Page 186 of Only Be Mine

The response came almost instantly.

Seth: I’m on my way

No questions.

Of course not.

I left the house without looking back at Trevor’s office.

The ring sat heavy in my pocket, pressing against my hip with every move I made. I could feel the shape of it through the fabric. Solid and real.

Not imagined.

The coffee shop was half full when I walked in. Soft music filled the air combined with the sound of steam hissing from the espresso machine. The normalcy of it made my head spin.

I ordered tea I wouldn’t drink and took a corner table.

Then I pulled the ring out.

It glinted in the overhead light, ordinary and devastating all at once.

I turned it over and over between my fingers, tracing the crest, the engraving.

J.R.

My throat tightened, but I didn’t let it swallow me.

Think.

When Seth walked in, he spotted me immediately.

His eyes went first to my face, like he was trying to gauge my mood. Then his gaze dropped to my hands.

He didn’t even sit before asking, “What is it?”

I didn’t ease him into it.

I held the ring out across the table. “Tell me what this is.”

He froze.

Really froze.

His hand hovered in the air for a second before he took it from me.

The second it touched his palm, something in his expression cracked.

He didn’t have to look inside the band, but he did.

Slowly.

Carefully.

His jaw tightened.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“That’s not what I asked.”