Page 73 of On the Double
“Yep. If it wasn’t for him and the amazing timing of my grandma, I might never have gone home with him last night.”
“What does she think of him?”
“It’s hard to say.”
Her eyes zoomed in on the ring I’d tried to keep hidden all day, but it must have turned over. “Girl, what is that?”
“Oh, it’s just a ring.”
“That’s an engagement ring!” she shrieked, coming out from behind her register. She grabbed my hand and pulled it closer to examine. “It’s fucking gorgeous.”
“It is, but it doesn’t mean anything. He only got it for me for appearance’s sake.”
“Girl, this ring couldn’t have been cheap. Are you gonna give it back?”
I’d already thought of that last night after our fight. But when I walked out the door this morning, I just couldn’t stand to part with it yet. But I knew I couldn’t keep it. He didn’t give it to me out of love. It was all a ruse.
“As soon as Gram is out of the picture. She was still at the house when I left this morning. And I don’t know how long she’s planning to stay.”
“Well, let’s hope she stays for a while. That ring is beautiful.”
I stared down at it with a smile, but the longer I looked at it, the more I realized it was better if I took it off. Wearing it only made me feel like I was living a dream.
“Actually, I hope she leaves soon. It’s better for things to go back to normal.”
Her face dropped and I knew she could see the sadness in my eyes. “Harper?—”
“It’s fine. I mean, it’s not like I love the guy. But this ring is a reminder of what I could have if I ever found someone who—who wanted that life with me. And we both know Edu is not that man. He’s made that perfectly clear.” I took a deep breath. “So, the sooner this ends, the sooner I can look for Mr. Right.”
She grinned at me. ”Maybe you’ll meet a Highlander.”
“Or James Earl Jones,” I laughed.
After that, the day flew by. I had hoped Gram and Grandpa would take off during the day, but when I received a text from Oliver asking if I would be home to go out to dinner, my hopes were dashed.
Me: Can’t. Going out with Edu tonight!
The dots bounced back at me for five minutes until they finally stopped. No message followed, and I could only imagine the anger on Oliver’s face as he tried to compose a text with a nice way of telling me to let the bastard go. He didn’t know that Oliver came to apologize, and he probably wouldn’t care if he did.
Anticipation for this evening’s activities had me rushing home to prep my body. I wasn’t wholly prepared the last time, and I wanted to make sure that when he examined every inch of my body tonight, there was nothing left to be desired.
I lathered and scrubbed every last inch of my skin, making sure I was silky smooth by the end. I spent way more time on my hair than I should have, considering it was only going to get messed up later. And when I finished with that, I rushed to my closet to find the perfect outfit. But as I pushed hanger after hanger aside, I realized I had nothing to wear that would be sexy enough for what I had in mind.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked as I started throwing clothes from my closet onto the bed.
“Trying to find something to wear tonight.”
He stepped further into my room and closed the door behind him. “Why are you going out with him after what he did?” Oliver hissed.
“He came to the grocery store and apologized today.”
I felt his hand on my arm right before he dragged me to face him. The concern and anger on his face was exactly how I’d imagined.
“Don’t do this. He’s not worth it.”
“It’s just sex,” I said, my face in a permanent grin.
But his eyes saw way more than I wanted. “It’s not to you. He’s using you.”