Page 48 of Tangled In Lies

I’m so screwed.

But speaking of engagement . . . I pull the velvety box out of my pocket and all but shove it in Evangeline’s face. “Here.”

“What is it?” She regards the box like it’s personally offending her and doesn’t make a move to take it.

“What do you think it is?” I sigh. “We’re almost there. Will you take the damn box already?”

“Only because you asked so nicely.” She gives me a bright smile that doesn’t reach her eyes and snatches the box out of my hand.

After an excruciating moment, she slowly opens it. I don’t miss the way her eyes widen, or the way her breath hitches, when she catches the first glimpse of what’s inside.

Her engagement ring.

“Phoenix.” Evangeline’s hand flies to her mouth before she lowers it to the ring, gingerly brushing the gem. “Is that a moonstone?”

I clear my throat. “It is.”

“Did you pick it?”

“Yeah.”

Her gaze flicks to mine, and I shrug.

“Connie once mentioned it’s your sisterhood gemstone or something like that. I thought you might like it.” My impatience takes over, and I grab the box from her. “We don’t have a lot of time left. Let me help.”

Carefully, I take the custom-made piece and gesture forher hand. I keep my gaze downward as I slide it on her left ring finger. It fits perfectly, and I stare at the glowing oval-shaped moonstone that’s nestled within twinkling diamonds.

Then I finally glance up and immediately regret it. There’s an undeniable shimmer in her eyes, and I put that there.

“Phoenix, I don’t know what to say. It’s . . . it’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you.”

I nod and say, “No problem.”

After another long perusal, she gazes at me. Her entire face has transformed. It’s softer around the edges, and the tightness around her eyes that’s usually there when she looks at me has disappeared too.

“We haven’t really talked much about tonight. The gala is for a nonprofit that helps children who are transitioning into foster care, right?”

Grateful for the topic change, I dip my head. “Yes. They also offer support via emergency shelters, or if someone was affected by other traumatic situations.”

She stays silent for a moment as if she’s processing the information. “Do you sometimes feel guilty that you grew up with so much when others don’t even have the necessities?”

I don’t want to indulge the many things I thought about during my time in prison. The way it’s changed me at my core. When everything you’re used to is stripped away without warning, especially if you’re used to having whatever you wanted at the snap of a finger, you eat a huge piece of humble pie very quickly. I feel like I ate my body weight of it and then some.

I swallow but hold her gaze. “I don’t feel guilty per se,since I didn’t do anything wrong by being born into a rich family, but I definitely have changed the ways I think about money and privileges over the last few years.”

“Is that why you’re starting your own nonprofit? To help less privileged people?”

I avert my gaze to the front, where it collides with Holden’s in the mirror. “Not really. I can make a huge change by just donating money to other charities and organizations. Starting my own nonprofit was a means to an end at first, more busy work than anything else, a tool. But now, I don’t know.”

I shrug and avert my gaze to the window and the passing city life.

“Now what?”

Of course, she can’t just leave it alone.

I sigh. “I don’t know. I guess I like it more than I thought. It feels satisfying to build a company by myself, and one that will actually do good too.”

“We’re almost there,” Holden calls from the front at the same time Evangeline mumbles something that sounds like, “The exact opposite of what your dad does.”

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