AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
“How are you doing?”Amelia does a head tilt when she asks, her eyes filled with pity.
“I’m okay. Really.” I nod, trying to convince the girls that I mean it. I’m not okay, but I can’t fall apart now. I feel like I’ve cried myself almost to death over these last few weeks. That little pep talk I gave myself in the mirror that night in my car didn’t even last the ride home.
“You sure? You look a little thin,” Brooklyn says, eyeing my plate.
“I’m sure.” I take a healthy bite of my pasta, reminding myself that I’m growing a little life inside me, so I need to think about more than just my own sadness and discomfort now.
“I for one am convinced that Ranger is going to realize he’s a complete idiot and come crawling back, begging you to take him back,” Brooklyn says emphatically. “He has to.”
I shrug, taking a sip of my water. I didn’t tell them that the night I went to drop off the letter at his house, I saw Paige pull up and go inside his house . . . with a key.
“For what it’s worth,” Milly says, reaching her hand out to rub my arm, “Decker was just down in Texas for a week with him and said he’s a shell of a man. Just completely and totally heartbroken. All he does is eat, sleep, and work.”
I smile again, still not sure how to respond to these comments when what I want to say is:I wrote him a detailed letter outlining exactly how I felt about him and how I truly believe he’s the love of my life, because it was love at first sight for me, too, that night at the party . . . oh, and that I’m carrying his child . . . and he ignored all that and didn’t even bother to reach out once.
I think it’s pretty clear to me that Ranger Slade has made his decision when it comes to me. If he’s heartbroken and devastated, he has no one to blame but himself.
“I appreciate you all so much, honestly. Thank you for caring and looking in on me these last few months, but I’m okay . . . I’ll be okay. I just want us to have a happy and fun dinner. So on that note, what’s new with you ladies?” I smile, hoping it lightens the mood, because I truly cannot take another down night of everyone wallowing with me. I need some positivity.
“Well,” Milly says and then pauses, “I do have some news.” She reaches into her purse as we all wait for her to continue. Then she pulls her hand out with a giant glittering diamond on her ring finger. “I’m engaged!”
“What?!” Brooklyn, Amelia, and I all gasp at the same time.
“Since when?” I reach for her hand, pulling it closer to admire the stunning solitaire set in a simple gold band.
“Since last night.” She dances with happiness in her chair.
“Congrats!” I pull her in for a hug, and Amelia and Brooklyn stand up to embrace her and me in a group hug. “Tell us the story!”
“Okay, so it was completely unexpected, first of all. I mean, we’ve only been dating for about seven months, and while we both knew we wanted to be with each other, and things got serious really quickly, I just—I dunno, we hadn’t figured everything out yet, you know? We were just talking, and he said he was feeling so restless in Denver. He thought he’d be happier there when he left Chicago, but he still felt so much stress and pressure. He had two offers from two different big firms in Denver, and he just felt no desire to take them, so he asked me what I thought about him moving to Virginia Dale and opening a small firm here.”
“Oh wow,” Brooklyn gasps, “Celeste will love that!”
“Well, he’s actually with my parents tonight talking to them about doing some contract work with Slade since Aunt Celeste has retired and Adrienne is still so new.”
“That’s amazing. I know every time I talk to Adrienne, she’s overwhelmed, so I’m sure she would love some help,” Amelia adds.
“Anyway, so when he asked me about moving here and opening his own firm, I mentioned that in the meantime, I’m sure Slade Brewing could use his help, and he was so excited by that. That’s when he told me it doesn’t matter where he lives—that as long as he’s with me, he’s happy. He said that life is too short to be so focused on his career that he would lose me. He said that I was his life now, and then he proposed. And I said yes!” She holds her hand up again.
I’m so happy for Milly. I know she’s wanted to find her happily ever after for so long. Kent completes her. He makes her so happy and fulfilled, and I can’t wait to see the life they build together. But I can’t help but wish deep down inside that this was how Ranger felt about me—that we could have found a way to be together.
I push the thoughts aside, though, reminding myself that I can’t keep living in the past. I can’t wish for someone who clearly doesn’t want to be with me. I deserve more than that.
“So are you taking over for your dad since you’ll be staying here?” Brooklyn asks.
“Yes, Kent and I talked about it a little and will discuss it further, but he fully supports me taking the position. I talked to my dad about it earlier today, and he was obviously very happy.”
“Is it what you want, though?” Brooklyn asks further.
“It is.” Milly nods. “I wanted to take the position the first time my dad asked, but I also had to think about my happiness outside of my career, just like Kent did. I realized it wouldn’t make me happy to stay here and take a position while I potentially lost my partner. I’m sure we could’ve made it work with the distance, but it’s not what we wanted. We wanted our relationship to come first. I feel like I waited and was open to the timing, and it worked out the way it was meant to. Sometimes that’s all you can do instead of trying to force something.”
I swallow a bite of my pasta, feeling like her words are aimed at me even though I know they’re not. “So what does that mean for Decker? He’s not taking the position now, so he’s just working at the ranch with Tyler?”
She shrugs. “I’m not sure. I’m going to Texas next week—to see Ranger and tell him. Also, my dad is going and wanted me to come along to see how things are progressing down there, because he’s sure the board will be making some decisions soon regarding the ranch.”
I lift my glass. “I think you deserve a toast with so many amazing things happening for you!”
