Page 7 of Addicted

I showed her body what it was missing, and now this dipshit was showing her brain that he didn’t know her. If I was proposing to Denise, I’d give her something modern, inspired by all those fantasy shows she never stops talking about. A solitaire cut, the band covered in green stones with a wedding band that fit across the top, resembling a crown.

I bit my cheek, cursing myself for falling into the dream.

This woman wasn’t mine. Thinking about her that way was a recipe for disaster.

I slid it back over to her and said the only thing that felt right to say at that moment.

“It’s not the right size.”

The ring was tiny and Denny wasn’t. She was soft and abundant. Every part of her moved and danced. Watching her laugh, truly laugh, was like watching the universe come to life. He didn’t see what I saw. She was light and life and energy. And her goddamn ring finger wasn’t a fucking size five.

Thinking about this ring in the right size on her finger made my chest tight. She couldn’t marry him. I think she knew that she just needed to see it for herself.

My fingers crossed neatly into my lap before I asked the only real question worth asking. The question that would get me to stop chasing her, to put up my walls, to let her go.

“Are you happy?”

I took her off guard. Her lips pursed for a second before she replied.

“Of course not.”

We stared at each other, the weight of what she’d just said sitting heavy between us. She caught herself off-guard, but I already knew. She hadn’t been happy as long as I’d known her, not really.

I stood, needing to leave before I demanded she see reason.

“Are you happy? With Char?” Her words were whispered, and she looked surprised that she’d asked. I said the words I’d wanted to say to her for weeks.

I replied, just as softly, “Of course, I wasn’t. That’s why I left her.”

That was all I could take before turning and walking away from her without looking back.

There was still a chance. Still, an opportunity to find my way to her, and I clung to that.

CHAPTER 4

DENISE

I left a few minutes after Hugh did. Partially because I couldn’t focus on anything, but mostly because I couldn’t get past the fact that everything was a mess.

Curtis came out for a moment last night to grab food, but didn’t say a word to me before heading back into the spare room and closing the door behind him. It was the usual routine. I’d watch TV or read, and he’d be in the other room doing whatever until he needed something from me. He slept there; I slept in the bedroom.

While I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I went to the jewelry store’s website and made an appointment. The only option for the next few days was today at lunch. I’d spent the last few hours running through all the ways I could ask the associate to swap the awful thing out.

Of course, I wasn’t, that’s why I left her.

He’d left Char and hadn’t told me. What did that mean? Was I just reading into it, or did he think that wasn’t supposed to raise a million questions?

Distaste for the ring was etched all over Hugh’s face, which made me wonder what he would pick for me. I shook the thought away. My brain was making more problems for me, and I could barely manage the ones I already had.

The walk went by quickly and all too soon I stood in front of Johnson and Sons Family Jewelry.

This place was legendary for its craftsmanship and attention to detail. A few of their pieces literally took my breath away on their website. It was also Elizabeth Taylor’s first stop whenever she was in the city. At least, that’s what the plaque outside the building read. A tourist was snapping a photo with it as I weaved around them and headed toward the door.

Like most places in the city, there were bars across the windows to deter thieves and a burly man was standing inside the door, watching the few customers inside.

A voice piped through a speaker next to me before I could hit the buzzer.

“Good morning! Do you have an appointment?” The tinny voice came through the speaker.

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