And yet, she knew that any other woman would have made the same choice she had that day. She knew any other woman—her mother included—would have left him standing there in the middle of the narthex of the cathedral they were supposed to be married in with his tail between his legs. But years of history was hard to erase. Years of whispering “I love you” in the middle of the night and years of making love until the sun came up. Years of traveling and years of arguments and years of crying tears together. Years of coming back from the brink of darkness Kallie never thought they would come out of.
What did she and Ash have? Some island with a storm and an ex that wielded her money like the raging confidence of that storm.
Kallie felt like she had been sitting at her desk all day. But when she looked down at the clock on her computer, she realized she had only been at work for an hour. And a shadow that loomed over her ripped her from her trance. She looked up and saw a delivery man with a bright smile on his face at her door. He handed her a package. She furrowed her brow and peeked at it, reading her name written in a beautiful cursive on top of the package.
She recognized that handwriting.
And her stomach instantly dropped.
Kallie carefully unwrapped her package and found a black velvet box inside. There was a card on top of it. With the name “Kal-Bear” written in that beautiful cursive writing. James had sent her something. Some sort of present. And she held her breath as she set the present on her desk and picked up the card.
My dearest Kallie,
You mean more to me than anything in the entire world, and I want our love to endure. I want us to be able to handle the pressure of this world and the heat we will attract from others for loving the way we do. Because when heat is combined with pressure, and you give it enough time, the most beautiful thing appears.
Forever yours,
James
At least her fingertips trembled as she plucked a black velvet box from its container. She opened it steadily, trying to convince herself that the present she thought was in here wasn't actually in here. But it was. It was a beautiful diamond necklace. One she had been gazing at through a window for months. The beautiful aquamarine teardrop gem was strong on a string that housed beautiful white and yellow diamonds. It was subtle. Small. Delicate, like the small chain the gem hung from. And it was every bit as beautiful as it was the day she saw it in the window.
Kallie couldn't put it down. James had always been charming, but he never went to great lengths to spend a lot of money on her. Every once in a while, he surprised her with something that reminded her of his money. But most of what he spent was to impress other people. They would go out to eat at fancy restaurants with some of his friends, and he would pick up the entire bill. He would pay for people's medical bills and wait for the praise that would come his way. At least, that was how she saw it whenever she got angry with him. Outside of a pair of small diamond earrings, the only piece of expensive jewelry James ever purchased for her was Kallie’s engagement ring.
And yet, she was looking at a necklace she had been staring at for months. The only piece of jewelry that had ever caught her eye in a store. She was holding it in her hands, and it was from the man she had almost married.
More proof of their history.
More proof that he paid attention more than he let on.
Kallie drew in a deep breath as her mind began to swirl. The ball was currently in her court and she didn't know how she felt about that. She was slowly eliminating Ash from her memory so she could get back to work. Get back to her life. Get back to moving forward. And then she was slapped with a gift that should have made her happy. That should have made her eyes glisten with tears. That should have made her feel thankful.
If James knew she wanted this necklace so badly, why wait until he is so royally screwed to get it for her?
“I can’t accept this,” Kallie said over the phone.
“It’s yours. I know you’ve been staring at it. Kallie, that necklace has you written all over it,” James said.
“I’m not accepting this gift. I’m taking it back to the store.”
“Then if you won’t accept the gift, Kal-Bear, have dinner with me. You can return it to me in person and not have to go through the hassle of crossing town to walk into the store.”
“James, come on.”
“What? You want to return the gift, and that’s fine. I have the receipt. Just meet me for dinner and yo
u can hand it over,” he said.
“I know what you’re trying to do. I know how you’ve played this out,” Kallie said.
“Dinner. That’s it. You can even leave before you order, if that’s what you wish. You can put the gift down, turn around, and walk out. And I won’t stop you.”
“You won’t stop me.”
“Nope. I’ll let you walk away if that’s what you wish,” he said.
Kallie sat there, debating on his words. Was he telling the truth? Would it be that easy?
Had it ever been that easy?