A yes would also be the biggest, meanest lie she ever told. Because the cold fingers of dread clamping around her heart told her everything she needed to know.
“Jenna...?” His eyes searched hers, the sparkle extinguishing even as the smile wilted from his lips.
Robbed of her ability to speak, she gave her head a miniscule shake.
His neck mottled with color as his eyes turned hard. Harder than she’d ever seen them. “Are you serious right now?” he whispered. Or maybe it was a hiss.
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
His nostrils flared and a shadow flickered in his jaw as it clenched.
The jewelry box’s loud, sharpsnapmade her jump.
He shot to his feet, dug out his wallet, and flung some bills onto the table. Without another glance he strode away from her and disappeared around the corner.
She had to go after him. Explain. Comfort him.
The room had somehow gotten even quieter, all eyeballs fixed on her like hot lasers. The palpable hatred spurred her into action.
She stood and grabbed her purse from the chair, but it caught. Her hands trembled as she freed it. Then she followed in Jason’s wake, not quite impervious to the glares aimed her way.
When she exited the restaurant she spotted him under a streetlight, heading toward his car. “Jason!” Oh, sure, now her voice worked. “Jason, wait.” She quickened her steps, wobbly in her four-inch heels.
He slowed but only because he neared his car. The lights flashed as he unlocked the door with his key fob.
She caught up to him as he reached for the handle. “Please, Jason, let’s go somewhere and talk.”
“Oh, now you want to talk.”
The scene in the restaurant flashed in her brain and she winced. “I’m so sorry. I meant to say yes.”
“Youmeantto say yes? What’s that supposed to mean?”
She grimaced. “Well, what did you expect? You caught me off guard. You put me on the spot. We just talked about this. You knew I wasn’t ready.”
He waved away her words. “You always say that.”
“Because that’s how I feel! I like things the way they are. Why did you have to do that—ask me like that in front of everyone?”
“I thought you could use a little push.”
A littlepush? As if she were a child who didn’t know her own mind? “What I coulduseis a little more time.”
He gave a bitter laugh. “It’s been two years, Jenna. How much time do you need?” His frosty gaze never left her as he shook his head, the moment lengthening. “What was I thinking? You’ll never settle down.”
That wasn’t true. Was it? “You’re wrong.”
“Really? You’re twenty-seven, and this isn’t exactly your first serious relationship. In case you haven’t noticed, they all seem to end the same way—just like this one.”
End? This one?Her chest tightened as she took his hand. “Jason. Come on. Just because I don’t want to get married today doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. I love you. I see a future with you. This doesn’t have to change anything.”
His expression tightened as he withdrew his hand. “It changes everything. I’m not wasting any more time with someone who’s not interested in a commitment.”
“I am committed to you!”
“I want marriage, Jenna. And kids. I’m tired of waiting around for you to beready.” He sneered the word.
He was breaking up with her? But things had been fine! Why did he have to go and ruin everything?
