Page 161 of Love Unavoidable
“I was thinking this one would look nice with your ring,” he says as he picks one up, takes my left hand, and slides it down my finger to rest next to the ring he gave me this morning.
“I love it,” I say, holding my hand out in front of me, both the solitaire and the eternity band glisten in the overhead lights.
“Since yours is platinum, I thought I would match it with something like this,” he picks up a platinum band with a brushed finish.
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
“You like it, gorgeous?” he confirms.
“Very much.”
“Okay, Timothy, we’ll take them.”
“Wonderful, let me box them up for you.” Timothy takes the rings back and disappears for a moment, then emerges with a small white bag in his hand that he hands to Ethan. The men shake hands and Timothy says, “Congratulations to you both.” Instead of shaking my hand, he takes it and kisses the back. I smile at him, he winks back.
Ethan takes my hand and leads me back out to the limo. The driver opens the door, Ethan helps me in then crawls in next to me. “Stop number two, sir?” The driver asks before he shuts the door.
“Perfect,” Ethan says. “Thank you.”
* * *
Ethan
I can tell the limo is getting close to stop number two. My stomach is in knots. I have to tell Sadie before we arrive. I just don’t want to, it will kill her and today is supposed to be all happy. I should have had her drink more than just a sip of champagne.
I’m already holding her right hand in my left, so I turn to take her left hand in my right. “Gorgeous, I have to tell you something. It’s not good.”
“Did you forget to make reservations and now we’re hitting up a drive-thru to celebrate our engagement?” She smiles.
I laugh and lean in to kiss her. What I really want to do is pull her into my lap and fuck her silly. But I don’t want to muss her hair and makeup before the ceremony. Because I’m marrying Sadie today, she just doesn’t know it yet. Well, maybe she’s figured it out by now, but if so, she hasn’t let on.
“No,” I say. “I invited your parents to be here with us, and they declined. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh.” She blinks rapidly. “Oh. Well, that’s fine. I mean, it’s just an engagement dinner, right? It’s not like we’re getting married.” She laughs uncomfortably.
My face falls, I feel it before I can stop it.
Maybe this was a bad idea. I look down at our clasped hands, my thumbs running over her silky skin in what I hope is a comforting motion.
“Are we?” She tilts her head down to try to catch my eye. I look up at her. “Ohmigod. Ethan, are we getting married?”
I nod slightly.
“Holy shit. You aren’t messing around, are you?” She looks away.
I shake my head, trying to catch her eye and gauge her mood.
She laughs, but it’s bitter. Tears drip down her face, I try to wipe them away without messing up her makeup.
“I’m so sorry, Sadie. We don’t have to do this. This was a terrible idea. We can just go to dinner, and plan something in the future. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to upset you.”
She looks up at me. “Did they know it was a wedding?”
I nod again, and sigh.
“And they still declined?”
I don’t even have to nod because she knows the answer and she’s just stating the obvious.
