Page 39 of Between Never and Forever
“You should feel bad for me,” I pouted.
“Why? Because every time you walk around there will be a reminder of me making you feel good?”
I would have narrowed my eyes at him, but I was rubbing away the sleep from my eyes and considering how I’d never gotten dressed last night. I sighed at the idea of going to find my clothes. Yet, Dex rolled over to the nightstand and handed me clothing stacked atop it. The dress was folded neatly, like he’d prepared for the moment.
“Here. Get dressed. I have a car outside if you need it. And”—he turned once again to grab a box that he held out—“try this on.”
I assessed how he had all this ready and realized he must have done it after I went to bed last night. He liked order and was already putting our situation in place. It was easy to succumb to it but maddening that he already had his mind set.
The proposal wasn’t what I wanted. Not that I wanted one at all. Even still, the callousness of it was like rubbing gravel into old wounds. “No sweet words?”
He looked down at a ring box that wasn’t there yesterday and cleared his throat. “I have nothing sweet to say, Keelani. I’m doing you a favor, and in turn, I’m closing a chapter of my life.”
He was drawing a line in the sand. I’d stated that verbal sentiment a few times the night before too. Still, somehow, in the light of a morning next to a man I’d once loved, it felt like he was slicing that line through my heart rather than drawing it in the sand.
I stared at the box, trying not to be hurt. “What if I don’t like the ring?”
“Did you like Ethan’s ring?”
I glanced at my naked ring finger and was reminded of how he’d made me take that ring off in the kitchen. “I’m sure Trinity just sent him the one they thought would look best.” I groaned, thinking of our phone call to him last night. “I need to call him.”
“What for?” Dex’s tone was instantly harder, lower. The man never hid his jealousy well.
He didn’t get to ask those questions if this was all he wanted our situation to be. “Ethan’s a friend, Dex. He literally got me through some of my roughest years. He’s going to want to know what’s going on.”
With that, I pulled my dress on and then snapped open the box. A solitaire diamond stared back at me. It was massive. Two or three times the size of Ethan’s. It was a statement, but it was generic, boring, and cold. It meant nothing to Dex. I could tell right away. “You pick this out?” I asked, trying to keep emotion from my voice.
“Of course not. My assistant had it sent over earlier this morning. It’ll work for six months, right?” He stood to get out of bed and kept his back to me as he grabbed his watch off the nightstand. The muscles in his back moved fluidly, showcasing that pretty much every part of his body was in perfect shape. I saw a hint of the tattoos on his ribs but didn’t catch much more as he hurriedly threw on a shirt. “Does it fit?”
I glanced down again at the ring, took it from the velvet lining slowly, and slid on the cool metal. Of course it fit. “Perfectly.”
“Great.” His tone was clipped. “Obviously don’t wear it until I propose publicly. And go make your call. Then, let’s work out the logistics of this quickly. I need to get to work.”
“It’s Sunday.”
“And I work on Sundays, Keelani.” He said it with condescension, like I should already know this. Then, he walked off in his boxers towards the bathroom.
This engagement was an agreement, a contract for financial security for my family. For starting my life over. I had to remember that; needed to tell myself that over and over. If it was closure for Dex, great. He could have that too. I knew with the way he was treating me, I couldn’t be falling down the rabbit hole of investing emotions, though. I wiggled my dress into place, slid the ring off my finger, and placed it back in the box. It snapped shut with finality. Backing away from it, I went to find my phone.
After pacing back and forth in the living space while talking things over with Ethan, I told him, “You know I love you. It’ll work out for both of us, and this is your chance to see if Janey is ready for something more with you.”
“She isn’t,” my friend groaned but I knew he didn’t know that for sure. He’d never told her how he felt.
“Tell her how you feel, Ethan.” I sighed. “And then call me to tell me how it goes because I want to be the first to congratulate you.”
He said he would think about it all. I wouldn’t push him. Our careers were complicated enough without pulling in those we loved. He was protecting a relationship, and I honestly didn’t know if it would be best for him to make it public anyway.
“Love you, Ms. Keelani,” he said before he hung up.
“Love you back, boo,” I told him just as Dex walked into the living room and made it known he was checking his watch. I could tell the band of it was expensive, as it flashed gold and it held one of the best smart watches made, a HEAT tech one.
I ended the call and stood staring at my fiancé as he leaned against the doorframe, looking me up and down. He had showered and was put together in his signature suit and tie, ready to conquer the world. His hair had been combed back, he had on loafers, and even his cuff links were in place.
“Took quite a while to finish that call,” he said softly.
“I was smoothing things over for the both of us. You should be happy.”
“Why would I be happy when it seems my fiancée loves another man?” His eyes held madness, but I met it with my own.
