Page 6

“That ain’t nothing but that damn girl getting in your head. For the life of me, I don’t understand why you would listen to a woman who couldn’t hold on to a man if she paid him.”

“Chill,” I frowned. “This doesn’t have anything to do with anyone else,” I defended Xi, who’d indeed been against my relationship with Kins from the start. Despite that, it didn’t stop her from supporting me through the entire process. “It’s about me. I’m not one hundred percent sure.”

“You’re never going to be completely sure. And if you waited until you were, you’d never make a move. You and Kinsley were made for one another, son. Fear is natural when you’re about to make a life-changing decision. But what have I always told you about fear?”

“That it means nothing when you have Luck,” I recited the mantra that he’d probably begun beating in my head from the time I was born.

“Exactly. Shake that shit off and handle your business. I’m looking forward to celebrating you and my future daughter-in-law.”

Chuckling lightly, I shook my head. “Relax, Pop. She has to say yes, first.”

“Kinsley worships the ground you walk on. I have no doubt she’ll say yes. I’d bet my entire pension on it.”

“No.”

My smile faltered, and my entire world stopped. My ears had to have been deceiving me. There I was, in a corner of The Smoking Kitchen, one of Kinsley’s favorite restaurants, on one knee after pouring out my heart to her—only to be rejected.

Her green eyes, the hue of spring clover I’d found myself lost in a number of times, pooled with tears as she stared at me.

“What?”

“I—I said no,” she tripped over her response, wringing her hands.

I could feel the stares from the patrons around us. A few of them, having pulled their phones out upon realizing what I was doing, attempted to quietly tuck them away and return to their meals.

Embarrassment had me frozen. I couldn’t have pulled myself up from the floor if you paid me. Her quick “no” repeatedly rang in my ears, leaving me to wonder where things had gone wrong. Where I had gone wrong.

“Jamie,” Kinsley placed her hand over the ring box. “Please don’t misunderstand me. I love you, and I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together, but I won’t pretend our relationship hasn’t left me feeling…unfulfilled.”

That was enough to get me moving. Pulling away from her touch, I stood up, attempting to regain at least an ounce of my pride.

“Unfulfilled?” I repeated, unable to think of anything else to say.

Sighing deeply, Kins pushed her bone-straight hair out of her face. “This isn’t how I wanted to have this conversation. It’s not one I wanted to have at all. But,” she glanced around at the tables surrounding us. “After my team and I sat with our client today, ironing out the details of her divorce, I knew I couldn’t let my life turn into her story. If I’d had any inkling you were going to propose⁠—”

“It wasn’t for you to know,” I replied stoically. “That’s the entire point of a surprise.”

“Honestly, Jamie, can you say you haven’t felt the same? As if we’re just existing in this relationship?”

“I’m in this relationship because I want to be here, Kins. I guess it was wrong of me to think you did, too.”

“Once upon a time, I did. But, things changed. We’ve both grown, and I just think we’re going in different directions.”

“Right.”

“You have every right to be angry with me,” she replied sadly. “But hopefully, you’ll see where I’m coming from one day. My intentions were never to waste your time. You’re a good man, Jamie. You’re just not the man for me.”

Slipping the ring back into my pocket, I removed my coat from the back of my chair. I pulled it on while Kinsley watched with a forlorn expression. As far as I was concerned, the conversation was a wrap. If I forced myself to sit there for another minute and listen to her talk, there was a good chance I’d end up flipping the table over.

“Have a good life, Kinsley,” were the only words I could afford before storming out.

Driving was out of the question. My thoughts and feelings were so jumbled that I’d run the risk of injuring myself or somebody else due to me not paying attention. The weather was fairly agreeable, despite it being the middle of February so a walk wouldn’t hurt.

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I attempted to figure out where things had gone wrong. The longer I walked, the longer I wondered if Kinsley was truly the source of my anger or if I hated that she’d had the strength to do what I couldn’t.

Prior to coming to dinner, hadn’t I been feeling the exact same way?

“Nah,” I murmured to myself, perishing the thought.