We’d say our “I do’s” and have a beautiful reception at a nearby resort, and then after our honeymoon, we’d start living our happily-ever-after and build the life I’d always dreamed of together.
I’d imagined that scenario a hundred times, confident that if I visualized it enough, the universe would help convince Chad that getting on one knee sooner rather than later was better than pushing back the inevitable.
But now, I was starting to wonder if it really was even inevitable.
I’d been so sure before that Chad and I were end-game material. Lately though, it seemed like the only time he wanted to spend with me was when I was either picking him up or dropping him off at the airport. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was starting to fall out of love with me.
I stirred my tea again, my heart squeezing in my chest as I thought about the possibility that Chad might not be the man I’d spend the rest of my life with.
I didn’t want to think it was possible for him to be less invested in our relationship than I was, but with him traveling so much and my presence seeming to annoy him more often than not lately, I wondered if he was having second thoughts about the future we’d planned.
Maybe we just needed something to revive our relationship—something to remind us why we fell in love in the first place.
Maybe I should do something special for him. Or see if I could get some time off and join him on his next work trip.
Traveling together had always been fun in the past.
The timer for my tea went off, so I took the tea bag out and threw it in the trash can nearby. Then, after adding a splash of my favorite French vanilla creamer to sweeten the tea, I took my mug to the living room.
I was just getting myself comfortable on the couch when a text from Cole came through my phone.
When I opened up the messaging app, I found a photo of him sitting on the leather couch in the living room of his house. He still wore the same suit he’d been wearing at the wedding, but his silver tie was loose and the top button of his white shirt was undone to reveal a triangle of brown skin at his collarbone.
Below the photo was a text that said, Caught the garter tonight and figured I might as well put it to use before you chop off this lovely mane of mine. You like it?
And that was when I noticed that his curly black hair wasn’t pulled back by its usual hair tie. He’d used Emerson’s lacy white garter as a hair scrunchie.
I laughed and texted him back. You’re such a dork sometimes.
Cole: You don’t like it then? :’(
Me: I’m just not sure the lacy look fits you. I mean, if I’d known it was you who was going to catch it, I would have told Emerson to get the one with the purple ribbon since it would bring out more of the color in your eyes.
Cole: Another beauty tip of yours?
Cole had super dark brown eyes like me, and it was well known in the beauty world that purple complimented that eye color best.
Me: You know it! You didn’t even have to watch one of my videos for that one. So you’re welcome.
I smiled and took a sip of my tea, the banter with Cole already improving my mood.
Me: Congrats on catching the garter though. It sounds like your daily practices with Vincent worked for more than just football.
Cole: Yeah, the other guys didn’t stand a chance.
He and Vincent did play well together. They’d passed a football back and forth so many times through the years that Cole instinctively knew where Vincent would be throwing it—like he had some sort of sixth sense that connected them whenever they were on the field together. Which was why they were the most sought-after players on the Denver Dragons.
But since Cole’s contract was currently up for negotiation, he had several teams chomping at the bit to get him—the 49ers being one of the top contenders.
Something I didn’t like to think about very much.
Yes, I wanted him to have all the best opportunities for his career, but if another team offered him something better than the Dragons could, it might mean he’d move away. And not being in the same city as my best friend wasn’t something