While they ate, they talked about meaningless topics--such as television shows and movies. It wasn’t until she was almost through with her salad when she said, “Oh, I meant to tell you, I tried to read Olive’s book the other day, on the plane. It was interesting, but I just couldn’t get into it. Too much… swooning for me.” She giggled, as if he was supposed to agree with her.

  “Olivia,” he corrected her.

  Ellen’s eyebrows arched. “What’s that?”

  “Olivia. My girlfriend’s name is Olivia--not Olive.”

  “I said Olivia.” Ellen scrunched her face up at him.

  “No, you said Olive.” He knew it had been intentional, that she knew Olivia’s name, that she was just trying to get under his skin, to make it seem as if Olivia was so insignificant that her name didn’t matter.

  Ellen shrugged. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I just wanted you to know, I did see her little book. It seems like a lot of people like it.”

  Her little book was a number one bestseller in more categories than Memphis could name, as had been every book she’d ever published. He knew that—Ellen knew that. Memphis was done with chit chatting and done with his food. “Was there somethin’ in particular you wanted to talk about Ellen? I’m guessing Liv’s books ain’t it.”

  She set her fork down. “Yes, Memphis. There is something I wanted to talk to you about. I just… I don’t know that now is a good time to mention it, seeing as though we haven’t seen each other in so long, and I was hoping we could spend a little more time together before we got into anything too serious.”

  Her tone was alarming. He wiped his mouth on his cloth napkin and set it on the table next to his nearly empty plate. “You aren’t gonna be in town much longer, Ellen, and I’ve got a lot goin’ on back home. Whatever it is, you best bring it up now.”

  She met his eyes for a few moments before she cleared her throat, her expression telling him she was looking for a way of not telling him whatever it was. But then, she nodded. “I know you’re dating someone, and that you seem to like her a lot. And I’m happy for you, Memph, I really am. But… these last few years that we’ve been apart, I’ve been thinking about you. A lot. And I realized… if you were willing to move across the country for her, maybe if I would’ve asked you, maybe you would’ve done that for me, too. Maybe I shouldn’t have broken up with you the way that I did. I’ve missed you so much.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… I want to give us another try, Memphis. We were happy together. We can be again.”

  Memphis stared at her for a long moment, noticing the way her eye twitched, the way her breathing was shallow, her lips set in such a way that he could tell she was on edge, waiting for him to say something, anything.

  She was beautiful, and spending time with her reminded him of all of the happy memories they shared. There’d been years of them. Of course, it brought up the bad ones, too, and he realized he’d been a different person back then. When he’d been with Ellen, his relationship with God wasn’t meaningful--it was just lip service. Since he’d been with Olivia, not only had he learned so much more about himself, about what it meant to really care for someone, to really love another human being, he’d grown so much closer to God. He would’ve never developed that relationship with the Creator if it hadn’t been for the wonderful woman he had back home.

  He could’ve gone into detail about how he might’ve been willing to move to the moon to be with Ellen if she would’ve asked, if she hadn’t just assumed he wouldn’t and walked out on him. He could’ve chewed her out for the way she’d treated him and reminded her that she’d broken his heart. But there was no point. With her confession, and everything she’d just said to him, she’d left out two simple words that might’ve made a difference in his response. Not that he was even considering getting back together with her, but at least he might’ve been more forthcoming with why. However, Ellen’s neglecting to say, “I’m sorry,” was enough for him to realize she wasn’t sorry. After all this time, even with the discoveries she’d just mentioned, she still didn’t feel like she’d done anything wrong.

  “Ellen, it was real nice seeing you,” he began, trying to be gentle and keep his voice down. The last thing he wanted was to cause a scene. “And I didn’t expect you to say any of that.”

  “You didn’t?” A smile crept up her face, starting at the corners of her pink lips.

  “No. If I’m honest, I expected you to apologize for what happened between us. But you didn’t. And that’s okay. I ain’t askin’ for you to say it now. But what your lack of takin’ responsibility has made me realize is I don’t need you to. I came here to tell you I forgive you for the way you treated me back then. I was thinkin’ you’d say you was sorry, and I’d say, ‘I forgive you.’ Even without your part, I’ll tell you anyway. I forgive you. If you hadn’t left me when you did, if you hadn’t treated me so bad, I might not have realized what I have with Liv. I might notta realized I needed to move ‘cross the country to be with her. It’s because of you that I knew the moment I met her that she was a precious commodity, one I will never, ever let slip through my fingers again. So, Ellen, while it was nice to see you, to say these things to you, to get caught up, I don’t wanna ever talk to you again.”

  By the time he was finished, her face was red, and tears were glistening in her eyes. Ellen slammed her napkin down on the table and fumbled for her purse, which was hanging on the chair behind her. “This! This is exactly why I left you! Thank you for reminding me what a pig-headed jerk face you are!”

  Heads turned their direction at her outburst, and Memphis did his best not to meet anyone’s eyes. He felt embarrassed for her; she was the one acting childish.

  Ellen stomped off a few feet but then came back. “I hope you do marry that stupid writer woman--and then I hope she divorces you and takes all your children away from you, you… jerk face.” She stormed off again, and Memphis let her go, glad to be rid of her again, this time once and for all.

