He eventually makes it back to the bed, where he crawls on top of me. “Maggie Carson.”
That’s all he says. Just my name, with a smile. And then he disappears from my line of sight as he makes his way down my body, to the button on my jeans.
He thanks me, and when he’s done, we still have five minutes to spare before the pizza’s ready.
“It’s not what you think,” Ridge says.
I lift my gaze and drop my hand from my mouth. “I think it’s an engagement ring. Is it not?”
Ridge shakes his head as he walks over to me and says, “No. Yes. I mean…it is, but it isn’t. It is an engagement ring…but…it isn’t yours.”
He’s treading very carefully, so it takes me a moment to realize why there’s nothing but a cautious, regretful look in his eyes. I look back down at the ring that isn’t meant for me. “Oh,” I say. “I didn’t know you ever proposed to her.”
He shakes his head, almost adamantly. “I didn’t.”
The poor guy looks terrified of my potential reaction. What he can’t see is how fucking relieved I am. We haven’t even been officially dating for a whole month yet. If he had already bought me a ring with the intention of proposing, I probably would have cried, but not from feelings of joy. I’m pretty sure, based on how I’m feeling right now, I would have been scared. Which is weird. I love Ridge more than I could ever love anyone, and I would love to be his wife. I would love to be married to him. But I want to enjoy the stages of our relationship for as long as we can.
I would love to be his fiancée, but I love being his girlfriend just as much. I want more of the boyfriend/girlfriend thing before we move it to the next level.
I laugh, clutching my chest. My heart is beating so fast. “My God, Ridge. I thought you were about to propose to me.” I sit on the bed, still clutching the box. “I love you, but… Too soon.”
All the tension in his neck and jaw eases with my response. “Oh, thank God,” he says, running a hand down his face. But then he tries to quickly recover. “Not that I don’t want to propose to you. Just…yeah. Someday.”
He sits down next to me on the bed, and I bump him with my shoulder as I grin at him. “Maybe someday.”
He smiles back. “Maybe someday.”
I look back down at the ring and run my finger over it. It looks like an antique. “It’s a beautiful ring.”
He picks up his phone and begins texting me. I pull out my phone to read it.
Ridge: It belonged to Maggie’s grandmother. Her grandfather gave it to me while she and I were dating, but I never got around to asking her. I’ve been meaning to give it back to her since our breakup, but the timing was always weird. She doesn’t know I have it.
Sydney: You keep it in your sock drawer. That’s the most obvious place for a ring to be hidden. She’s more than likely seen this.
Ridge: It’s been in my closet for three years. I just moved it to the sock drawer two weeks ago to remind myself to give it to her.
Sydney: You’ve had it for three years and never proposed? What was stopping you?
Ridge shrugs and then says, “It never felt right.”
I want to smile, but I don’t. It’s just that hearing him say it never felt right makes me feel good. Should it? Who knows? I’m honestly tired of second-guessing my reactions to every little thing I feel. From now on, I just want to feel. Unabashedly. Without guilt. And right now, I feel relieved. Relieved that the ring isn’t for me, but also relieved that he never gave it to Maggie.
“I’ll give it back to her tomorrow.” He reaches for it, but I pull it away from him.
“No,” I say. “I think you should wait.”
“Wait? Why?”
I text him my lengthy response because it’s too much to try to sign for me and too much for him to try to understand.
Me: I think this ring would mean a lot to Maggie. And I know it’s still new between them, but I think Jake means a lot to her, too. Maybe you should wait and see how things go with the two of them. If they fall in love, I think you should give the ring to Jake. Not Maggie.
Ridge smiles after he reads my text. Then he looks at me appreciatively. “Okay.”
I hand him the ring, and he walks it back to the drawer. He slides his hands into his pockets. “What do you want to do for the rest of the night?”
I shrug. “Seeing Warren’s ass got me out of the mood for a round two.”
Ridge laughs and drops down on the bed next to me. “We could go watch a movie.”