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And now here I was, with Easton asking to marry me. I had two options. I could either say no, and keep dreaming of a life with Rip that would never happen. Or I could move forward and marry Easton.
My heart screamed for me to say no. My head was also in agreement. So when I heard my answer, I felt the room spin. “Yes,” I whispered, as more tears fell. They didn’t feel like happy tears, though. It didn’t feel how I had imagined it would. Excitement and joy. Immediate plans for the future. This felt like me trying to run away from the past. I loved Easton, but was I in love with him? My heart and head knew the answer, but my mouth apparently overrode those feelings.
Easton stood and spun me around while we both laughed. When he put me back down, he placed a beautiful solitaire diamond on my finger.
“You just made me the happiest man on Earth, Chloe.”
Framing my face in his hands, he said, “I could feel you pulling away from me. I knew what I had to do to bring you back to me.” He bent to kiss me.
“Excuse me? You only asked me to marry you because you felt me pulling away?”
Easton laughed nervously. “Of course not, Chloe. You know what I meant.”
Did I? It was then everything else ran through my mind. The things I should have been thinking of before I just rushed and said I would marry him. Instead of thinking of Rip and his rejection, I had more important things to think about.
He’s moving to Houston. I’m moving back to Oak Springs. How in the world is this going to work?
“Listen, I know you’re heading back to Oak Springs tomorrow morning but let me go with you so I can be there when you tell your folks. They’re going to be so surprised!”
Smiling, I nodded. My parents had met Easton a few times. I wasn’t sure how they felt about him. My mother was pleasant; my father acted like he was a bug that needed to be stepped on and then scraped off the bottom of his boot. Of course, once I had started dating, everyone kept reminding me how they always thought Rip and I would end up together. Even my own parents.
Yeah. So did I, but that didn’t work out as planned.
I couldn’t keep my thoughts together. “They would love that. I know they’re planning a big party for me tomorrow night. A welcome home sort of thing.”
Easton’s expression lit up. “That’s perfect, it can be our first party as fiancés. Heck, it can even be our engagement party.”
I chewed on my lip. Now would probably be a good time to bring up the fact that we were going to be living almost five hours apart from each other.
“Are you all packed and out of your apartment?” Easton asked.
“Yes, I didn’t have much to pack up. Alyssa and I sold all the furniture since we’re both moving home with our parents for the time being. Alyssa is hoping to get a nursing job close to Oak Springs. She and Mike are planning a wedding for next spring, so I’m sure I’ll be busy helping her with that.”
He looked down at me with love in his eyes. “And when would you like to get married, Chloe?”
Panic seized my chest and nearly took my breath. “We have plenty of time to decide on that.”
“My mother will want to know a date fairly quickly.”
I nodded. “Oh, okay.”
“Let’s tell your folks first, then I’ll call mine. I already told them I was heading back to Oak Springs with you for a few days.”
“Perfect, okay. That’s great.” I was babbling like a fool.
Oh God, what have I done?
“Come on, let’s eat. Our food is getting cold.”
Easton talked the entire meal. About his new job, about finally being out of school. He even asked me a few things about what type of wedding I wanted.
My head was spinning. Excitement and pure panic sat in the pit of my stomach. Why was I all of a sudden feeling so conflicted? Was Easton just assuming I was going to move to Houston? Surely, he remembered my long-term plans to take over the ranch from my family. It’s why I went home every summer to learn the ropes over break.
“Easton, I think with the excitement of you asking me to marry you and me being caught up in the moment, we forgot to talk about a few things that are pretty major.”
“I know,” he stated, reaching for my hand and playing with the ring. “You want to be in Oak Springs, and I need to be in Houston.”
It wasn’t lost on me how he stated I wanted to be in Oak Springs, like that was optional, and he needed to be in Houston.
