Chapter 28 - Grand Gesture Setup
Apple Chrome did not do subtle.
Which was exactly why Ginny had made the catastrophic decision to tell her the truth in person.
They were at Apple's apartment, which looked like a Pinterest board had exploded under glittery duress. TK Prince was sprawled upside down on the couch, scrolling through her phone like a chaotic fairy godparent waiting for entertainment.
Ginny stood in the middle of the room like she was about to confess to murder.
"I'm in love with her," she said.
Apple gasped dramatically and clutched a throw pillow. "SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE EMOTIONALLY REPRESSED IN THE BACK."
TK shot upright. "Wait, this is real-real? Not fake fiancé drama real?"
"It's real," Ginny muttered. "Like nauseatingly real."
TK grinned slowly. "Oh. We're doing a public confession."
Ginny blinked. "We are?"
Apple and TK looked at each other.
Then at her.
"Oh, sweetheart," Apple said gently. "You do not get to privately whisper this after publicly blowing up your own engagement."
TK pointed at her. "You ended it publicly. You fix it publicly."
Ginny paced. "No. No grand gestures. I'll just talk to her like a normal, emotionally evolved adult."
Apple stared at her.
TK stared at her.
"Name one time you've ever chosen the calm route," TK said.
Ginny opened her mouth.
Closed it.
"Exactly," Apple said.
Ginny collapsed onto the couch. "What if she doesn't want me anymore?"
TK leaned forward, suddenly serious beneath the chaos. "Then at least she'll know you didn't lie about loving her."
That quieted the room.
Ginny swallowed.
"I told her it was just a lie," she whispered.
Apple's expression softened. "Then you correct it."
"How?"
Apple's eyes lit up.
Oh no.
—
Thirty minutes later, there was a whiteboard.
TK had drawn a very unnecessary flowchart titled:
Step 1: Location
Step 2: Speech
Step 3: Emotional Impact
Step 4: Kiss (optional but highly encouraged)
Ginny covered her face. "I hate both of you."
"You love us," Apple corrected. "And you love her. Focus."
"Okay," TK said, standing dramatically. "Where does Jayna feel most like herself?"
"Her gym," Ginny answered immediately.
Apple snapped her fingers. "Yes. Her territory. Her safe place."
Ginny's stomach flipped. "In front of everyone?"
"You announced a fake engagement at a reunion," TK reminded her. "This is karmic symmetry."
Ginny groaned but didn't argue.
Because they were right.
She had used spectacle to create a lie.
Maybe she needed spectacle to reveal the truth.
—
Later that evening, they drove past Jayna's gym again.
It was busy. Music pulsing softly inside. Clients laughing between sets.
Jayna moved confidently across the floor, correcting form, offering encouragement.
She looked steady.
She looked okay.
That scared Ginny more than if Jayna had looked broken.
"What if she's moved on?" Ginny whispered.
Apple leaned against the car window. "She hasn't."
"How do you know?"
"Because Mable texted me," Apple said casually.
Ginny's head snapped toward her. "You're in contact with Mable?"
"Focus," Apple said quickly. "Point is—she's been throwing herself into work. That's Jayna's version of spiraling."
TK nodded solemnly. "Ah yes. The productive heartbreak."
Ginny stared at Jayna through the glass.
She remembered:
The rain running down Jayna's face while they laughed.
The way Jayna's hands trembled slightly after their first real kiss.
The quiet hurt when Ginny ended it.
The soft, almost defeated "Okay."
She couldn't let that be the last word.
"I need to tell her the truth," Ginny said, more to herself than to them.
"Good," TK said. "Now we craft the line."
Apple grabbed the whiteboard marker again like it was a sword.
"You need something simple," she said. "No jokes. No deflection."
Ginny nodded slowly.
"No running," TK added.
Ginny inhaled deeply.
"I lied," she said softly. "I wasn't engaged. But I want to be. For real."
The words hung in the car.
Apple blinked.
TK blinked.
"...That's actually good," TK admitted.
Ginny's heart pounded. "Too much?"
Apple shook her head slowly. "No. It's honest."
Ginny looked back at the gym.
Jayna was laughing at something a client said.
Dimples.
God.
"I'm terrified," Ginny whispered.
Apple squeezed her hand. "That means it matters."
TK leaned forward between the seats. "Remember: you're not trying to impress her. You're choosing her."
Choosing.
Not pretending.
Not reacting.
Choosing.
Ginny swallowed hard.
"Tomorrow," she said.
Apple grinned. "Tomorrow."
TK pumped a fist. "Public confession era activated."
Ginny rolled her eyes, but her chest felt different now.
Still scared.
Still unsure.
But beneath it—
certainty.
She loved Jayna.
And this time, she wasn't going to let fear write the ending.
Tomorrow, she would walk into that gym.
Not as a fake fiancée.
Not as someone hiding behind jokes.
But as someone brave enough to say:
It wasn't a lie.
And I choose you.