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“She is.”
“But she hasn’t reached out to me at all. If she’s regretting how we ended things, why can’t she tell me?”
He scoffs. “Why can’t you tell her?”
I shake my head. “I did. I put myself out there. I told her I loved her.”
“And she didn’t?” Caleb dismisses the rings to peer at me seriously. He’s that good of a friend. If I’m hurt and showing it, he’ll come to my defense.
“No.”
“But do you think she feels the same? I won’t make excuses for her, but with all the loss she’s suffered in life, maybe she’s cautious.” He holds up his hand when I open my mouth to reply. “Which isn’t fair to you, or any smart way to handle this. But maybe it’s more of a work in progress for her, not a done deal of a closure.”
I cross my arms and narrow my eyes. “From what you saw, from what Lauren said, you honestly think she’s not over me?”
He chuckles, turning back to the rings. “Hell no.”
I smile, letting that thread of hope thicken and course through me.
If Aubrey’s not over me…I stew on it. I can’t get the idea out of my mind for the whole two hours Caleb debates and struggles to pick a ring.
“She’s been engaged before,” I remind him. “She probably had a huge-ass, hideous ring that she had no say in.”
“I know,” Caleb agrees.
The saleswoman snaps her fingers behind the counter. “I think I’ve got something else to consider then. Not smaller, but not huge-ass.”
Caleb chuckles as she takes off to find it. “Another contender? I’ll never pick one. Maybe I should show her a variety and let her choose from them.”
“That’d ruin the whole getting-on-one-knee-with-a-box thing.” I frown as I speak, spotting something in a case across the aisle.
A darker gem captures my eye. It’s the same vibrant blue as her eyes, and I instantly recall the fire and sass every time we bickered. When we came together, though, the deep azure sparkled and glittered with adoration and…love.
I pray Caleb is right. That confessing her love is nothing but a work in progress. If Aubrey only needs to get there to feeling the same, to admitting it out loud, I’ll be there.
“I’d like that, please,” I tell another salesperson. I don’t hesitate. I don’t debate and belabor making a choice like my friend is. As soon as I saw that ring, it hit me.
It’s perfect.
Maybe it’s presumptuous of me. Maybe I’m losing it, swinging from insistence that it’s over to the polar extreme of the opposite, wanting to buy a ring for her.
But it’s the one. She’s the one. Even though my chances of ever being with Aubrey again feel so slim, it’s something. If this small chance pans out to be something lasting and real, then without a shadow of doubt, I’ll marry her. If she’s with me on this, I will make her mine.
Might as well be prepared.
Chapter 34
Dalton
I return to Colorado with a small but growing sense of hope. It comes with some anxiety, too. I’ve given up my former life. I sold my company, I cashed out my stocks. I sold my office and my apartment, all to start over here.
Beginning something different is a challenge, but as I walk through the cabin I purchased just outside of Frisco, I realize it doesn’t have to be intimidating. Now that I’ve taken the leap to make a new life for myself, I’m excited to see where it will take me.
No more commuting, no more dealing with the thick traffic in the city.
I don’t have to consider frequent travels either, at least none far away. It’s amazing how much can be handled remotely.
In terms of working and having a purpose–those loftier things Caleb asked me about when he was recently in New York –I’m not worried. I now have the time to focus on my foundations even more, prioritizing any travel I need to do for them. Maybe I’ll lose money in the larger picture of my portfolio, but the good thing is I’ve got a lot to go around. Even if I were to lose it all, I’d be rewarding myself with a calmer, more balanced life here in Colorado and not being stuck in the grind in the city.
