Chapter 129
Chapter 129:
Ashton was quiet for a long while.
Eventually, he said, “I didn’t mean to anger you p>
“Well, you succeeded without trying p>
“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I wasn’t implying that you were interested in dating Mr. Carter—just that he might be interested in you p>
“I can’t control what other people think p>
“You can’t, but wouldn’t it be better if such thoughts never had a chance to arise in the first place? Wouldn’t that be preferable to the scenario where Mr. Carter confesses his feelings to you, only for you to turn him down? He’ll have his heart broken, and you might lose a friend in the process p>
I eyed him from my high vantage point and equally high moral ground. “You are trying to manipulate me.” And damn it, if he didn’t sound convincing.
“I’m trying to make both our lives easier. There are women who keep trying to get my attention, no matter how many times I turn them down. I don’t want that kind of distraction, and I’m sure you don’t either. A ring makes all that go away p>
I climbed down from my vantage point.
Pursuing his lead, Ashton continued, “And it would help convince your parents, who, from what I understand, still haven’t given up on matchmaking you to the highest bidder p>
“Yeah.” I smiled ruefully.
Me marrying Ashton Laurent was so hard to believe that Franklin and Caroline simply refused to accept it. They thought I was just throwing his name around to force them to back off.
“Married couples wear rings,” he stated, as if it were an incontrovertible fact.
“Most do,” I mumbled. “Some don’t p>
I didn’t know what was stopping me from accepting the ring. I’d played along so far, hadn’t I? I’d even started to enjoy our kisses, and if one night Ashton came knocking on my door, I knew I wouldn’t say no.
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But putting a ring on it made it all too… real. Too final. Like a commitment I couldn’t easily back out of.
Ashton took one of the rings, knelt in front of me, and slid it onto my ring finger.
I should have said something. I should have pushed him away. But instead, I just stared at him.
He held out his left hand, waiting.
Moving like an automaton, I picked up the other ring and slid it on.
The rest of the night felt like a haze, a strange kind of disconnection hanging over me. It lingered until I finally lay down to sleep.
I lifted my hand and stared at the ring on my finger. Through the small gap between my fingers, I could almost see him kneeling in front of me, his eyes locked onto mine.
I ran my thumb over the ring, picked up my phone, and checked the calendar.