She knew the answers, of course. Life needed to be lived, goals needed to be met, success needed to be had. She’d been on that money train for a long time, too, and knew she was in no place to judge others. But for a few days each year, she got to pretend she lived a more relaxed lifestyle.
Laney laid out the blanket, then set the bottle of eco-friendly shampoo by the water’s edge, stripped off her clothes, and dug a towel out of the backpack. She wrapped it around her body, and when she reached over to zip the compartment, she saw it.
The velvet box.
The looming proposal rushed back to her.
It hadn’t been far from her mind, but she’d been able to ignore it for a while, like a festering wound covered with a bandage. Only it wasn’t really a festering wound; it was a lovely proposal from a very nice man.
She sank down to the blanket with the velvet box and drew in a deep breath as she slowly opened it. The diamond glistened in the sun. It really was a beautiful ring, with a simple gold band and the enormous rock stunningly set. She took the ring from the box and twirled it in her fingers, catching the light on the perfect edges. She would have a nice life with Bryce. He was stable and caring and supportive. What else could a woman ask for?
He’d never stray, and there was some comfort in that.
He’d never have a wild side, either, and that made her heart ache a little.
She closed her fingers around the ring, holding it in her palm as she set the velvet box down beside her and gazed out at the water. Thinking about the things Jackson had said to her, she wondered why Bryce didn’t care if she was sleeping with Jackson all this time. Why hadn’t he asked for more specifics over their months together? She knew Jackson would never date a woman for any length of time without knowing her sexual habits and whether she was sleeping with other partners. Hell, she wouldn’t date a guy without knowing his sexual habits. Bryce had been proud of his monogamy. He’d told her from their second date that even if she wasn’t going to commit, he was.
He did.
She, however, had continued sleeping with Jackson.
She hadn’t even considered sleeping with anyone else. She opened her palm and stared down at the ring, thinking about her sexual habits. She and Jackson stepped over to the wild side, but she’d never done that with other guys. With Jackson everything was different. She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t share enough of herself. He allowed her to be as dirty or as sweet as she wanted. If she was pissed, they had hot, angry sex, and if she was feeling lonely, he cherished her body as if every inch of it deserved tenderness and love. He always knew just what she needed. Like last night. She needed to have him in a way that was only theirs. She’d never let any other man touch her there.
Bryce was a missionary lover. He was a strong, talented lover, but he had limits. Even when she went down on him, he never really relaxed, but that was okay, she reasoned, because not everyone could lose themselves in someone the way she and Jackson lost themselves in each other.
Relationships weren’t all about sex, though, and with Bryce, the other pieces of their lives fit together nicely. He was a professional stockbroker, and he fit in well with her colleagues. He was always appropriate, unlike Jackson, who sometimes reached for her thigh under the table when they were with friends, or would pick up two women for a ménage à trois when she wasn’t around. Her heart squeezed with that thought. She never liked to think about his sex life, but she knew it existed. He’d never tried to hide it from her, and as long as he practiced safe sex, she had no business even thinking about it.
Except now she couldn’t help thinking about it.
Jackson wasn’t the kind of guy who would ever settle down—that much she knew for sure. But still, as she slid the ring onto her finger and held it up to inspect the anomaly, part of her wished he’d been the one to present her with the ring, with a future.
With his love.
***
JACKSON STEPPED INTO his jeans and slid his feet into his boots. He hadn’t heard Laney leave the tent, but it was her absence that had woken him. When he’d rolled over and reached for her, he’d discovered that the bag with their cooking supplies was gone, as was her backpack. Laney liked to camp, but she also liked to be clean. He groggily lumbered through the woods toward the lake, where he was sure he’d find her bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and probably sunning herself on the rock again.
Even though the sun was shining, the woods smelled moist, like it might rain. Leaves and sticks crackled under his heavy boots as he neared the edge of the woods. Laney sat on the blanket wrapped in a towel, her hair still bone dry. She turned slightly toward the sun, and Jackson’s stomach sank when he saw the engagement ring on her finger. She lifted her chin, admiring the damn thing and probably thinking about Bryce and what a great life they’d have together.