I ran my fingers along the stone. “I can’t take this.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a special memento, the only one of its kind.”
He stared into my eyes. “Aspyn, you’re my most special memento from high school. The fact that I’ve been gifted this second chance, this time with you, is everything to me. I want you to have it. Especially since you said you didn’t get one yourself.” He tugged lightly on the chain. “Now you have one.” He kissed my forehead. “And you have me.”
Feeling ready to melt, I said, “Thank you. It’s beautiful. Emerald is my birthstone, too.”
“Well, see? It was meant to be.”
On the drive back to work that day, I felt so many different emotions. The heavy ring now hanging from my neck wasn’t the only thing weighing on me. With Troy’s father back in town, he no longer had to stay in Meadowbrook. The only thing keeping him here was…me. That felt like a lot of pressure. I wanted him here, of course. I wanted it to work out so badly. I’d been worried about his ability to be a partner, but now I felt like it was me who needed to work on myself even more than him. I had trust issues that had nothing to do with Troy. And if I let them ruin this, he had no reason not to return to Seattle for good.
Aspyn
Four days later, Troy invited Kiki and me over to his dad’s house for Sunday dinner. Giovanni made his famous spaghetti sauce, which Troy had always raved about. It was nice to sit down to a home-cooked meal prepared by someone other than me. Giovanni even bought special gluten-free pasta so I could eat with everyone.
As dinner wound down, Giovanni wiped his mouth and asked, “When are you leaving, son?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Tuesday or Wednesday, probably. But I haven’t had a chance yet to discuss it with Aspyn.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that,” his father said. “I’m sorry for bringing it up.”
My eyes widened. “You’re going somewhere?”
“Yeah. I only just found out about it. I was waiting to tell you tonight before he opened his big mouth.”
Giovanni winced. “Sorry, son.”
“I’m heading back to Seattle,” Troy explained. “It’s just for a couple of weeks.”
My heart sank, despite knowing that this was inevitable.
“My office needs me to come in for an in-person event,” he continued. “I figured I’d use the time to get some stuff from my apartment there and bring it back here, tie up some loose ends while I’m out there.”
Kiki bit into her roll. “That stinks that you have to leave.”
“It won’t be for long,” Troy said.
“Do you miss your friends there?” she asked.
“I do sometimes, but not enough to make me want to be there and not here.”
Trying to appear outwardly calm while inwardly freaking out, I cleared my throat. “What’s the status on your apartment there?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ve been paying my rent this whole time, but my lease is up in a couple of months. I guess I need to figure it out, right?”
The room felt like it was spinning a little. I grabbed the red wine in front of me and took a long sip. You’re overreacting.
Giovanni must have sensed the tension in the air. He turned to Kiki. “Kiki, have you ever played bocce?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s an Italian bowling game. I have it set up in the yard. Why don’t you come let me show you how to play?”
She turned to me, her eyes sparkling. “Can I?”
“Of course.” I forced a smile.
Kiki took her plate to the sink without having to be asked and followed Giovanni out to the backyard.
Once we were alone, Troy reached for my hand. “What’s on your mind?”
I played with the remnants of my pasta. “Nothing… I had kind of been bracing for this, I guess—you heading back to Seattle.”
He frowned. “I’m coming back, Aspyn. You know that, right?”
I stared off. “Yeah, I just…”
He squeezed my hand. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”
I looked up at him. “We really haven’t talked about where we go from here, Troy. Now that your dad is back, there’s nothing keeping you here in Meadowbrook—except me. That freaks me out a little. I mean, you wouldn’t be here otherwise, right?”
“Honestly, no. I wouldn’t be. You are the only thing keeping me here. But you’ve become a big part of my life. Which means I’d rather be here right now than there. That’s really all there is to it.”
“Right now.” Am I reading too much into every word that comes out of his mouth?
“I’m not used to anyone adjusting their life for me, I guess.”
“Well, I’m not used to adjusting my life for anyone. But I haven’t felt the way I feel about you with anyone else.” He pushed his chair closer to mine and locked my legs in with his. “Look, this is all new for me. That’s no secret. Ever since the beginning, my biggest fear has been doing something to hurt you, even if it wasn’t my intention. I’m not gonna lie, I still have my doubts sometimes—but not about my feelings for you. More about my ability to be the man you need long term. I desperately want to be that man. But some days, this feels like imposter syndrome. Am I really good enough for you to trust me with your heart? All I know is I want to be.”