Loving a Man Who Forgot Me Novel Chapter 75
She stood, moving away from me as she lifted the phone to her face.
The pang in my gut hardly registered, given everything else, but it was there.
I closed my eyes and tipped my head to rest against the back of the sofa. No doubt, Jason would rush over to provide comfort.
As he should. As he had the right to do.
The cushions dipped, and I blinked my eyes open. Uncle Bas had taken Abbi’s seat.
I didn’t say anything and fought the urge to shift uncomfortably or get up shamefully and go anywhere else.
I watched him, anxiously, wondering if today was going to be the day he finally told me to stay away from Abbi.
Told me I didn’t deserve her, that I never had. I was sure the only reason he hadn’t already said it in the last eight years was to preserve the relationship between our families.
But he must want to. Lord knew if he had even an inkling of the ways I’d mistreated her and behaved, nothing would hold him back.
Still, he said nothing. He sat hunched forward, elbows on his knees, looking sideways at me.
Finally I worked up the nerve to mutter, “If there’s something you want to tell me, go ahead. It couldn’t be any worse than all the things I’ve imagined you wanted to say to me over the years.” Our relationship had been stilted to say the least.
Every time I was in the same room as him or Aunt Lissa, I felt like the teenage punk who’d broken their daughter’s heart and disappointed both of our families.
“What is it you think I want to say to you, Abel?” He finally asked. “I imagine it has to do with me sitting here holding Abbi’s hand.” He nodded. “You’re right, but not in the way you think you are.” “What do you mean?”
“Abel, her mother and I watched you love her for eighteen years, that love growing, maturing, and changing as the two of you did the same. It was a relief for the two of us to know that she would always have you.
You can’t imagine the stress of having a daughter . . .” he sighed, and though unintentional, his words were like a knife. I would never know if I was going to have a son or a daughter. He seemed to realize the effect of his words after he said them.
“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t the first loss you’ve felt in the past couple of days.” “It’s okay,” I croaked.
“What I’m trying to say, is that Lissa and I have never blamed you. I suspect you’ve spent the last eight years under the wrong impression that we somehow did, or that we no longer considered you like a son to us, but that was never the case. You were a kid and so was she.”
“I still love her,” I blurted. “I never stopped.” “I never thought you did.” “But she loves someone else now.” It came out like I was hoping he would deny it. “Jason’s a great guy. And so are you,” was all he said. Then he patted my shoulder, stood, and walked away.
What was that about? “You don’t have to come.” I sat on the edge of the bed toying with the comforter.
“Yes, I absolutely do,” Jason replied from his connected bathroom. I could hear the opening and closing of drawers as he gathered his toiletries. “Can you pick me out a tie to wear for the service?”
Not arguing with him, I pushed myself up from the bed and walked over to his dresser. I slid open the top drawer where his ties lived with his socks and underwear. I shuffled them around, looking for my favorite blue striped one.
I spotted it nestled amongst the others, and reached for it. My hand stilled when I noticed something else, hiding in the corner of the drawer. A suspicious, tiny, black, velvet box that only housed one type of thing.
“Wait, I can get it!” Jason flew into the room behind me too late. I glanced over my shoulder and he froze when he saw that I already had the drawer open. I looked at the little black box again and picked it up. “Abbi,” he said.
Clutching it in my hand, afraid to open it, I swallowed dryly. “What is this?” He strode slowly forward and plucked it from my hand. “You know what it is.” I could see my own anxiety mirrored in his expression. “I—I was going to this weekend.
I had it all planned out,” he sighed, “but then . . . I didn’t want to do it like this. I know the timing and circumstances are all wrong,” he stumbled over his words, but then seemed to find a reserve of boldness, because his shoulders straightened.
“You know what, it might not be ideal, but maybe the timing isn’t wrong. Life is short. Too short.
9-We’re never guaranteed tomorrow, but however many tomorrows I have left, I want to spend them with you, and I hope you want to spend all of your tomorrows with me, so I guess what I’m asking is,” he lowered himself to one knee in front of me. I felt my eyes bug out of my head and my breath caught in my throat. He snapped the little box open and revealed the sparkly diamond within. “Abbi, will you marry me?”0