Sweat by Tasha Fawkes

Author:Tasha Fawkes
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Safira Press LLC
Published: 2020-04-12T04:00:00+00:00

Nine

Allie

I stared wide-eyed at the ring for several seconds, a myriad of emotions racing through my mind. I was thrilled, anxious, and even a bit fearful. Marriage was a serious business, and I knew that no marriage was all love and roses.

My dad had told me quite a lot about his marriage to Mom, how it was a constant give-and-take, a lot of understanding, and more than a little patience. What did I know about relationships? Marcus was one of the first I’d ever had, and of course, I was aware of our age difference. Not so much in a physical or even psychological way, but in experience. He’d lived nearly two decades longer than me. How could I possibly catch up and offer him what I considered an equal partnership?

My gaze shifted from the small velvet box with the ring inside. It was absolutely perfect. I didn’t wear jewelry much, and he’d clearly taken that into consideration when he made the purchase. The dainty diamond in a gold setting was surprisingly old-fashioned, both in design and craftsmanship.

A soft gasp escaped. One that seemed to exhale much of my confusion with it. I looked down at my left hand, my fingers still resting against the white cloth napkin, then back again. It didn’t escape me that I couldn’t bear to look up into Marcus’s eyes, at least for the moment. I needed to absorb this. I knew what I wanted to say, but should I?

I’d never even come close to feeling strong emotions for any man before Marcus. Still, I was barely twenty years old. As much as I strove to be an adult, I knew my emotions ruled many of my decisions. What if I said yes now and then changed my mind later? What if he did? What if he decided I didn’t have enough maturity, or that I acted like a child?

A renewed rush of emotions raced through me. I wanted to say yes, but at the same time, I toyed with saying no. I was scared. That was it. Scared of what this meant.

This changed everything. Or did it? Even though I realized that this was the same restaurant he had brought me to before, and I’d suspected that something was going to happen here tonight between us, I certainly hadn’t seen this coming. I wasn’t sure what I thought, but I knew that not even Marcus would take me to the same place to break up with me again. Although that first time hadn’t been a breakup. It had been the end of a contract. But marriage was a contract of sorts, wasn’t it?

“What are you thinking, Allie?”

He asked the question slowly and softly, not impatient, more like curious. What was I thinking? I was thinking so many thoughts—ambitions and anticipation, looking to the future. I was thinking that I didn’t really fit into his world, and he didn’t really fit into mine. I was thinking how different we were on so many levels. I

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.