  “Is everything okay?” The waitress was back, and she looked almost as happy as Memphis felt at seeing Ellen disappear out the door.

  “Everything is wonderful,” he assured her. “I’ll just take the check, please.”

  “Sure thing.” She dug through her little black folder and handed it over to him with a smile and another wink.

  Memphis pulled out his wallet, trying not to be sick at the obscene price he was paying for a salad and a sandwich. Luckily, he had enough cash to cover it and leave a decent tip, so he dropped the bills on the table, noticing the waitress had written her phone number on the bottom portion of the bill. Before he left, he wrote her a note in return. “Thanks, but I’m taken.”

  He walked out of the cafe with a smile on his face and a weight off his shoulders. Now that Ellen was truly behind him in every way possible, he’d be able to give Olivia all of the love and attention she deserved--which was a lot, more than he’d been giving her. It was time to remedy that.

  Chapter 14

  Olivia

  Olivia kept one hand on her phone in her pocket as she walked along beside Melody through a park not far from the restaurant where they’d all had lunch. The conversation had been light, mostly about the wedding. Now that Delaney had decided what they were all going to wear, the rest of the girls felt an air of relief. Gail, the woman from the dress shop, had helped them all find the perfect matching shoes, and once Delaney saw them all in their gowns, she agreed that they didn’t have to all be exactly the same. All of the major decisions for the wedding had been made now, and it was just up to the bridal party to get everything finished and be there to support the bride.

  A gentle breeze chilled her cheeks as Olivia walked with her friend. Melody had suggested they take a walk before they head home. Erin had hurried back because this was her last weekend to spend with Luke for a while. She’d let them all know he was going to be in Ireland until his mother passed away, which the doctors thought should be soon. Delaney and her mom left to go work on a few more things for the wedding, and Olivia checked her phone a thousand times, waiting to hear something--anything--from Memphis.

  Melody was talking, and she felt like she really should be paying better attention. She was telling her about the rude mom she’d encountered at karate the other night, the same night Olivia had been texting her about the situation with Memphis and Ellen. She’d wanted to be a better friend and support Melody then, too, but her mind was all over the place, as it was now.

  “Liv, I know you’re not listening to a word I’m saying,” Melody said, gently tugging on her shoulder. “Why don’t you just send him a text and ask how it’s going?”

  “I’m sorry.” That was meant for the not listening part. “I should. I just… I don’t want to interrupt him. I don’t want to hover over him like I don’t trust him.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  Melody’s question hung in the air between them for a long moment as Olivia contemplated the real answer. Her initial response was to say, “Yes, of course I do.” But was that the truth? “I think so,” she finally muttered. “Mostly.”

  Finding an empty bench nearby, Melody led her over, and they sat next to each other. “Olivia, he’s never given you a reason not to trust him. He’s never cheated on anyone before. Don’t you know him well enough by now to be certain he wouldn’t do that?”

  “Yes, of course I do.” She meant it that time. “I’m not afraid he’ll cheat on me. I know he won’t even touch her, unless she hugs him or something.” She shook her head, not liking the image her words had conjured. “It’s not that. I know he’s not about to go run off with her or anything. I’m just afraid he’ll… realize he still has feelings for her. That he still loves her. If she’s there to ask him to take her back--and I have a suspicion that she is--I’m afraid he’ll realize he was happier with her than he is with me. What if the reason he hasn’t asked me to marry him yet is because he knows he can be happier with someone else?” By the time she finished, tears were stinging her eyes. Olivia did her best to fight them off, but they were there just the same.

  “Liv,” Melody’s sweet voice said calmly, “I really don’t think that’s the case. Memphis loves you. Maybe the reason he hasn’t asked you yet is because he wanted to see her one more time, to remind himself that he’s so much happier now, and that possibility didn’t arise until now. I don’t know--but I bet he’d talk to you about it if you asked him to.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve tried. He doesn’t want to talk about it. He thinks the fact that I do means I don’t trust him.”

  “Did you tell him you do trust him?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” She’d said that, hadn’t she?

  Melody smiled at her reassuringly. “It’ll be fine, Liv. We all have highs and lows in our relationships. Eventually, the two of you will get past this.”

  Olivia raised an eyebrow at her. She couldn't remember a time when Melody and Reid weren’t absolutely, one hundred percent on a love high, but she didn’t bother to say that. Before she could say anything in response, she realized her phone was ringing. Pulling it out of her coat pocket, she saw that it was Memphis. “It’s him.”

  “Answer it.” Melody nudged her with her shoulder and then got up and walked a few feet away so Olivia could have some privacy, pulling her own phone out of her pocket.

  “Hello?” Olivia held her breath, nervous to hear what he had to say, even though she was anxious just to hear his voice.

  “Hey, Liv. You still in Winchester?”

  He sounded calm, like his usual self, like nothing big or important had happened. “Yeah.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “All right. I think I’m gonna head over to Josh and Delaney’s new place. I know Reid and Alec are out there with Josh finishin’ up a few things. I won’t be too long. You be home soon?”

  “Should be. In an hour or so.”

