Page 149 of Chasing Sparks

“Ori,” they say in stereo.

Fuck, am I that transparent?

“Yes, Ori,” I admit, rubbing the back of my neck. “I messed up, and now I’m trying to fix it.”

Zane leans back in his chair, smirking. “I think Ash should buy us all dinner as an apology for being intolerable. What do you guys think?”

“Yes. I’m craving steak,” Braden says without hesitation.

“Ooh, and lobster,” Lucille chimes in with a wide grin.

“Bunch of savages,” I mutter, shaking my head but smiling for the first time in days. “Fine. We’ll go after closing, okay?”

As I turn to head toward my office, Braden’s voice catches me again.

“Hey, Ash.”

“Yeah?” I glance back.

Braden leans casually against the counter, his grin mischievous. “What are you buying Ori to make it up toher?”

I hesitate for a beat, my gaze flicking toward the floor before meeting his. “I don’t know yet. A diamond ring, maybe.”

Braden whistles low, his grin widening. “Shit. You’re not messing around, are you?”

“Not this time,” I reply, my tone firmer than I expected.

“Welcome back, man,” he says, the teasing edge softening into something more genuine.

“Thanks.” For a moment, the weight I’ve been carrying feels lighter. I feel lighter, too.

Now I have a new mission—finding Ori the perfect ring.

Two days later, I suck in a deep breath and walk intoOne More Pageright before closing, determined to right this latest in a string of wrongs.

I just wish I could tell Ori everything.

Soon enough.

“Hey.”

Ori glances up from behind the counter, a half-smile flitting across her face. “Hey yourself.”

“How was Manhattan? The conference?”

“Fine. It was nice to get away.”

Code for: nice to get the hell away from me.

My nerves threaten to overtake me. I feel like a teenager asking a girl on a first date. Hell, I wasn’t this nervous at the jeweler last night, though I nearly lost it when they assumed the ring was for Lucille.

I’ve been mired so deep in this crap I couldn’t see how it felt for Ori—how much this charade has torn her apart.

There’s a sadness in her now—she’s withdrawn, quiet.

I pull out my phone and glance at the photo of us on the beach in Florida. We’ll get back there again if it kills me.

“Do you need some coffee or something?” Ori asks, startling me.

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