“Really? I thought I didn’t measure up to the hot women at your clinic.”
“Not at all, Lacey. You’re way more beautiful than all of them. It’s just, I proposed to you without giving proper consideration to my position in life. I’ve got a lot of things going on at work. I don’t think I can commit to our relationship, and our marriage, and give it the attention it deserves right now. It wouldn’t be fair of me to hold you to the proposal.”
“So you’re calling off the wedding because you want to focus on your career?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Not because you don’t think I’m good enough?”
“Not at all. If anything, you’re too good.”
My heart was pounding in my chest. This was the best breakup I’d ever had in my life. I was used to guys breaking up with me so that they could screw other women. It was a completely new experience to hear this, even if it still carried all the heartbreak of a breakup. The thing was, I wasn’t heartbroken. If I was honest, my heart wasn’t in the relationship with Rob either. It was something that had just happened. There wasn’t any passion in it for either of us.
Plus, it meant I wouldn’t have to think of a way to tell him I was pregnant with Grant’s baby. I supposed that was a relief of sorts.
“So it wasn’t the quarter of a million dollar engagement ring?” I asked.
Rob laughed. There was stress in his voice, but I think he was genuinely relieved that he didn’t have to deal with that ring.
“About that,” he said. “The jewelers called me. They said you’d selected a ring, but then they said that it had been sold to someone else.”
“What?”
“Yes, someone else bought it for his fiancée. I wouldn’t have been able to give it to you.”
“Someone else bought it?”
“Yes, and they called the very day you were in their shop, so whoever bought it, bought it the same day you looked at it.”
“Damn,” I said. “I’d have thought the lady at the store would have held it for me for a while at least. She knew I wanted it.”
“I guess at that price, they take the sale when they can get it.”
“Wow. That’s one lucky girl,” I said. “That ring was a one in a million.”
“Tell me about it,” Rob said.
“I only chose it because I was upset with you for not coming with me.”
Rob laughed again, but it was a pretty weak laugh. We wished each other well and hung up. All in all, I’d say it was the gentlest, most lighthearted breakup I’d ever been through. Which was a surprise given the fact that we’d been engaged to be married.
I put down the phone and let out a long sigh. I was relieved. I didn’t want to spend my life alone, not by a long shot, but deep down, I always knew Rob wasn’t the man for me. Plus, it meant I’d no longer have to wear the crazy make up and clothing he’d insisted on. I’d keep some of it, I liked looking good, but only the things I genuinely liked.
I also thought about that diamond ring. What man in his right mind would pick that for his sweetheart? I supposed true love did really exist out there, somewhere.
Chapter 38
Lacey
I FELT STRANGE AFTER ROB’S CALL. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. It was almost as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I went outside and turned on the pool lights. The water glowed an azure blue. It was a clear night, absolutely cloudless. There were so many stars in the sky they reminded me of the sparkles I’d seen in the diamonds at the jewelry store.
I turned on the hot tub with the intention of sitting in it for a while with a glass of wine, but then I remembered I couldn’t drink wine. I had a baby to think of. I decided I might call Faith later and tell her what had happened.
I went inside, up to my bedroom, and changed into my bathing suit. I wrapped myself in my warm robe and then went to the kitchen and made some tea.
When I went back outside, the hot tub was ready. I was about to get in, when I looked over at the barn. That night with Grant flashed through my mind. It would be with me forever. Not just because it was seared into my memory, but because it had made me pregnant. There was no undoing it, not ever. That’s what Grant had said he’d wanted, too.
He’d said, “we’re going to risk it, Lacey. We’re going to let God decide. If something happens, it happens.” I shook my head at the boldness of it. Had he somehow planned all of this? I knew it was impossible, but somehow, I felt that if anyone could pull off the impossible, it was Grant.
I walked toward the barn, which felt strange in my bathing suit and robe, and opened the door. I checked on the horses. They were all fine. Jackson had been working with them during the day.
Then I looked over at the ladder that led up to the loft. Without thinking, I went to it and started climbing.