Well, well, well.
Gary took a deep breath. There it was in digital black-and-white: he had indeed only been charged a couple of hundred dollars for the charm bracelet.
Well, okay then.
Granted, he hadn’t planned on getting engaged, but there was no denying that he’d done well out of this particular deal.
But now, through no fault or effort of his own, he was an engaged man. Gary’s jaw tightened. The timing wasn’t the best, that was for sure, not when there were a few loose ends at play, and now he’d be under pressure to tie them up.
He sat back on the sofa, thinking about Rachel. Did he want to marry her? He certainly could do worse for a wife, he reasoned, thinking of some of the girls he’d been involved with over the years. She was great fun, easygoing for the most part, and while she could be a bit overemotional at times, all women were a bit like that, weren’t they? No, if he thought it about it properly, Rachel was a good catch: she had her own business, was scorching between the sheets, and most importantly wasn’t constantly in his ear about the time he spent off with the lads on their bikes.
Anyway, a ring didn’t necessarily mean they had to get married in the morning, did it? Rachel certainly seemed happy enough with just a ring on her finger, and if she was happy, maybe he should be too.
One thing was for sure. He might as well make the most of being in the good books for as long as possible.
So all things considered, maybe he shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Powering off the laptop, Gary shrugged.
Like the man said, sometimes you just had to roll with the punches and take the hand life deals you.
Chapter 17
Ethan took Vanessa’s gloved hand in his and felt buoyed about being back in London. Daisy was catching up today with her grandparents, and he was looking forward to spending some time alone with Vanessa.
His parents had been so supportive and helpful since Jane’s death. Having themselves been married for almost fifty years, they had become more than just a stable bedrock for him. They were a touchstone, a sort of third-eye perspective for his own life, and it was something that had comforted and cushioned him over the last few years.
But since he and Vanessa had dropped Daisy off at their house yesterday, something had been different.
He couldn’t put his finger on it. He knew that the feeling didn’t really have anything to do with his parents per se, but he couldn’t shake the annoyance he felt at his mother’s doting, lingering tendencies. His parents’ black Lab Bailey had barreled in from outside as they were saying goodbye to Daisy, and as the dog shook off the dampness—a long, controlled, full-body, rhythmic motion—Ethan felt almost envious.
He wished he could just shake things off like that too, get a grip on what was bothering him, and then play happily or lounge by the fireplace without a care in the world.
Whatever it was, it was reminiscent of a feeling he had had while shopping on Christmas Eve, only this time he wasn’t invigorated and feeling one step ahead of things. The opposite, actually.
Since their return from New York, he’d furiously argued back and forth with himself the merits of telling Vanessa about what had happened with the ring, but it was almost too far past the point of explanation now.
Especially given the additional complication concerning Rachel Conti.
What woman would want to hear that a complete stranger was going around giddy with happiness with the very ring meant for her?
So many times, he’d wrestled with himself about coming clean once and for all, but since he seemed even further away from getting it back, he figured it would merely make him look even more of an idiot and an altogether disastrous choice as a prospective fiancé. Especially when Vanessa herself was so no-nonsense about these things.
No, instead he’d finesse it all into coming good so that he could finally deliver the proposal she deserved.
He just had to figure out how.
Now, unaware of his own pace until he heard the snow crunching beneath his feet in closer intervals, Ethan tugged on Vanessa’s hand and told her the quicker they walked, the sooner they would be stopping for lunch.
“I’m not that cold though. I’m actually enjoying the pace. It’s such a lovely day. Let’s make the most of it.”
He forced a sigh and watched his breath turn to vapor before his eyes. She was right. Since coming home, he was too wrapped up in his own head, too fixated on nothing else but losing that ring. He needed to relax.
“I’m sorry, darling. Just getting back into things after the break has me a bit stressed, I think.” He squeezed her hand and shot her a smile. “Yes, let’s enjoy it. In fact, let’s give that place over there a shot for lunch today. What do you think?”
“The Snug?” Vanessa said, stopping in her tracks. “Why on earth would you want to go to an Irish pub?”
Despite her heritage, he didn’t think he and Vanessa had ever been in such a pub in London together. She tended to avoid them in favor of more traditional English establishments, but he supposed that to her, they weren’t remotely like home and were actually rather kitsch and fake. Still, he’d always liked this particular one. It was cozy and welcoming.
