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As soon as I had clicked my seatbelt on in the cab, I pulled out my phone, debating whether or not I should text him.
What does a girl say after accidentally accepting another man’s proposal and then avoiding the man she truly loves the next morning?Oops? My bad?
I moaned in frustration, getting a strange look from the cab driver. A text was absolutely not the way to go here. Maybe a call once I got home? I could talk to him directly and explain that I made a mistake, apologize, and tell him I need to see him—wherever and whenever he’s ready.
That’s a good plan,I said to myself as I got closer to my apartment—rational, solid, allowing Alex time to digest and decide if he still wanted to be with me.
God, I hope he still wants to be with me.
There was a chance he wouldn’t take my call, a chance he’d fall into old patterns and avoid contacting me altogether. After all, that’s what happened the last time we broke up.
The rest of the way home, I thought about all those weeks, post-breakup, staring at my phone, praying I would hear from him, wondering if he was thinking about me as much as I was thinking about him. As hurt as I’d been, I’d spent months hoping he’d reach out and apologize. That’s why it was so important to me to act quickly and not let any time go to waste. I didn’t want to repeat our pattern, and we’d already lost enough time.
The cab pulled into the driveway of my apartment. I sprang out of the backseat, making a beeline for the front doors, head down, fumbling through my purse for my keys, only to drop them as I tried to fish them out.
“Just great,” I muttered, kneeling to pick up the keys from the ground.
“Drop something?” I heard a deep voice say.
I looked up, and there he was.Alex.
Shaky fingers picked up my keys. Shock squeezed my vocal cords as I rose to my feet.
“What are you doing here?” I croaked.
He ran a hand through his hair and then looked around. “Is Liam with you?”
“No, I—”
“Good, I’m… I’m hoping we can talk. I know there was no way we could have while we were still in the Hamptons, and you didn’t text me, so I realize I should probably take the hint and accept that you’ve made your choice, but Brooke, I want to make my case. For us.”
A million butterflies released in my stomach, sending a rush through me that took me right back to that first day I saw him.
“Alex, you don’t need to—”
“Just hear me out,” he said.
“No, Alex, I mean—”
“Brooke, please. I didn’t fight for you back then. I wanted to. I needed to, but I didn’t, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. I wasn’t going to let a bunch of time pass or be too afraid to tell you how much I need you. I’m different now. I’m not someone who’s going to take you for granted, mistrust you, or forget how special you are. And I know Liam is a good guy, and I know he gave you a ring, and I’m sorry I don’t have one but—”
“Alex,” I said with enough force to quiet him. He exhaled sharply. I held up my left hand, the back facing him, and said, “I don’t have a ring, either.”
He peeled his eyes away from mine to study my ring finger. After a long beat of silence, he looked back at me. “Where did it go?”
I shrugged. “Back where it belonged. I should never have accepted it in the first place.” I took a step towards him. “It’s your turn to hear me out. I’m so sorry. I panicked and made the wrong choice under pressure. I knew it last night, I knew it this morning, and the reason I was rushing inside just now was so that I could call you and make sure you knew it, too.”
Alex’s shoulders lowered as if the tension he’d been carrying evaporated. I took another step towards him, leaving just one more between us. “Can we start over? Put our mistakes behind us and finally do this?”
Alex tilted his head, a smile tugging at his lips as he closed the rest of the gap. He cupped my cheeks, the warmth of his hands sending familiar sparks through my body.
“Brooke Jones, there is nothing I want more.”
Relief flooded every inch of me as Alex brought his mouth down on mine, sealing our love in a deep, passionate kiss.
When we finally came apart, the chorus of symphonies still played in my head, and for the first time in a long time, my heart felt truly full.
Alex took my bag as I maneuvered the key into the front door. As we made our way down the hall to the elevator, Alex slung his free arm around my shoulder and pulled me tightly into his side.
