Epilogue – A Proposal #3
“Tara?” I scream, as if shouting will somehow pull her back through the ether. “Tara, are you okay?”
There’s nothing but silence. Then, the faint, distant echo of car horns, a dog barking, and the hollow, empty buzz of the call dropped.
I stare at the phone, every hair on my body standing on end. My hands won’t stop shaking.
Jack is beside me, instantly steady, taking the phone from my hand and trying to redial. No answer. He pulls me into his chest, arms locked around me. I can hear his heart, racing but even, and the familiar smell of him anchors me to the world.
“She’ll be okay,” he says, voice low and certain.
“But that was a car accident! She could be dead,” I whisper.
He pulls back, holding me by the shoulders. “Don’t go there, Eliza. We’ll find out what happened. She’s tough. She’ll call you.”
I nod, but I don’t believe him. I keep staring at the phone, willing it to light up, to ring, to tell me this is just another episode of “Tara being Tara.” But all I get is the reflection of my own face in the black screen—wide-eyed, shocked, with my lips parted.
The champagne is still on the table. The engagement ring is still on my finger. The future is still out there, but suddenly it feels less certain, the line between happy ending and disaster thinner than ever.
“Jack?” I say, voice so small it hardly seems like mine.
He pulls me in, rocking me gently. “I’m here, sweetheart. Always.”
I close my eyes, hold onto him, and wait for the world to start making sense again. Slowly, it returns to normal speed, even though I know I have to find Tara, and make sure my friend is okay.
“We’ll figure it out,” my fiancé murmurs while pulling me close against that hard body. “We always do, Eliza.”
Then, Jack pulls me close and kisses me, passionate, giving, and possessive all at once. After all, this is the man I adore … and the man who owns all of my hidden desires.
THE END