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She sat and bumped her shoulder playfully into his. “I think I can handle this.”
Even though her throat constricted from the crush of her overwhelming emotions and a desire to get her thoughts out. But as always, she picked stubborn bravery over anything else.
“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Blaine’s hushed tone broke through her inconvenient doubts, his expression open, yet somehow unreadable. “You’re the first person I’m telling this to, and I hope it won’t cause any extra pain.”
A tight band constricted around her ribcage, and she shifted her position toward him, her movements jerky. She tried to predict what he might say, her thoughts darting to something negative, but what exactly, she couldn’t decide.
“The moment I get out of this hospital...” He studied her face, as though measuring her reaction before adding, “I’m going to ask Emilia to marry me.”
Sarah’s face turned suddenly cold and was doubtless pale, her lips parting of their own volition. She wanted to believe he wouldn’t notice her unchecked shock, but she wasn’t so naive to pretend Blaine, of all people, wouldn’t see.
“Wow.” Her voice came out breathy and weak, and she struggled for more words.
She should have expected this, but Emilia had been in town only a couple of months, and Sarah had been with him a solid two and a half years before he’d asked her to marry him. “Are you sure about this?”
“After all that’s happened…” Blaine nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
She swallowed hard, and her mind flicked through all the years she’d been his girlfriend.
A hard and heavy ball of something made a home in her belly. She refused to call that something anger or spite, though it may well have been.
She wanted to be the bigger person here. To take Dean’s advice and believe none of this was about her personally. Just a series of unfortunate events that led to her stepping aside before she’d been tossed aside. Yet another move taken to preserve her pride.
And so, being the bigger person, she plastered on a smile and took Blaine’s hand, as if this news didn’t bother her.
“Why did you want to tell me first?” Even she could hear the thinness in her tone. “You don’t need my permission to marry Emilia. I’ll be happy for you either way.”
That much was true. She was happy for him. Did wish him the best. Even as she once again shoved herself through yet another closing door.
“I know you’ll be happy. You’re a survivor, Sarah Overton.” He squeezed his hand around hers. “But you still deserved to hear the news straight from me, and also, as ill-timed as this is, I need your advice.”
Tension drew at her forehead, and her brow flexed at the pressure. “Advice about what?”
Blaine’s eyes held an expectant glow as he spoke again. “I’m thinking maybe I could hold the engagement party at Oak Tree, since the showroom is big enough to hold everyone. Maybe Ally could do all the invites and preparations while I’m stuck in here. What do you think?”
“Oh no. No, no, no. You can’t do that.” She shook her head. Maybe she’d misheard him, though his nervous cringe didn’t support that theory. “Firstly, as nice as Oak Tree is, you can’t hold an engagement party at a furniture store—especially not if you’re planning to marry Emilia Bonacci, the heiress to a jewelry empire. Second, you and I both know Ally can’t keep a secret. The details of your proposal are bound to reach Emilia before you even get the chance to ask.”
His gaze slipped from her, and his lips formed a tight line. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Shit.”
A long silence took over, and she watched the disappointment play out across his face, disappointment being something he’d had a lot of lately. And because she hated to see that look on his face, because she had a megaton of guilt to escape, and maybe simply because she wanted things to be all right for a change, she opened her mouth and offered the unexpected.
“Let me take care of the party. We’ll host it at Maynard’s. I’ll even post the invitations for you.”
“Sarah.” His eyes pleaded with her, exhaustion dulling his complexion. “You know I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m telling you I’m doing it.” She gave him a tight grin and patted his hand. “Though it might seem a bit weird that your ex-fiancée is organizing your engagement party.”
He gave an easy chuckle, his grin giving him an air of renewed lightness. “Some might say weird, I’d say unique. You sure about this?”
She gave a quiet nod, even though she wasn’t all that sure, but willing to help either way. “Just tell me when you plan to propose. I’ll do the rest.”
He took a deep breath, as though he needed a moment to accept her offer. “With any luck, I’ll get discharged on Sunday this week. The plan is to propose at Mirabelle Falls but tell everyone the party is just to celebrate my recovery. Hopefully she’ll say yes, and then I guess we’d head straight to Maynard’s, where maybe she’ll have a chance to take her mind off how tough these last weeks have been.”
He gave his head a slow shake and held her gaze for another while. “I don’t think you know just how much Emilia and I appreciate you. Anthony kept her isolated in LA, and it’s been so long since she’s had friends of her own. She keeps telling me how lucky she feels that you, Ally, and Aggie took her under your wings. For this, for everything else, thank you, Sarah.”
A soft tingling spread through her chest, filling the bitter moment with a layer of sweetness, reminding her she’d done the right thing in instigating the breakup, since her personal sacrifice meant two people were together and happier now.
In a round-about way, she was happier too. As in, she wasn’t with someone who would have come to seeing her as his second, and therefore, lesser choice.
