“You think telling everyone we broke off our engagement is any less embarrassing?” he snaps.
“No,” I reply softly. “I was caught off guard. I never expected you to propose. Especially like that.”
His eyes lock on mine, and behind the anger, there’s a sadness so deep it almost swallows me whole.
“I fucked up. I should have known you’d hate a spectacle.” His voice catches, and his unexpected emotions are tearing me apart.
God, please yell…be cruel, anything other than sadness.
I reach into my bag, take out the black velvet box, and slide it across the table, knowing I can’t drag this on any longer.
He gives me a quick shake of his head and pushes it back toward me. “It’s yours.”
“No. It was never mine to take.”
His gaze drifts, and I think back to Nate—the first day I saw him again at the office, how he’d commented on my ring.
I never wanted a diamond. Why didn’t I tell Corey?
With a sigh that sounds like defeat, Corey picks up the box, twirling it between his fingers. “How did this happen? How could I have been so blind?”
“We’re both at fault. Lost in our own worlds, never truly giving it our all. You only proposed because you thought it was the next step. When you meet someone who checks every box, you’ll see I’m right.”
The words are barely gone from my mouth when movement across the restaurant catches my eye.
Nate.
He’s flanked by a stunning, tall brunette in a tight gold dress that leaves very little for the imagination. My eyes track how his hand rests low on her back as he pulls out her chair, smiling like she’s the only person in the room.
What the hell is he smiling at?
He’s swapped his earlier button-down for a fitted white T-shirt under his blazer, the contrast against his tanned skin making my pulse kick.
It’s the end of fall. Where the hell has he been traveling, and with who…her?
Nate says something, and she laughs, throwing her head back.
Please, nothing is that funny.
Her manicured hand strokes his across the table affectionately, and I have to rip my eyes away before I march over there and strangle her.
My grip tightens on my water glass before I drain it in one go.Wishing I had kept the champagne.
“Are you okay?” Corey frowns, interrupting my thoughts.
“Um, yeah,” I say, completely distracted by Nate, which makes me the worst person in the world.
Here I am, breaking my fiancé’s heart, yet all I can focus on is Nate, my ex.
“I…I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to lose you,” Corey presses. “I’ll step back from work and give you more of myself. We can travel, or I’ll give New York a chance.”
His words yank me back to the present. I can’t let this go on.
I shake my head, feeling sick to my stomach now that I need to be firm. “I don’t want this anymore. It should have ended long ago. When someone proposes, I want the butterflies, the impulse to scream it to the world. That’s never been us. You deserve someone who can give you that. A pretty Southern girl who can take care of you and be by your side.”
“You’re a pretty Southern girl.”
“I’m a Southern girl but a city slicker at heart.” I smile sadly. “I was always meant to live in New York, and I’m never coming back to Georgia.”
