My mouth opened, but the words wouldn’t come. I pried my fingers open, showing him the ring, which was all that was needed for him to get the picture.
“Oh, man,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t even ask her.”
“Why not?”
I shook my head, still replaying her words in my head. “She’ll never forgive me. Ever. It’s over.”
“You don’t know that?—”
“She made it very damn clear that she wants me to leave her alone.”
“But you’re not going to, right?”
I wanted to tell him that I would fight until the day I died, but in the end, that would only hurt her. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t leave her alone for even a second.
But those tears…damn, they tore something open inside me. She was hurting badly, and it was all my fault.
“It’s over,” I whispered. “Staying will only make things worse.”
“Wait…staying? What does that mean?”
My feet carried me without thought down the sidewalk.
“Liam! What the hell does that mean?”
I shoved the ring in my pocket, determined to put Bailey out of my mind. There was no future for us, and it was time I started to realize that.
44
BAILEY
I slippedmy feet into my new cowboy boots, then rushed over to the mirror to check them out. With my new dress and boots, I was ready for a fun night out.
“Cheyenne!” I called out, excited to get to The Beaver and Boot for karaoke night.
“Would you hold on? Geez, let a girl get dressed!”
“I don’t want to miss all the good tables!” I called out, rushing to the bathroom to check my appearance one last time. My hair looked fantastic, my makeup was perfect, and I was feeling light as a feather.
It had taken a good three months to push past all the anger running through me, but now I was finally feeling like myself again.
Cheyenne popped her head in the bathroom, a scowl on her face. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”
“You know you like karaoke night.”
“Actually, I hate karaoke. I always do it with you because otherwise you’ll find some way to embarrass me.”
“That’s because you’re such an amazing singer. You just don’t let anyone hear you.”
She rolled her eyes and disappeared into the bedroom. Smiling atmyself one last time, I gave myself the tiniest pep talk before shutting off the light and heading for the living room.
Cheyenne was plopped down on the couch, grumbling about hating to sing in public.
“You’re amazing, and you know it. Everyone loves hearing you sing.”
“I’m going to be extra terrible today just to prove you wrong.”
