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Ryan is meeting me here in an hour for coffee and I don't know what that meeting will be like.
Last night when I contemplated what I'd say to him I hadn't had that encounter with Hunter yet. Now that it's happened, I feel like I'm in a worse position.
There wasn't a damn thing Hunter said about Ryan that wasn't true.
I'm a Harvard graduate but I've been acting as if I have the intelligence of a pet rock.
I keep asking myself how I missed all those red flags Hunter pointed out. Emily too. Everyone seemed to see them except me.
Was I really that desperate to hang on to my love for Ryan that I couldn't see what was going on in front of me?
I lift my head when Emily approaches the door. Her gaze lands on my ring and her eyes widen. “Oh my gosh,” she gasps and practically floats into the room toward me. When she reaches me, she clasps my hand and inspects it. “That is beautiful.”
“Thanks. I got it last night.”
“So this is what the talk is all about.” She giggles and holds up a newspaper. On the front are two separate pictures of Hunter and me. The headline says:
New York’s Finest Billionaire Hunter Le Blanche is now engaged to Senator Bianchi’s daughter.
“That must be Hunter’s doing. I didn't know that was going to happen today,” I say to her.
"Well, it has, and it’s exciting. Instagram is blowing up. I gained two thousand followers overnight just for being related to you."
I give her a thin smile. "Well, you always wanted to be the social media queen. Now you're en route."
Emily giggles but her smile fades as she looks at me and realizes something more is wrong. “Did something else happen last night? You have resting guilt-face.”
My shoulders slump and I look down my lap, dragging in a slow, steady breath. When I look back at her I feel that guilt she's talking about even more.
“Hunter and I did some um… stuff last night,” I explain. "Stuff that I probably should say I'm not proud of."
Emily sucks in a little breath. "You mean… sexual stuff?"
“Yes.” My cheeks heat up at the memory.
“But you don't regret it?” she checks.
“No.”
She pulls up the nearest chair and sits in front of me. We stare at each other for a few beats before she finally bites the inside of her lip and relaxes her shoulders.
“If you don’t regret it then it can’t be bad.”
“I don't know about that.” I swallow past the tension clogging my throat. "And I'm meeting Ryan in an hour. He finally got around to arranging to see me. He wants to talk. I know you said I shouldn't entertain whatever he has to tell me and I won't, but it's hard. It's Ryan, Emily."
Her face softens and she reaches out to take my hand. “This was always going to be hard, Luna, and possibly the most difficult conversation you'll ever have with him, but you have to do it.”
“I know.” My voice trembles as if I’ve been caught in a storm on a cold windy night. “I think I'm just worried because I don't want to lose him. And not for a man who won't be mine."
“You don't know that,” she argues, but I nod, regretfully.
“I think I do, Emily. This thing I have with Hunter is a business marriage. We may be attracted to each other but it's not the real thing. It's not like you and Aiden.” She can't disagree because she knows I'm right. “You and Aiden met, fell in love and knew you'd spend the rest of your lives loving each other. You can't tell me that I'll have that with Hunter. He's only with me because I'm the best bad choice.”
Emily gives my hands a gentle squeeze. "Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry. I wanted so much more for you than this."
I nod slowly. “Me too. I thought I loved Ryan because we're such good friends. I thought I could have real love with him but I was wrong about him, too. He could have been with me years ago but never tried. Not until I made the first move. Now I have to marry Hunter.”
“Maybe things will be different than what you expect once you guys are married.” Emily looks hopeful. "At least it seems you're getting closer to Hunter."
