Chapter 3 The Ring
She was right there.
Close enough that I could smell her—soft lavender mixed with vanilla, the same scent that used to cling to my hoodie after we made out in my truck. My pulse hammered in my throat. One more step and I’d have her against me again.
Then the Christmas tree lights caught it.
A flash on her left hand.
A diamond. Big. Real.
My stomach dropped straight through the floor.
Engaged.
Maggie was engaged.
The room tilted. I couldn’t breathe right. All the air left my lungs in one rough push.
She was supposed to be mine. Always had been, even after I left. Even after everything went to hell in L.A. and I came crawling back broke and alone.
But that ring said different.
I swallowed hard. The words scraped out. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I didn’t know you were engaged.”
Her face changed. Eyes wide. Mouth parted like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find it.
“I should go.” I turned toward the door. My coat was upstairs. Didn’t matter. I’d walk out in the snow if I had to.
“No—Garner, wait.”
Her hand caught my arm. Warm fingers through my sweater. I stopped, but I didn’t turn around yet. Couldn’t look at that ring again.
“Please.”
I faced her. She was biting her lip, cheeks pink. Gorgeous. And wearing another man’s promise.
“I came here because I still love you, Maggie.” The confession ripped out of me. “I never stopped. Not once. Acting? Auditions? All of it shit the bed. I’m broke. No job. Parents in France. I had nowhere else to go tonight. I just… I needed you.”
Her eyes filled. Not crying, but close.
“I love you too,” she whispered. “I never stopped either.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Then why the ring?
She lifted her hand, looked at it like it disgusted her, and twisted it off. Dropped it on the coffee table with a soft clink.
“It’s fake.”
I blinked.
“It’s not real,” she said faster. “Aidan—my friend—he turns thirty next week. His trust fund kicks in only if he’s married. He asked me to help. We’re doing a quick courthouse thing after his birthday, then annulment as soon as the money hits. That’s it.”
I stared at the diamond sitting there like a bad joke.
“He’s in love with someone else anyway,” she went on. “Kat’s old roommate. He’s planning to propose to her for real this Christmas. I’m just… the placeholder.”
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost buckled.
She wasn’t taken.
She was still mine.
“You never stopped loving me?” I asked, voice rough.
“No.” She stepped closer. “How could I, Garner? You were my world. You still are. No guy ever came close.”
Same for me. I hadn’t let anyone in. Not seriously. Every date felt wrong. Empty.
I grabbed her face and kissed her.
Hard.
She gasped into my mouth, then opened for me. Tongue sliding against mine, hot and desperate. I backed her up until her legs hit the couch and we went down together.
She straddled my lap without breaking the kiss. Hands in my hair. Tugging.
I groaned.
Tilted her head back and dragged my mouth down her throat. Licked the spot under her ear that used to make her crazy. Sucked. Nipped.
She moaned loud. Rolled her hips against me.
My dick was already painfully hard, straining against my jeans. No hiding it. She felt it—ground down harder.