"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I asked, trying to sound gentler than I did a second ago. Surely we were just having a misunderstanding. I needed to be patient to resolve it, not get on Terry's case.
But the next words out of Terry's mouth made my stomach drop like lead.
"It's over. Us. I don't want to keep pretending to be in a relationship anymore."
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
Terry went on like I hadn't spoken. "So just enjoy the vacation by yourself. Consider it a consolation prize, 'kay?"
"Terry,what the—"
"Hell, keep the ring, too, if you want. Pawn it off or something." Terry laughed. "Maybe you can use it to buy a return ticket home. Anyway, bye."
He hung up.
The stupid, dick-headed assholehung upbefore I could let him have a piece of my mind.
For a moment I stood there, frozen with fury and grief. Then I exploded.
"You... piece ofshit!" I snarled at my phone, gripping it so hard I imagined it breaking in half. The dramatic part of me wanted to launch the phone at the gorgeous white marble floor of the lobby behind me and destroy it. But that was silly. I wasn't mad at my phone. I was mad at Terry.
But therewassomething I could throw, and I'd do so happily. Scowling, I yanked the engagement ring off my finger. I threw it haphazardly over my shoulder, not even caring where it landed. It meant nothing to me anymore. If Terry was so callous that he'd dump me over the phone, then fuck him.
I knew Terry wasn't joking. I heard the edge of scorn in his voice. How long had he wanted to break off our engagement but was too cowardly to say it? This was the easy way out. Send me on a trip by myself, then dump me when I was hundreds of miles away.
This wasn't a happy surprise like I thought it was when I gave Terry the benefit of the doubt. But obviously, he didn't deserve that.
The rage slowly ebbed away into confusion and fear.
I didn't know what to do. I was lost and alone.
Until—
"Excuse me."
I nearly jumped at the sound of a smooth, attractive voice behind me.
I whirled around to see the man I'd seen at the front counter. He was even more handsome up close. Between his fingers he held my ex-engagement ring. AKA, a piece of trash.
"You seem to have dropped this," the man said. His voice was intriguing. He was clearly teasing me, seeing as I'd launched the damn thing without a care in the world, but it was also soft and sympathetic, like he knew something was deeply wrong. That he cared about me.
Which was dumb, because I didn't even know the guy. He was a stranger.
I shook my head. "You can just... throw that in the trash."
"Are you sure?" the man asked, his eyes twinkling. "No re-sale value?"
Despite myself, I cracked a small smile at his joke. "I don't care."
"All right. I'll be sure to throw it in the ocean."
I found myself laughing softly again at his easy, calming humor. "Please do."
The man extended a large, supple hand for me to shake. "Sorry about my rudeness. Let me introduce myself. I'm Maverick, the owner of the Gryphon Palace Resort. How may I be of assistance?"
2
Maverick
