She left with him—she chose him.
The realization hits me like a blast of snow to the face, and what hurts most is that even if she didn’t want me—she deserves so much more than that miserable ingrate of a man.
I sink to the nearest bench, my elbows on my knees, my hands tangled in my own fur. The knot in my stomach tightens, and for a second, I’m afraid I’m going to throw up. My ears buzz with the burning grief and I can’t hear anything but static. My sorrow narrows all my senses down to just that terrible feeling of lonely despair.
“ANDRI?”
My head snaps up.
She’s there.
Daphne.
Her breath is visible in the cold, her cheeks are pink from the wind, and a hot cocoa cup rests in each mittened hand.
She stands alone, no ex, no grandmother—no reason for me to be dying inside.
She clocks my expression. The panic, the fear, the certainty of loss, and her brows knit in confusion.
“Andri? What’s going on?”
My throat is too tight to speak, and if I wasn't already blue, I’m sure I’d be turning it right now.
Worry blooms across her face as she kneels in front of me. “Hey…hey, breathe!”
“I thought—” I swallow hard. The words hurt as I force them out. “I thought you left.”
“Left?” She looks baffled. “I was just grabbing some cocoa from Ted’s after I dealt with dickwad and his grandma.”
I blink, lost for words.
She softens as she reads me, seeing all the cracks I’m now trying to hide. Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open.
“Did you think I was getting back together with Gerald?”
“I thought…maybe I was just some snow in your hair, a vacation fling…” I realize as the words leave my mouth how much I might have just overreacted.
“What?” She almost laughs, the force of her voice surprising me. “You thought that I would…withGerald?” She stares me down, eyes blazing. “Hell no.”
A gasp of air leaves my mouth with an embarrassing noise.
“I love you,” she says.
Time stops. My breath, the snow, the music…all of it freezes still as the words settle over my chest.
“You…love…me?” I repeat, because my brain isn’t functioning at full capacity, the adrenaline still flooding my system.
She laughs, warm and beautiful, and sets the cups of cocoa on the ground to cup my face with her mittened hands.
“Yes, you. The snowman who is always catching me when I fall. Who gave me a life after Gerald left me high and dry. The man who listens to my fears, who takes his time with me, who makes me feel safe. The man I want.”
The words, like a burst of sun, melt the ice of my heart. Suddenly I know this is it, this is the moment.
I slide off the bench, kneeling with her. Reaching into my pocket, I grab the small black velvet box. It’s funny how something so tiny can have all your hopes and dreams wrapped up in it. I’m shaking so hard that it nearly slips from my fingers. I crack the lid and present the love of my life with the question that will change the trajectory of my life forever.
“Oh,” she whispers as she looks at my trembling hands.
“It’s nothing like the ring you came here with. It’s small, crooked, and probably not worth a whole lot more than thatcocoa you just bought. But I saw it and thought of you. You love imperfect things,like me. This ring has history, and I hope we can continue its story. And I love you, more than I know what to do with.”
