“I doubt that man is a monk, let me tell you.”
“Not helping,” I said.
“I can’t choose for you. We can talk this through to help you answer that for yourself.”
“Okay, hit me.”
“I would, but we are on the phone. Maybe a good slap might help,” she joked.
I laughed which was what she was aiming for. “Give it to me.”
“Here are some thinking points. With Evan you’ll have a cushy life, but not here. Evan isn’t a small town guy. You marry him. You say goodbye to Mason Creek forever.”
“Forever?”
“Forever. He’ll claim there’s nothing here to hold you back.”
“My dad,” I said quietly.
“I’m not saying you won’t visit because I’ll kick your ass if you don’t. But it won’t be the same.”
I hated to agree, but I could see where she was going with it.
She continued, “And assuming you and Aiden had a thing, you know you’ll have a nice little life here. He’s not leaving. The man already did that and came back. He’s made his choice.”
“And I wanted to leave,” I said, like that was a fact and I wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Exactly. You’ve talked a lot about leaving. That doesn’t mean you have to leave with Evan. There are plenty of men in the world. However, you aren’t leaving with Aiden. I hope that clears things up.”
“It does actually. I think it’s time for me to call Evan. I’ve dodged his calls long enough.”
“Good luck,” she offered.
I leaned back in Dad’s chair, which let out squeaked. Then, I dialed Evan.
“Hey babe.”
“Hi,” I said.
“Is everything okay? Are you ready for me to pick you up?”
“Not exactly.”
“What’s the problem?” he asked, like there shouldn’t be one.
“I have to stay, for now at least.” I needed to grovel to Aiden. He was helping me, and I’d been a royal bitch to him because I’d been downright jealous.
“Stay? We’re getting married,” he demanded. I didn’t like his tone.
“I think we have to put our plans on hold for now.”
“For now? Do you think I’m going to wait forever?”
“No. I don’t expect you to. Which is why I think we should cool things off for now.”
“You keep saying for now. If you do this, we’re done.”
Did he think that was a threat? “If you’re giving me an ultimatum then I’ll live with it. We’re done.”
“Wait. Baby, I get you’re sad about your dad.”
“Sad,” I sneered. “I’m devastated. You have both of your parents. I have neither.”
“I know. I know. That’s why I want you with me so I can support you.”
“I can’t leave. There’s so much I have to do. There’s no one but me to make all these decisions I didn’t expect to make. On top of running a business, I have to finish school.”
“You don’t have to. You’re entitled to some time off.”
“The semester is almost over. I can’t quit now. Besides, Dad wouldn’t want me to.”
“Okay. What are we talking, a few more weeks? I can do that. I can come on the weekends,” he pleaded, unlike moments before when he’d sounded like he hadn’t cared.
“No. My head is a mess. I need time. I’ll give you the ring back.”
“Emma. Don’t. Keep it. I love you, baby.”
I wasn’t going to say I loved him back. “I need a break, Evan. I don’t know how long it will take.”
“I’ll give you a few weeks.”
“Don’t wait for me,” I said and hung up before he tried to convince me otherwise.
It wasn’t that I was choosing Aiden. From my discussion with Jessie, I decided to choose me. If that included Aiden down the line, I couldn’t say I hated the idea.
On the other hand, even if my father hadn’t died, I would have had the same conversation with Evan. I’d known for a while that I loved our adventures not the man. He’d taken me to all these new places I’d never seen. It was heaps of fun. But fun wasn’t love.
I also couldn’t sell Dad’s bar. It was the last of him I had left. He’d loved the place. And for now, I needed it to help me with my grief. Being there, I felt closer to him.
My phone pinged several times and I ignored it. Evan gave up on calling and switched to texting. Was the fact that I had no desire to read his messages a sign? Then again, they say time makes the heart grow fonder. I didn’t think so in my case. I finally realized I likely didn’t love him enough to marry him.
I stared at the ring. I could take it off, but then everyone in town would get talking and some of them would demand answers from me. It was easier for now to leave it alone, so everyone would leave me alone as I tried to figure out what I wanted.
Still, I did need to make amends.