She blinked. Several times.
“Very well.”
I gently slipped my hands beneath her battered and broken body and carried the animal to my car. I placed her gingerly on the passenger seat before running around to my side and getting behind the wheel.
She looked up at me silently, putting her full trust in me.
“That’s probably foolish, Little Dog. I’m the bad guy, don’t you know?”
7
BLISS
I wasn’t sure whether Caleb’s flowers were an apology for getting drunk, hitting me, or forcing himself on me. He’d taken me by complete surprise with the huge bouquet, and I’d responded badly.
I should have just said thank you and accepted them with a smile.
Instead, my entire body had locked up at the sight of him, a terrified tremble picking up in my limbs that hadn’t stopped until he’d driven away.
I let myself inside Caleb’s place, carrying the flowers toward the kitchen so I could get a vase.
I only made it as far as the living room.
“Oh my God.” I dropped the flowers at my feet as I took in the normally spotless room.
It was like a florist had exploded inside. Rose petals were scattered everywhere, all over the floor and couch. A bottle of champagne sat chilling in an ice bucket, condensation droplets clinging to the sides. Two wine glasses sat propped beside it, along with a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries.
But it was the small square box in the middle of the table that elicited a gasp from my throat. Numb from head to toe, I crossed the room and ran my fingers over the blue-and-gold embossing.
I glanced back to the front door, as if Caleb might burst in at any minute, pluck the box from my fingers, and drop down on one knee in front of me.
Like he’d clearly been planning to do.
Before I’d gone and ruined it all.
You ruin everything, Bliss. Everything.
Once upon a time, that had been my mother’s voice in my head. But somewhere over the years, it had become my own. She was right. I did ruin everything.
I lifted the lid on the box and stared down at the huge diamond, set on a band of shining gold. It was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. Even more stunning than the one that had been up for auction last night.
Last night.
How had that only been a day ago? It felt like a lifetime.
I could fix this. I had to. This was what I’d been hoping to happen for months. My father would be thrilled. It couldn’t be all over. Caleb would come back. We’d talk, and kiss, and this would all go away. I’d make it up to him in the way he liked best.
I plucked the ring from its cushioned bed of silk and pushed it onto the fourth finger on my left hand.
It was slightly too small, pinching at my skin, but I ignored it. “Yes,” I whispered to the empty room. “Come home, Caleb, so I can say yes.”
Nash was wrong. Caleb and I did love each other. He’d proved it. Now I had to do the same.
I didn’t have the time nor the money to get Caleb a ring. The money I earned from the childcare center barely covered the payments on the car I couldn’t afford but had bought to keep up appearances. The rest of it disappeared into trying to keep myself attractive enough that Caleb would continue to want me. Regular hair coloring and cuts. Manicures. Pedicures. Laser hair removal and skin treatments. He seemed to be willing to overlook the fact I wasn’t skinny. It wasn’t like I didn’t try. I’d spent thousands on diets and gyms and personal trainers. None of it had ever worked because I could never curb my eating.
Years of expensive therapy had explained why. All my formative years, I’d had to fight for food. My brain was hardwired to eat as much and as fast as possible. Being hungry triggered all those bad memories, so I’d spent years trying to ensure I never was, just to avoid going back there in my head.
Caleb had wanted me anyway, even when every other man looked past me, in favor of women like Sandra, who lived on lemon water and lettuce and had the physique to prove it.
My love language was food. Although I didn’t have much to offer Caleb, I could give him that.
With the ring tight on my finger, I headed for the kitchen, collecting the fallen bunch of flowers from the floor. I located a heavy glass vase in one of the cupboards, filled it with water, and arranged the flowers as artfully as I could before setting them to one side on the countertop.
The refrigerator was well stocked, as always. I surveyed the contents, looking over the clean shelves full of fresh fruits and vegetables, expensive cuts of meat from a specialty butcher, and a wide selection of cheeses, yogurt, and a bar of chocolate.