Page 59 of Keeping Score

Ineeded things to change.

First of all because it was time.

Second, because everything was all wrong.

Liam was shutting me out. Maggie was pretending to not be bothered by the fact that he was ignoring her. Cassie had been texting me frowny faces every day because she hated the disharmony just as much as I did.

I didn’t like the silence. Not from Liam. Not from Maggie. Not from the group chat the four of us had that usually kept my phone buzzing with texts all day.

Usually, it was just me and Cassie talking in it anyway, but it was nice to have the occasional reactions from the elusive Brynn siblings.

Now, nothing. The group had broken apart, and I knew Maggie was reeling from it far more than she’d let on.

But I was going to fix it.

I was going to propose. Secure me and Maggie’s future once and for all, and everything else would fall into place after.

Liam couldn’t stay mad when he had to celebrate the engagement of his best friend and his sister, and Maggie wouldn’t be as down in the dumps when she got to do one of her favorite things in the world: plan a party.

I took a breath, feeling the weight of the mission on my shoulders as I stared down at the rings beneath the glass case.

There were so many. And they all looked identical. How was I supposed to know which one to choose when asking the biggest question of my life?

“Can I help you?” A woman’s voice sent my head snapping up.

“Oh, um, yes.” I stared helplessly at the worker. “I’m going to propose to my girlfriend.”

She nodded kindly, even though there wouldn’t be any other possible reason I’d be standing there, looking at engagement rings.

“Do you know what style ring you’re looking for?” she asked, same polite smile on her face.

“Style?” I panicked.

“Solitaire? Diamond cut? Princess cut?”

I stared at her blankly.

“One stone? Multiple stones? Lab-grown or natural?”

“Uh, can I phone a friend?”

“What?”

Oops. I forgot not everyone watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire reruns with their families growing up.

“Give me a second, I’ll be right back.” I muttered, rushing out of the jewelry store faster than I would’ve if I’d stolen something.

Scrambling for the phone in my pocket, my fingers typed frantically, dialing the number of the one person I knew I could call in this

situation.

“Hello?” The answering voice replied.

I didn’t have time for small talk, so I jumped straight to the point.

“I’m sending you my location,” I said quickly, sounding more panicked than the situation probably called for. “Get here as fast as you can.”

Cassie got to the storefront in record time, only looking as out of breath as she did the time Maggie dared us all to run a 5k with her.