was everything Maddie should want.
So, why was she so afraid?
He opened the box. A beautiful, platinum diamond ring sat on the cushion. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
It felt like a porcupine crawled through her stomach. Yes. No. Her mind whirled. “I—I want to say yes, but I need some time to think.”
Talan sat the ring box on the table and nodded, discouraged. “You don’t want to be with me?”
“No! I do want to be with you.” Maddie reached across and took his hand. “We haven’t even been together a year yet. What’s the rush?”
Talan frowned and rubbed his forehead. “No rush. It just felt like the right time.”
Maddie’s heart sank. How could she do this to him? She loved Talan and it wasn’t like she’d never thought of marrying him over the last few months. They were clearly heading in that direction.
“This was a total surprise,” she said. “I just need to think about it, that’s all. Okay?”
Talan took a deep breath. “Maddie, maybe we need to take a break. Keep the ring and think about it.” He opened her hand and sat the ring box on her palm.
It was heavier than she’d imagined it would be. “A break?”
She could tell he was disappointed and maybe even a little angry, but he wanted to break up?
“I love you, Maddie. Whatever you decide, it won’t change that. But, I can’t make you want to marry me. Take some time away from me to figure out how you feel. Do whatever you need to do to make your decision. When you’re ready to be with me or let me go, tell me.”
It had only been a couple days. The emotions the memory spurred in Maddie were still so strong, they knocked the breath out of her. She had no idea how to make this decision.
Maddie had wandered inside her father’s apartment over the garage while reliving the night Talan proposed. Now, she paced the floor in her dad’s living room. He should’ve been home from the big house by now. It wasn’t that she was worried. She knew where he was, but she wanted him here. He was too old to be staying out so late. She wished he didn’t need this job. The last person she wanted him working for was Enzo Rocha, the Old Man, as she and MJ liked to call him. But her dad had come to think of the Old Man as a good friend over the years he’d worked for him. She just hoped her dad hadn’t mentioned the fact that she was back.
The Old Man had run her off a year and a half ago, but this time it was different. She was here for a good reason. A reason that had nothing to do with MJ.
Maddie sat on the end of the couch and dug her chain out from under her shirt. Her ring really was beautiful, a full carat emerald cut diamond set in a platinum band. It sparkled and shot rainbows up onto the ceiling.
She knew Talan would be at home, sitting up in bed with his electronic tablet wearing his black-framed glasses, no shirt and pajama pants. He’d have ESPN on the TV, but he wouldn’t be paying any attention to it.
Contentment settled over her thinking about how warm it would be snuggled next to him. How he’d still smell faintly of cologne and play with her hair.
She’d been so lucky to meet Talan. After graduating from Michigan State and coming home to Sandy Springs for what she thought was forever, only to be run off by Enzo Roach, she was devastated when she moved back to East Lansing. She and Talan hadn’t started dating right away. She told him about MJ, about how she’d had to break up with him, although she didn’t dare tell Talan—or anyone—why she left Sandy Springs.
They became great friends first, then slowly, their relationship developed into more. He was perfect. Loving and loyal, caring, hard-working. She never had to worry about the ground shifting under her feet with him. He was stable and their relationship was what good marriages were based on.
Maddie curled up on the couch with her head on the armrest. She even liked Talan’s family, and from what she knew from her married friends, that never happened.
Clearly, there were more pros than cons when it came to her decision. Any sane woman would jump at the chance to marry a man like Talan. So, what was she