Page 62 of Finding Happily Ever After

He answered the call. “Brenna.”

“Lover.” Her voice dripped with insincerity. “I’m glad I caught you. I need you to deposit—”

“No.” He wanted to keep it simple. “We’re done, Brenna. I sent your last payment last week. Remember? I sent you an email letting you know that the payment was early and we were done.”

“But I didn’t get—”

“You did.” He forced himself to keep his voice calm and even. “I have the confirmation from the bank that you accepted it.”

“But Aiden, I—”

“No.” He cut her off. “We’re done, Brenna. It’s over. Like I said in my last message to you, please don’t contact me anymore. As far as I’m concerned, we’re done here. I’m seeing someone new now and I’ve moved on with my life.”

“You’re what? That woman who answered the phone? You’re not serious?”

“I am. Very serious.”

Aiden knew that would be the final straw for her. Breanna had always harbored some sort of misguided delusion that the reason Aiden wasn’t dating anyone was because he secretly still loved and wanted her. It couldn’t have been further from the truth, and now she’d finally understand that. Some exes would have turned that into a challenge, but Aiden knew Brenna wouldn’t. She was a lot of things, but she wouldn’t subject herself to being rejected because there was someone new in his life. He knew that with certainty.

“More importantly, we’re both very serious,” he added. It wasn’t a lie. He wasveryserious about Natalie. And he hoped like hell she was, too. “I’m going to ask her to marry me.” He said it aloud before he even realized what he was doing. But the moment it came out of his mouth, he knew it was true. Hewasgoing to ask. It didn’t matter that they’d only been together a few weeks. When you knew, you knew.

And heknew.

On the other end of the line, he heard Brenna exhale slowly and he knew she understood. “Does she know?”

Aiden turned and looked out the window at the mountains he’d come to love as his new home. “No, Brenna.” He shook his head. “She doesn’t know yet.”

He turned, and the smile on his face dissolved at the sight of the woman he loved. She looked gorgeous in her white dress, covered in bright, spring-like flowers. Her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulder, but his eyes went straight to her face—and the fear and sadness and hurt he saw there.

Shit.

She’d heard him.

But how much had she heard?

He shook his head and looked straight in Natalie’s eyes. He needed her to understand that it wasn’t what she thought it was. Because he was pretty sure she thought it was bad. And it wasn’t. It really wasn’t.

“It’s all done now, Brenna,” he said into the phone, while holding Natalie’s stare. “Don’t contact me again.”

He didn’t wait to hear her response before hanging up. He dropped the phone to the coffee table and walked straight over to the love of his life. Aiden put his hands on her hips and held her firm. “Do you want to know what you heard?”

He could see the concern and worry about what she’d heard in her eyes. Her breath came fast and he knew she had the instinct to run. But she wouldn’t. Not again. They’d been through it once, and they both knew what they’d almost lost by not being able to communicate.

Never again.

“I’ll tell you.”

She nodded.

Aiden led her to the couch and they sat. It wasn’t how he wanted to ask her. She deserved so much more than a living room proposal. But the one thing Natalie deserved more than anything else was the truth in their relationship. Always. Over everything.

“That was Brenna.”

She nodded. “I got that.”

“I told her about you.”

Her eyes opened in surprise. “You did? Won’t that make things worse? Won’t she—”

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