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“You’re not impatient.” Isa took Rachel’s hand in her own and squeezed. “You’re just… ready.”
“And he’s not.” Rachel nodded, accepting that truth. Across the room, Tag dropped his head back on his shoulders, his hair a long, golden mane, his beard parting to reveal strong, white teeth. He was so happy and here she was being a killjoy.
Rachel pasted a smile on her face. “You know what? Ignore me. I’m so blessed to have Tag. To have you guys. To have this luxury life in a city I love. To live with the man I love.”
Isa’s expression was undiluted sympathy. “You want more. It’s normal. It’s expected! If my story with Eli had ended the night I went back to him at the Crane affair, I’d have wanted more as well. No one wants to freeze in place.”
“I know marriage isn’t that big of a deal, but—“
“But it is.”
They both looked over at Tag and Eli as the men turned their heads. Tag winked at Rachel. Carefree, laid-back. Why couldn’t she accept him for who he was and stop trying to push her own agenda?
“After Thanksgiving dinner, I mentioned to him that we should set the wedding date,” she confessed to Isa. “My mom had mentioned that she didn’t want to wait too much longer. I let the idea of being in a hurry get into my head and… fester.”
“Big fight?”
“Worse. Tag laughed. Not in a mean way. In that good-natured, life-is-grand way. He said I shouldn’t worry about the future. He said he didn’t put a ring on my finger to leave me in limbo forever. When we spent last weekend on Maui I thought…” She blinked away tears. “I was so sure that’d be our wedding day. That he’d surprise me.” A lavish, over the top affair that he’d planned in secret, which would’ve explained his recent behavior.
She turned away so that Tag couldn’t see her misting over. It’d break his heart if he thought he’d hurt her. And to be fair, he hadn’t. Her expectations simply hadn’t met up with reality.
“Poor me, right?” Rachel let out a small laugh as she swiped her eyes. “Crying over a trip to Hawaii. Boo-hoo.”
“Tell me what you need, Rach,” said Isa, ever the practical planner. “I’ll outline a bullet-point list and we will get through this day without sad tears. It’s Christmas. Miracles happen.”
“You’re right. I need to stop thinking about it and be present with what is.” At least that’s what the self-help book she was reading suggested.
Isa waggled the wine bottle. “Would you settle for ‘present but slightly tipsy?’”
That she would. Rachel held up her glass for a refill.
