“I know.” Tilly hugged it to her chest, her chin tucked down. “All this time I wondered if he really did love me.”
“How could you have doubted that? We all saw how much he adored you.”
“I know.” Tilly swiped her cheek with her shoulder, not wanting to let the ring go. “I just couldn’t see how someone who loved me so much could hurt me so badly.”
“Oh, honey. It’s because you love him that it hurt so much.”
Tilly stared down at the rock. Brayden was going to ask her to marry him. The longing looks. The pain in his eyes. The anger at seeing her with Gunner. It all made sense now. “He must be hurting too.” Her body sagged and she settled against the footboard, her legs out in front of her.
“He probably is,” agreed Mom. “Are you going to talk to him about this?”
Tilly considered her options. “And say what? ‘I know you love me—here’s the ring’?” She stared down at the diamond, imagining what it would look like on her finger. If she had picked a ring, this would have been the one.
“Well, not exactly those words,” Mom hedged.
“Or maybe something like, ‘If you really love me, you’ll stop being a bullheaded jagweed and get down on one knee right now.’”
Mom scowled. “Language.”
Tilly rolled her eyes. “Jagweed is not a swear word, Mom. The guys on the team use it.” She rolled her hand around in the air, trying to come up with the right definition. “It means jerk.”
“Oh. Then yes—lead with the jagweed comment.”
Tilly snorted a laugh. Her gaze drifted back to the beautiful engagement ring. Her soul sighed. She thought about all that she’d gone through since the accident. How Brayden had pushed her away even though she needed him. Yes, he’d been the one who lost the most, but she’d been hurting too. She shook her head, scrambling for his dirty pants, stuffing the box back into the pocket. “No.”
“He’s probably aching for you, hon.”
“That’s his choice. At this point, I don’t think I’d take him back.”
“Says the girl who cried over protein powder.”
Tilly laughed even as she wiped her tears. Considering the way her body reacted to his touch, they were brave words. If Brayden snuck in here in the middle of the night and woke her with a kiss, she’d wrap her arms around his neck and lose herself in a world-class make-out session without even having to think about it.
“I won’t blame you if you never speak to him again.” Mom fiddled with a washcloth. “But I kind of miss the dumb jerk too. Don’t fool yourself into thinking married people don’t hurt each other. Love and forgiveness go hand in hand.”
Tilly lifted her lips in a toothless smile. She put the pants, shoes, and shirt back in the bag and put the bag in the box. “Thanks, Mom, for being here for this. I’m so glad I have you and Dad.”
Mom allowed her the change of subject. “Us too, darling. When are you giving him back his things?”
“I’m going to run them over right now.” Because Brayden wasn’t there and Maverik would hug her. She could use a dose of a dad’s strength today.
“Call me back if you want to talk—or cry some more.”
“I will.” Tilly blew her mom a kiss and ended the call. She sat on the floor for another fifteen minutes before she felt emotionally taped together enough to head over to Brayden’s. She wouldn’t go inside. Couldn’t. She had a whole new heartache to get over now that she knew what could have been.
Strangely, as she crossed the street with the box in her arms, she felt a peace she hadn’t in quite a while. Knowing that Brayden was going to propose was big—it made her feel like what they’d shared had meant something to him too. That she wasn’t so easily brushed aside and forgotten.
It also made her ache for him because his heart was broken too. Darn her if she didn’t want to comfort him, to soothe his troubled soul. Whatever was going on with Brayden, only he could fix. She refused to crawl back and beg him to be hers. If he didn’t want her, even if it was hurting him to be apart, she wasn’t going to change that.
And if he did change his mind …? Even then, like she’d told her mom, she didn’t know if she could trust him with her heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brayden
Brayden pulled into the neighborhood, slowing down for the speed bump and watching for Mrs. Benson’s grandkids, who liked to play street hockey at night. They weren’t out, but Tilly was walking down the sidewalk. She stepped up to her front door and disappeared inside without looking behind her.
He glanced at his house. Had she been there?
