True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,4

list of them to interview.”

He took a long, audible breath and changed his tone to one of calm patience.

“You need to at least go see the house first, and if you still want it, attend the closing in person.”

“It has to be done before I can get there, so they’re doing a mail-away closing,” she said. “They do it all the time.”

“This is not the time to have a debate,” he told her. “I’m trying to save you a lot of headaches.”

“You’re right, Ethan. It’s not debatable. It’s my money, and I’m doing it.” They’d ended the phone call without even exchanging goodbyes. Since then, they’d barely had a chance to talk. It made her sad that their communication had changed so vastly over the years. Once upon a time, they never would’ve spoken to each other that way.

Quinn felt sorry for Ethan, because part of her knew that she was behaving abnormally. However, she’d spent years being guided by first her mother, and then by Ethan. Even at work, she had a power-hungry district manager, and she rarely got to call her own shots. All her life she’d been the epitome of a responsible person, listening to, and taking guidance from, those around her, even when it meant putting her own wants aside. Using part of the money her mother had left her to buy a property where her mom had been born just felt right. It would ensure that Quinn would always have a place to come back to on the island where she’d laid her mother to rest.

If Ethan had been home more often since her mother’s death, maybe she wouldn’t be doing out-of-the-ordinary things and making rash decisions on her own. He sold software to high-tech companies, and the travel was brutal but mandatory. There was no denying the long absences had put a strain on their relationship.

She’d always let him do his thing. So now it was her turn, and she hoped he’d give her the same consideration. He’d be angry for a while, but eventually he’d see she’d made a sound decision—a profitable one, even—and he’d get over it.

Relationships were that way—you had to take the bad with the good. Ethan wasn’t perfect, but he did love her. There were other perks in their relationship too. For one, he still looked like he’d stepped from the pages of a magazine. He’d learned how to put his appearance to good use too. His chiseled looks and gregarious personality had made him a lot of money. The bottom line was that when other men thought of the most successful men in their lives to emulate, Ethan was probably at the top of their lists. On the other hand, women were attracted to him like bees to honey. He could have his pick from just about anyone, and Quinn still couldn’t believe he’d chosen her.

He wasn’t always easy to live with, but she knew he was a catch. She’d been shocked when he showed interest in her over the many prettier girls he could’ve chosen in college. He was the best option she was ever going to have, and she’d told her mother just that after their first date.

But will he love you when the beauty fades? A question her mother had asked too many times, her disapproval of Ethan seeping out in quiet words during the difficult times when Quinn had run home to lick her wounds.

She and Ethan always worked things out, and her mother’s question was one Quinn didn’t want to explore but also one she’d never forgotten. Pushing her own doubts aside and biting her tongue on a regular basis had thus far been the key to their longevity. She didn’t know a lot of couples who had made it as long, and, for their endurance, Quinn was proud. Ten years was no small feat and, as their friends teased them, was probably the longest engagement of anyone in their small or wide circle.

Quinn looked down at her ring, a symbol of their promise to be together forever, but one that had yet to be formalized. The ring no longer sparkled. The newness had worn off, and now it just felt like a familiar piece of her. Would it be different once they were married?

A rumble in her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten a real meal in nearly a day. She turned and went to the bed, sitting cross-legged on it before picking up the leather-bound hotel guide. She flipped to