simon.

“Do you love him?”

“What?” she mumbles, her throat bobbing.

“You heard me. It’s a simple enough question, Ines. Do. You. Love. Him?” I’ve never seen Ines in love, so I have no idea what it looks like. I’d bet my last dollar this is it, though.

“It doesn’t matter if I do or not,” she snaps, pushing away from the counter and walking over to the window. “It’s too late.”

“Bullshit,” I retort, joining her. “You’ve spun some lines in your life, bestie, but that was the biggest one of all. I know for a fact that if you were to ring him and ask him to talk, he’d be here in a flash.”

“You don’t know that. I hurt him, Wiley. You don’t just forgive someone for that kind of betrayal.” She doesn’t turn to face me, but I see the sideways glance she gives, straightening her spine as if that will be the end of it.

“No, maybe not, but you’ll never know unless you try.” She offers me a non-committal grunt, her chin jutting out. “Are you telling me you’d rather protect your pride than be with the man you love?! You’re a lot of things, Ines, but I never thought stupid was one of them.”

I walk away back to the living area, the sounds of Ines muttering to herself following me, and I pick up the travel pouch. Moving back to stand next to her, I slap the pouch against my palm, the tick in my friend’s jaw exactly what I’m hoping for.

“You’re wrong, you know. About Simon. He won’t come back to me.”

“I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take this over-the-top gift if you ring Simon and ask him to come over and talk.” This time she does turn to face me, her mouth an angry thin line.

“Wiley! I gave you that as a way for you to connect with your man. Out of the goodness of my heart. Not so you could bribe me with it!”

“No, this isn’t a bribe. This is plain old blackmail. Ring Simon and I’ll take the tickets and go to Vegas. Don’t ring him and you will have to babysit me over the next few weeks as I moan and wail about how unfair life is.” I put my hands out, palms up, and use them like scales, representing each option.

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