Page 68 of Perfect Score
It hurts that Liam would have given her his grandmother's ring but not me.
Did he know from the beginning that he wouldn’t go through with the wedding, or that he knew I wasn’t the one?
“Well, it’s stunning.”
I hate myself for being so curious, but I make a beeline for the bar and take the longest route to my table in order to pass by them.
The moment I walk by, I bob and weave to see her hand being held out in front of her for my cousin to admire.
It gives me an almost completely unobstructed view of the ring, and the minute I see it, I almost puke up the roasted chicken and mashed potatoes I just ate.
It’s my ring.
The ring I picked out at that jewelry store. The same one he got down on one knee at our favorite vineyard one Sunday afternoon in San Diego and proposed to me with.
He put it on her finger.
My throat clogs with tears, and I remember when he asked for the ring back. I thought he was going to try to get his money back, not turn around and give it to her.
I lower my head, trying to make myself as small as possible, heading straight for my sister.
“Phoebe…” I say, “I think I might be getting sick. I need to lie down for a bit.”
Sisterly concern flashes in her eyes.
“Do you need me to go with you? Or Mom?” she asks, trying to find our mother in the crowd.
“No, I’m fine. I’m just going to run a bath.”
“Okay, call if you need something,” she says.
But I see the way she’s looking at me… she knows I’m lying, but she has a room full of people to entertain and now isn’t the best time for her to sit me down and make me talk it out.
“I will,” I tell her and then I spin around and try to make it out of the bar before anyone else sees me and knows something is wrong.
Chapter Eighteen
Brent
"Where’s Zoey?" I ask Phoebe when I come in from cigars and notice she’s nowhere to be found.
I don’t like that Liam isn’t here either. He came in a few minutes before me. Then again, I don’t see Shelby in the bar.
"She said she was sick. She went upstairs. Are you going to check on her?"
"Yeah, I’ll go," I tell her.
She and I probably need to talk anyway.
I need to tell her that I’m falling in love with her… or maybe I've always loved her.
I need to tell her that I can’t sit back and watch her try to win Liam back.
It should be me… she should be with me. She should have been from the beginning.
I needed to take that drive to remind myself that no matter what I’ve done in my life, I’ve worked hard for it. Working toward getting a rookie NHL deal, raising my sister, becoming one of the best left-defensemen in the league… Everything I’ve done, I’ve thrown myself into and given it everything I have. And that’s what I’ll do if Zoey gives me a shot.
I’ll give her everything I have because she deserves it. Liam made the biggest mistake of his life when he let her go, and I won’t stand by and let her go again like I did with prom.