“I—I care about you a lot.” His smile was pained.
“You care about me,” she repeated flatly.
He faced her, adding, “So much,” as if that would make a difference.
The veil fell. She saw what she’d missed from the beginning. He hadn’t meant the proposal the way she’d taken it. She’d been envisioning true love and happily ever after. He just wanted to...to...provide.
Never before had that sounded like such an ugly word.
Her hand shook as she tugged at the ring. A ring that had ended up meaning even less than the first one had. Yanking it off, she held it out to him. “I’ve changed my mind.”
“What? Don’t. Don’t do that.”
“I thought you meant it when you proposed this time.”
“I did mean it.” He shook his head, refusing to take the ring. “I just... It was more about insurance and assurances for you. I wanted you to know I wasn’t going anywhere. I love our baby and I’ll give you both whatever you need.”
“You love our baby.”
“Of course.”
“But not me.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it. Finally, he said the words that broke her heart in two. “It’s not that simple.”
She dropped her hand to her lap, the ring in her grasp as heavy as a cement block.
“We didn’t sign up for any of this, originally,” he said, “but here we are. We have a baby on the way, and a future that is going to outlast Brooks Knows Best. This—” he touched the ring “—is a real marriage proposal. We can have a home—a life—in Los Angeles. I want you by my side.”
Tears pooled along the edges of her eyelids. She’d wanted those things, too, but not like this. “In a loveless marriage.”
“It’s not loveless. There is love here. There is respect. There is sexual chemistry and compatibility. I’m sure as time passes, we’ll grow to love each other.”
“I love you already. It’s not that hard for me, I guess.” She shook off his hold and stood.
He’d managed a marriage proposal the exact opposite of his twin brother’s proposal to her sister. Max had proclaimed his love and dedication to Kendall but had forgotten the “Will you marry me?” part. Whereas Isaac had asked but had forgotten the “I love you” part.
“I changed my mind.” She plunked the ring onto the coffee table. What she’d believed was a symbol of forever had been reduced to a symbol of how hard she was to love. “My answer is no.”
“Meghan.” His voice was gentle. “I’m not saying it won’t happen in the future, but right now I have to choose between focusing on a relationship or my career. I’m working to provide the best life imaginable for you and our child.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not enough.” She had accepted less than she deserved for years. In relationships, in her income level, in her life. She wouldn’t compromise any longer. Not with a baby on the way who deserved to have everything. That included a mother and a father who weren’t in a sham of a marriage for show. “You know what, Isaac? All the world isn’t a stage. This isn’t a dress rehearsal you hope to nail later in front of a live studio audience. I’m offering you my whole heart, and if you’re too self-absorbed to return it with yours, then you deserve to be alone.”
She jerkily tugged on her dress and shoved her feet into her boots. She’d thought the proposal would lead to him burying himself in her body. Them becoming one and celebrating their love for each other. But apparently physically was the only way they’d ever truly connected. He felt nothing for her—or at least not enough.
“This is not fair,” he said.
“You’re right. It’s not fair that I’m the only one in love. It’s not fair that you can’t allow yourself to love me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
She paused, her purse and coat in hand. “There are a lot of things you didn’t say.”
She slammed the front door behind her, bypassed Isaac’s pink-shirt fan club and walked across the street to the coffee shop. Once there, she hid in a corner and called Kendall.