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Me: Good. I like you that way.
Stella quickly taps my shoulder. “Send her the song now. It’s the perfect time.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to.”
“Why?”
“It’s not my words…I don’t know. I feel silly.”
“So, you wasted our time here. I feel that song is bomb.”
“I don’t. I’m second-guessing it. I don’t want her to hear it and question me.”
Emery blinks. “I’m confused. Question what?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, and shit, I’m having second thoughts. “I think the dress will be great, and then I’ll give her a present at dinner.”
“What present?” Stella asks, and I exhale as I reach into the glove box, grabbing a mahogany box. I swallow nervously when they both take in a deep breath. I don’t even have to open the box for Stella to gasp, “That’s Mom’s engagement ring.”
Emery’s eyes are wide. “I thought you gave that to Jasmine? You can’t give that to Ally. That’s so tacky.”
“I didn’t give it to Jasmine,” I say as I open the box to the ring my mom saved for me. With each kid my mom had, my dad bought her a new ring with diamonds representing each of us. Emery’s may have the most diamonds, but I think my ring is better. It’s an open-concept ring, with one emerald-cut diamond and the other cut in a square shape, and it looks nothing like Aiden’s ring. Well, now, it’s Shelli’s, but that’s not the point. It has an opening in the middle that my dad said meant “No matter the distance, we’ll always be together.” “I bought Jasmine a different ring because I just never saw her wearing this one.”
“But you saw her wearing Aiden’s ring?” Emery asks, referring to when I tried to get my mom to give me Aiden’s ring. I honestly never thought he’d use it. He obviously proved me wrong.
I shrug. “I didn’t want to give Jasmine this one.”
“Why?” Stella asks, and I feel her gaze on me.
“I always saw it as Ally’s,” I admit almost in a whisper, and both of them draw in sharp breaths.
“So, you’re asking her to marry you?” Emery squeals, and I quickly shake my head.
“No, not at all. I just want her to know I care about her. That, like this space, nothing can keep us apart. Something will always hold us to each other.”
I’m met with silence, but I thought that was genius. I am proud of it. Was. Now, I feel stupid. Especially when I look from Stella’s face to Emery’s.
Stella gawks at me and then asks, “So, wait. Why are you doing all this?”
I shrug. “Because I want to. I want her to feel special.”
“But shouldn’t you do this when you ask her to marry you? Use this ring?”
I’m getting clammy. “Yeah, what she said,” Emery says, hooking her thumb at our sister. “What’s the point?”
“I don’t know. I just want her to know how important she is to me.”
Stella and Emery look at each other and then back to me. “Or you’re trying to keep her from wanting more, so you’re hoping this satisfies her.”
“Which makes you a complete idiot,” Emery says, shaking her head. “Y’all love each other—”
“You don’t know that,” I quickly say, and again, they’re gawking at me. “She hasn’t said that.”
“Have you?” Emery asks, eyeing me. “Do you love her?”
“I care—”
“Wow, you’re a real dumbass.” Stella shakes her head.
