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Things felt almost normal between us, and while I appreciated that there was less tension, I was still hanging on by a thread.
I sat down, immediately scooting my chair to be closer to hers. My knee brushed hers under the table, and she gasped slightly at the accidental touch.
“We need to talk,” I said, and she nodded. “But first, I want you to listen.”
She raised her brows, but made no move to speak, so I pushed on.
“I’ve missed you,” I admitted. “I respect your need for space and will continue to give it to you if that’s what you need, but I miss my friend. I miss laughing with you and watching reality TV with you. I miss taking care of you when you’re sick or watching the pure joy on your face when we go on an adventure. I miss you calling me on my bullshit and making sure I don’t fall into the stereotypical asshole rich-guy status. I miss the way you sneak romance novels onto my shelves of non-fiction and I miss the way you’d sometimes add extra sweetener to my coffee just to see if I’d notice.”
She laughed at that, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“I miss everything about you, Brynn,” I continued. “And yeah, I do miss you as my assistant, because let’s be honest, no one could ever replace you, but I missyoumore. I know when I asked for your help those years ago I put you in a tough position, folding you into a life you never asked for. I was a prick for never realizing how much I’d entangled you in all things me, but it always felt so natural with you there, I never thought things should be different. And mostly, I should’ve told you every single day about how much you saved me.”
She visibly swallowed, and I dared to reach across the table and take her hand.
“You saved me then, and you’ve saved me every day since.” My voice was rough, but every word I spoke was truth. “You saved me with the way you never left my side, the way you supported me with your brilliant mind and your incredibly kind heart. You saved me by loving me for who I was, not what I owned or ran or could give you. You saved me by showing me that partnerships can work and be healthy and meaningful, unlike what my father always showed me. Meeting you all those years ago was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m sorry I was a coward for never telling you before. I’m sorry that I got comfortable having your life tied to mine and never took a second to think about the need for you to have one outside of me.” I shook my head. “I’m a selfish bastard when it comes to you, and I know that’s one place I went wrong. I never wanted to keep you from your dreams, and I’m sorry I never told you that you were my biggest one.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and I swiped it away.
“Have you checked your email?”
“What?” she asked, whiplash jolting her features.
“Have you checked your email today?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Why—”
“Do it,” I said. “Please.”
She took her hand from mine, then pulled her phone out of her purse, scrolling on the screen. Her eyes widened as she found the email, then looked to me and the screen and back again.
“Wes,” she said. “This is a contract that signs over the marketing firm solely to me.”
I nodded. “I want you to have complete control of it,” I explained. “It’s not a gift or a form of apology. It’s something youearned. You belong there. You’re amazing there. And it’ll be something that is yours with no ties to me.”
“But you giving it to me—”
“I’m just bowing out,” I hurried to say. “You’re the CEO and have been for months. This just makes it more official.”
“Wes, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know I didn’t,” I said. “Like I said, I’m not trying to buy back your heart. I want to show you that I heard you when you expressed your concerns about having nothing outside of me. I want to show you that it matters to me that you feel secure and capable in your field, as you should.”
My pulse kicked up a few notches as I worked my way up to the next part of my speech, and I slipped my hand in my pocket.
“I want to show you something else,” I said, shifting off the chair and getting down on one knee.
Brynn gasped, her hand flying over her parted lips.
I popped open the small leather box, showing her the ring. “This is therealring,” I said. “The one my grandmother gave to me.” I showed it to her, pulling out a slip of paper from my other pocket. “And this is the receipt for an engraving I had done months ago,” I said, handing it to her so she could see the date. I popped the ring out of the box, turning it so she could see what was engraved inside.
“Wes,” she breathed my name, more tears lining her eyes as she readFor Brynnwritten in a thin script on the inside of the band.
“I had it done the day after we got home from that away game,” I said. “The one where you said you were all in too. It’s always been you, Brynn. You’re my constant in the best way, and I wouldn’t be half the man I am without you.”
She pressed her lips together, a smile forming there.
“Will you marry me?” I asked. It was by far the most important question and topic of the night, but I wanted her to know about the marketing firm first. Wanted her to know how much I supported her and would never do anything to hold her back or make her feel stuck again.
