"Always."
I cut the call and stare at the ceiling for a long moment. Then I pull on a cute tank top, grab one of my favorite brown hats, and my boots to match. A little lip gloss, a few curls in my hair.
I can hear Hudson's voice downstairs, winning my parents over the way he wins everyone over. The performance that never stops.
My fingers shake as I slide on the engagement ring.
I look down at it. Wrong. It just feels wrong.
But it's okay. Ace understands. He knows it isn't real. He knows I want him. That I never stopped wanting him.
We just have to navigate this shit show and see if we can make it out the other side.
Maybe that second chance we've both been aching for is real.
Before we push through the doors of the bar, my feet are stuck on the spot.
I've kept my left hand hidden from my parents the entire walk here. It's behind my back now, the diamond pressing into my palm, heavy with a lie I don't know how to explain.
"Harper?" Hudson hisses beside me.
"I-I?—"
I can't move. Every instinct is screaming at me to turn around and run home. This town is too small. Everyone knows everyone. And if the wrong person sees this ring?—
Hudson's hand lands on my back and pushes me forward. I blink, dodging out of his grip.
"Don't touch me, Hudson. Okay? Not now. Not here," I whisper.
He holds up his hand. "Sorry."
I nod and lead him inside.
The place is rowdy. A typical cowboy bar, absolutely packed. Men in hats at every table. Straw on the floor. Country musicthumping from the jukebox. The smell of beer and leather and sawdust.
"Over here!" Dad calls out from across the room.
Uncle Bert is off his stool in a heartbeat, wrapping his arms around me so tight he lifts me off the ground.
"Missed you, Harpie."
And that hurts my heart. I walked away from so much. Searching for something that never truly made me happy.
Arizona is where I'm happy. With my family. With Ace.
A loud crash echoes through the bar, and the room goes silent—then erupts into cheering. I glance over to the far end and see a man up on a table, waving one hand in the air, dancing with his beer held high.
Jett. Dressed like an actual cowboy this time. Not whatever the hell he was wearing when he kidnapped me.
"Yeah, it's wild in here. The Sterlings are lettin' loose, it appears," Uncle Bert says.
I straighten my spine. The hairs on my arms stand on end.
Oh. Shit. No.
I look to Jett's left. And my eyes collide with Ace's.
He's leaning against the table. His face is unreadable. Everything else around me blurs until there's nothing but him.
