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I turn back to Skylar and Leo, deciding in that moment that if Jack wants to explore the dark side with Elizabeth tonight then he can have at it. Maybe that will finally give me the excuse I’ve been so desperately looking for, the one that will allow me to extricate my finger from this too-tight band and give it back to him. I’ve stared down at my ring finger every day for the past year since he proposed to me, and try as I might, I can’t see a happily ever after for us.
“Hi, Grace.”
I look up, a question in my eyes as I take in the man before me. “Um, hi.”
Skylar nudges my elbow. “Spacey Gracie, I was just introducing you to our friend, Owen.”
My face reddens. “Sorry about that, Owen. It’s nice to meet you.” I turn and shoot Skylar a look. “You’re full of sass tonight. If you were still my student I’d send your butt to detention.”
To that, Skylar sticks out her tongue and then smiles. “Too bad for you I’m a grown-up now.”
“Your student?”
I laugh and take a sip of the refill Leo just placed in my hand. “Oops, I’ve dated myself. Yes, Skylar was my student.”
“Grace was like the young, hot teacher at my high school.” She tilts her head in an apology and smiles at me before looking back to their friend. “She was also, hands down, the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
“Aw, shucks. I guess I have to forgive you for the Spacey Gracie thing now, don’t I?”
Skylar pops another cheese cube into her mouth and nods as Leo says, “Owen teaches in the history department.”
“Oh.” I can’t help but feel disappointed for some reason when I ask the obvious, “You’re a professor at Pitt?”
“I just took a position here last year.” His brow is furrowed. “What about you?”
I shake my head as if being a tenured college professor is a fate worse than death. “I still teach high school English. It’ll be eleven years this coming September.”
“Where?”
“About an hour south of here...Fayette County.”
It feels like he’s studying me for a few quiet moments before he says, “Eleven years is a long time and high school is a tough gig. I don’t think I could handle all that drama.”
“The staff causes more drama than the teenagers.”
He looks around the room and then back to me. “Same here. A decade is a long time, though, so you must love your job.”
No.
That’s the first word that pops into my head.
I’m tired, and I’m not excited when I walk into the building every morning the way I used to be. I still love my students, but I’m sick of the school board looking to tie my hands at every turn and I’m tired of having to defend myself. But I paste on my smile when I answer, “I do, I love it.”
“So what brings you here tonight?”
Leo and Skylar are talking to one of Leo’s engineering buddies, so now it’s just me and Owen. One quick glance in Jack’s direction tells me he probably hasn’t even noticed my absence. Yep, he’s still in deep conversation with his gal Friday.Hmm, I wonder if we share the same ring size?
I look back to Owen and take him in, looking more closely now. He’s got a strong build, like maybe he works out way too much and he’s vain. His suit is well-tailored, and his sandy blonde hair is cut in a short but stylish way. Ugh, he probably pays more than I do for haircuts. He has a nice face, I’ll give him that. Everything is in proportion. His mouth is the right size for his face, not too small the way Jack’s is.Sorry, Jack. And his eyes, which I suddenly notice are an unusual, piercing shade of light blue, are at once icy and...amused.
“Grace?” He’s chuckling when he says my name, the subtle laugh lines visible at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth.
“Yes?”
“Where’d you go? I was just asking what brings you here tonight.”
“Sorry.” I shake my head and absently look at the sparkly stone that feels like a boulder weighing me down. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
His eyes follow the path mine have taken, and once he sees the ring his expression changes. “You’re engaged?”
