Chapter 21
Ryan
“What are you doing here?” I ask Chase, the phone still up to my ear even though he’s sitting right across from me.
He makes a display of clicking to end the call and setting his phone down on the table. I mirror his movement and put mine down, too.
“I had to watch and see what you’re doing wrong on these dates. Because if you couldn’t hit it off with Amber, the problem has something to do with you. And clearly, you are the problem.”
“No, it’s not me,” I say glumly. “It’s Claire.”
“You can’t blame this on her.”
“She sent me this.” I show Chase the picture of her in the wedding dress. “What was I supposed to do?”
Chase looks at the picture for a minute, his expression unreadable.
I put the phone back on the table. “Look, I’m not blaming it on her. But no one will compare to Claire. It’s not worth my time and energy to look for anyone else.”
Chase takes a good, long look at me. “You need help, man.”
“No kidding!” I exclaim. “And you’re not being helpful.”
“You want something helpful? Fine. I’ll give you something helpful.” He sets his hands on the table, fixing me with a serious glare. “You’re being a coward,” he hisses.
My head rears back. “What did you say?”
“I said you’re being a coward,” he repeats.
I’m taken aback for a second.
He quirks a brow at me, taunting me. “I don’t know any man who’s as afraid as you are to go for the woman he loves. It’s pretty pathetic.”
“Jeez, don’t mince any words.”
“I’m past that! You need the hard, cold truth. Why are you so afraid to go for it with Claire?”
The real reason? Because I’ve seen what happens when a man goes for it, the way my dad destroyed our family and left me and Mom reeling in the aftermath. I swore I would never repeat his mistakes.
But to Chase, I just say, “I was trying to be respectful of her boyfriend.”
“Forget being respectful! This is love!” He slams his hand on the table for emphasis, rattling our glasses and causing a few people to glance our way.
“Chase, chill.”
He sits back in his chair again. “You’ve said it a hundred times. Her boyfriend is a loser. But you—” He gestures at me with his hand up and down. “You’re a catch. You owe it to yourself to lay it all on the line.”
“Easy as that, huh? She’s engaged.”
“So what? Engaged isn’t married. No vows have been spoken. Now is her last chance to choose you instead of him. But it’s about to be too late. Suck it up and be a man.” He gestures at my phone. “Starting with texting her back.”
I take a minute to process his words. She’s engaged, not married.
But to put that weight on her? Forcing her to choose between me and Zach? It feels unfair.
“So, what?” I ask Chase. “I tell her how I feel and make her choose between us?”
Chase holds up his hands. “Now, I didn’t say that. Let’s not get crazy.” He sits back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “You don’t need to put pressure on her, per se. Just…make sure she knows you’re interested.”
“Huh.” I consider him for a moment. It’s kind of like what I’ve been doing for the last three years, letting her know that I’m always there. But if I lean into it a little more than usual, making all the ways I’m better for her than Zach really clear, maybe it could work.
Still, something feels like it’s nagging me in the back of my mind. “I dunno, man…”
Chase leans in. “The other question we should be asking is, why did she send that to you?”
I press my lips together and shake my head. “She’s sent me stuff like this before.”
“A wedding dress?”
“Well, no,” I admit. “But there was no wedding dress before this.”
“Dude.” Chase puts his hand on top of mine, then must decide that’s too weird (which it is), and removes it quickly, shaking it off as if trying to erase the cooties he caught from me. “She wants your opinion. On her wedding dress. This is your chance.” He holds his hand out. “Give me your phone.”
“Absolutely not.” There’s no way I’m letting Chase take over. But he does have a point.
Why did she send me her wedding dress?
When she was in that dress, looking at her reflection, did she think of me? Did she wonder if I would like that dress?
Somewhere in the back of her mind, does she know that I’m the one who should be standing at the end of that aisle, waiting for her?
The thought fills me with confidence. Chase is right—this is crossing into new territory. And maybe I’m ready to take some kind of stand. Not explicitly, so she doesn’t feel like I’m making her choose between us, but at least by letting her see how much I care.
So, no, I won’t let Chase type out the message to her. If I’m going to win Claire, I’m going to do it myself. Not with Chase’s words, but with my own.
I type out a response and hit send before I can think twice. I set my phone down on the table and run my fingers through my hair.
“What did you say?” Chase asks.
“I said she looks perfect. And I asked her if she felt like she found ‘the one.’”
Chase raises his brows. “Not bad. A little double meaning for her to ponder.” He nods. “You’re catching on quickly.”
“Exactly.”
The waitress arrives with the entrees Amber and I ordered. She sets my plate in front of me, then looks at me with a question in her eyes about Chase’s place at the table.
“He can eat her food,” I say.
She sets the food in front of Chase, who looks down at the plate sadly.
I glance at my phone. Nothing yet from Claire. “Want to explain this whole Amber situation?” I ask him, needing a distraction.
“Not particularly. That’s another story for another day.” He sighs heavily and digs into his food.
I look down at my phone again and see three dots. My heart rate picks up at the thought of Claire responding. “She’s writing back.”
Chase and I sit, staring at my phone. I don’t know what Chase is thinking, but I’m willing her to write back faster.
But the dots disappear, and there’s no message.
I sigh, a little disappointed. We wait a moment, but the dots don’t return. Chase and I go back to eating, but a thought pops into my mind, and I grin. “It’s okay. I know what to do next.”
Chase quirks a brow at me. “Oh, yeah?”
I nod. “Monday is Pi Day.”