“Four days each in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Scotland, and we’ll finish off our honeymoon with a week in France.”
“Sounds magical,” Missy nodded. “And after the honeymoon?”
“Um… I suppose we’ll be married.”
She rolled her eyes at me.
“I meant where will you live?” she clarified. “Will you stay on in Europe, move to Asia, or go to the land down under?”
“Wow…so many choices,” I breathed. “You know what? I think we should make our base in the States. And every year we’ll travel to a different country for at least a month. That would be ideal.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I laughed at my fanciful dreams and stood up. “Okay, now I need to stop planning for fake events and start planning for real ones. My date with Chance is in a few hours, and I need to decide what to wear.”
“You have to wear something special,” Missy said instantly. “Just in case…”
“Missy—”
“What?”
“He’s not going to—”
“Okay, okay… Fine, he’s not going to propose. All I’m saying is that in case he does, you’ll want to be prepared. Right?”
I paused for a moment. “I guess so.”
“Exactly,” Missy nodded triumphantly. “So, we need to find you something spectacular to wear.”
“Okay, fine,” I conceded. “Find me something spectacular to wear, and I’ll wear it.”
Missy rubbed her hands together and looked at me from head to toe. When I’m done with you, even if Chance never intended to propose to you, he’s certainly going to want to.
I laughed. “You’re confident.”
“You should be, too…you’re not a wallflower anymore, Nat,” she said.
“No,” I agreed. “I’m not.”
Chapter Thirty
Chance
Of course, she had to look absolutely stunning. She was wearing a pure white wrap around, with thin straps and tall black heels. Her dark hair fell in gentle waves around her shoulders, and her subtle makeup lit up her blue eyes and made her face come alive. She looked so beautiful, and it physically hurt to know that I would have to break her heart.
I looked around the restaurant surreptitiously. I had no doubt that Jason was hiding somewhere, watching the whole thing take place. I didn’t care to look too hard, however. Knowing where he was would just tempt me into punching his lights out.
At the moment, however, I couldn’t even focus on him, because all I could think of was Natalie. I had to make her believe that I didn’t want her anymore. I wondered if I was even capable of putting a show that was convincing enough. She knew I loved her…and a part of me hoped that she would just refuse to believe me. A part of me hoped that she would see right through the ploy and would know instinctively that Jason was behind everything.
I reminded myself that Natalie’s future was at stake here. If Jason went to the dean with proof of our relationship, then Natalie would lose her best chance. I knew she didn’t have the money to pay for an undergraduate degree. The only reason she had gotten into North Greenfield in the first place was because of her scholarship. I loved her – and that meant I had to put her first, no matter how I felt.
“Chance?”
“Hmm…”
“You’ve been really quiet all night,” she pointed out.
She looked a little concerned, and her eyes were searching when they met mine. I was being distant on purpose. I had to make her believe me, but it was more than that. I needed the distance for the sake of my own sanity. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure I would be able to go through with this.