41. Epilogue 2
Hayes
Then
One Month After Meeting Annabelle
“ I ’m telling you, Rowdy—she’s it for me. Just like you said when you met Bailey. From the moment I met Annabelle, it felt different. It felt right.”
When I called Rowdy this morning, I asked him to run an errand with me, but I didn’t tell him where we were going. And once I did, he wasn’t as receptive to the idea as I had hoped.
Upon entering the store, Rowdy scans the showroom, taking in the slick, high-end feel of the place.
The dark carpeting muffles our steps. Glass display cases snake through the space, each one arranged to showcase the glittering stones within them.
The recessed lighting casts a clean white glow, making the gemstones shimmer and shine as if they’re lit from within.
With our faded blue jeans and scuffed boots, we’re as out of place in this exclusive jewelry store as a McDonald’s hamburger is in a Michelin-starred restaurant. But they’ll still swipe my black American Express without reservation, so I don’t let their haughty attitudes deter me from my goal.
“I get that, but do you really think it’s necessary to buy her an engagement ring, Hayes? That don’t seem like you’re jumping the gun a little, man?” Rowdy leans back, crossing his arms over his thick chest. “You don’t even know her last name.”
“Soon she’ll have mine, so what does that matter?” I joke, but it lands flat. Rowdy simply stares at me. Maybe I should have asked Bailey to accompany me rather than Rowdy. A romantic at heart, Bailey would have been more enthusiastic.
“Have a little faith, Rowdy. Besides, I’ve hired a private investigator. He’ll find her. How many Annabelles can there be in Nashville?”
Rowdy shakes his head, flummoxed. But I see the moment he gives in. Dropping his arms, he rubs his hands together. “This might be the craziest thing you’ve ever done, and that’s saying a lot because you’ve done a ton of crazy shit, brother.” He sighs, resolute. “But… okay.”
I clap my oldest friend on the back and smile broadly. “Let’s do this!”
In the month since I met Annabelle at Tank’s, my feelings for her haven’t wavered in the least. If anything, they've grown. What I experienced with her—the explosive chemistry, the freedom to be myself, the overwhelming urge to care for and protect her—marked my soul .
She’s it for me. My gut feeling tells me we’ll be reunited one day.
And when we are, I want her to be reassured that I knew from the very beginning that she was my forever.
Rowdy mutters, “I still can’t believe you’re actually buying an engagement ring for a woman you had a one-night stand with. You're a crazy motherfucker, Hayes.”
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