He looked at her, curious. “How so?”
“Well, I sort of have the same hopes for me and Gary, about being a family, I mean. I lost both of my parents when I was quite young, and since then, I’ve always felt a bit lonely…slightly adrift, I suppose.” She went on to tell him how Terri and the staff at the restaurant were the closest thing to a family she had now. “So now with Gary, I’m finally going to be part of a proper family or help build one of my own—if we’re lucky enough to have kids, that is.”
There was so much longing in her voice that Ethan’s heart went out to her.
“And this,” she said, lovingly caressing the ring. “This signifies the start of all that, the start of everything I’ve always wanted. It’s just so precious and so incredibly beautiful that I can hardly believe it’s truly mine.”
“Actually—”
“Something I can pass down to my children and perhaps on to their children too, like creating a brand-new tradition. Sicilians are big on tradition, and since I’ve never been able to take part in all that, it feels so important, almost essential that I start my own, you know?” Then she laughed self-consciously and shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. You must think I’m crazy.”
And just like that, Ethan realized that there was no way he could shatter this wonderful woman’s dreams by telling her the truth.
He just couldn’t do it, and it wasn’t his place to either. Rachel’s fiancé was the one who should be here listening to her pouring her heart out about how much all this meant to her.
Despite his failings, at least Ethan knew his intentions toward Vanessa were honorable, whereas the ass that poor Rachel was marrying…
“It doesn’t sound crazy at all, and I’m sure Gary is looking forward to those things just as much as you are.”
“Well, honestly, I don’t think he really understands any of that…mushy stuff as he calls it.” She laughed good-naturedly. “You wouldn’t describe Gary as the kind of guy in touch with his feelings. Typical Irish macho male, I suppose.”
Again, Ethan felt maddened on Rachel’s behalf that she’d ended up with a guy who sounded like some kind of knuckle dragger.
“You should tell him anyway. Let him know how much all this stuff means to you at least.”
“Well, first I have to try and wrangle him to set a date!” she said jokingly and pushed her plate away. “Goodness, Ethan, I can’t remember the last time I’ve opened up to someone like this. An English lecturer… Are you sure you’re not really a psychologist in disguise?”
He smiled bashfully. “No, definitely just a boring old college professor. And despite what you think, you really should share some of this with Gary. He is the man you’re going to spend the rest of your life with after all.”
Maybe then the cad would have a crisis of conscience and admit that their engagement was all a sham.
Ethan would certainly be urging him to do so anyway. If ever he got the chance.
He sighed. Sod it, the best option now was to put an end to the pussyfooting around and just get Knowles’s number from Rachel.
Then once and for all, he could talk to him straight and call him outright on swiping the ring and trying to pass it off as his own. He’d give him a good ear bashing too about resorting to such skeevy shenanigans behind this wonderful lady’s back, yet it wasn’t his place to.
Rachel blushed. “I know, and he really is a special guy, although I know a lot of people don’t see beyond the bluster. But at the end of the day, he completely swept me off my feet.”
Ethan didn’t know how to respond to this, so he remained silent.
“It would be so nice if you could meet him before you go,” Rachel said.
“I’d very much like to meet him too,” he replied, gritting his teeth. “So you two haven’t actually made many plans for the wedding then?” he asked, feeling somewhat relieved that the two hadn’t set a date yet, especially when everything may well end up having to be canceled.
“Not yet. I’ve started looking into the arrangements, and Terri and I are going shopping for dresses soon, but Gary thinks it’s all a bit of a nuisance.”
Of course he does, Ethan grumbled silently, though he couldn’t help but feel even more trepidation on Rachel’s behalf.
The way she was talking, it really did sound as though this engagement was completely out of the blue. Poor girl, she really did have no idea.
He decided he’d try and tease out the specifics of the proposal. That way, he’d know for sure if marriage had been in the cards or it had been precipitated entirely by the ring’s unexpected appearance.
“So you mentioned before that the proposal was somewhat of a surprise.”
Her eyes sparkled even brighter than the diamond on her finger. “Honestly, Ethan, I couldn’t believe it. When I saw the little blue box, I nearly collapsed. Gary with a diamond from Tiffany’s? Surreal.”
“I can imagine.” Ethan’s fists clenched involuntarily. “So he went down on one knee?”