  “‘Kay. I love you, Liv. You know that, right?”

  The tears she’d been fighting earlier sprang back into her eyes as she realized what he was saying. It was over--Ellen was gone. He loved her--and no one else. “I do. I love you, too, Memphis.”

  “I know that.”

  In her mind, she could picture the crooked grin he surely wore on his handsome face as he stated the obvious. They hung up, and she closed her eyes in a silent prayer of thankfulness.

  Melody’s footsteps had her eyes opening. “Well? You’re smiling. I guess everything is okay?”

  “Yeah, everything is just fine.” Olivia blew out a breath she must’ve been holding for weeks. “Thanks, Mel.”

  Melody sat down and wrapped her arms around her friend. “I’m so glad you feel better, Liv. I don’t know what’s keeping Memphis from asking you to marry him, but I don’t think it’ll be much longer. It’s obvious to everyone the two of you are meant to be together.”

  “I know that.” Olivia couldn’t help but laugh at her own response, watching Melody’s face morph into a question mark. It took Melody a second to realize she was impersonating Memphis, and then she started laughing, too. Thankful that she wouldn’t have to worry about Ellen anymore, Olivia patted her friend on the leg. “Come on. I saw an ice cream shop over there. Let’s go get a cone.”

  “It’s… forty degrees out.” Melody smirked at her.

  “Then we’ll eat inside.”

  Laughing, the friends headed out, arm in arm, and Olivia felt much lighter than she had in weeks, confident Memphis would propose to her in God’s perfect time.

  Chapter 15

  Memphis

  Memphis pulled into the drive behind Alec’s truck, glad to have a few minutes to chat with his friends. It’d been a while since he’d seen them without their women around, which was normally fine, but he wanted to talk to Josh about something Olivia didn’t need to know about yet.

  The drive from DC to the Christmas tree farm where Josh and Delaney’s new house was going up had given him a chance to think things through, and now, strolling up to the mostly finished dwelling, he knew exactly what he wanted to do, as long as Josh didn’t object.

  He heard voices and hammering coming from inside. Having sent a text to Josh to let him know he was on his way, he didn’t bother to knock, only pushed the front door open and followed the sounds to the kitchen. Elsewhere in the house, upstairs, he could hear other construction noises, and judging from the trucks out front, he figured they must belong to the crew from Alec’s father’s construction company, but the people he was looking for were right here in the kitchen, installing trim along the baseboards.

  Reid was doing most of the work. Down on his knees, hammer in hand, it was obvious he was the one who knew exactly what he was doing. Josh was apparently handing him boards Memphis assumed Reid had already cut, and he wasn’t sure what Alec was doing, but judging by the fact that his clothes were clean and not a hair was out of place, he figured it wasn’t much. Memphis couldn’t help but chuckle. He didn’t know much about building houses either, but he would’ve thought Alec would since his dad owned a construction company--and Alec worked there. Granted, he was an accountant, but still, a little bit of sawdust never hurt anyone, did it?

  “Oh, good. The cowboy I ordered for your game room has arrived,” Reid joked before turning his attention back to the board he’d been working on.

  “Hey, Memphis,” Josh said, stepping over and extending his hand. “How are you? Good to see you.”

  “You, too.” He shook Josh’s hand and then Alec’s while Reid finished what he was doing and then stood and came to greet him as well.

  “You wanna help? You’re dressed awfully nice for construction work.” Reid was teasing--he had to know where Memphis had been. If Olivia told Melody, she would’ve told her husband.

  “Nah, I can’t stay. I gotta get home to Liv. I just wanted to talk to Josh for a minute, and figured I should do it in person.”

  “All right, Memph, but I should warn you, if you’re here to propose, Josh is already taken.” Reid was full of jokes--dad jokes, mostly. They chuckled, and Reid went back to work. He asked Alec to hand him a specific board since Josh would be busy with Memphis, and Alec stepped in to fill the void.

  “You wanna go in the other room?” Josh asked, his hands on his hips.

  “Nah, that’s okay.” Memphis didn’t mind if the other two overheard, but they were busy talking about whether or not the baseboard was lined up correctly. “Place looks nice.”

  “It’s almost finished. I’d love for Delaney to see it before we leave for the honeymoon.” Josh looked around the kitchen, which led to the open living room, and smiled. He was obviously proud of his new home, and he should be. Memphis would love to build Olivia a dream house and have her move in as his new bride, which was the reason he was there, even though he knew his girlfriend already lived in her dream house. That didn’t mean he couldn’t give her the other half of the dream. “What’s up?”

  “Well, I’ve been thinking about asking Olivia to marry me.” Memphis was proud of himself that it had just come out of his mouth so clearly--no hemming or hawing about it. Just the Lord’s truth.

  “Oh, wow. That’s awesome, man. Congratulations.” Josh patted him on the shoulder, and the other two, no longer working but back into the conversation, offered their congratulations as well.

  “Yeah, thanks,” Memphis said, even though he wondered if they’d still want to congratulate him if she said no. “Anyway, I was thinkin’ of doing it on Valentine’s Day. But that’s your rehearsal dinner. So… I thought I should ask you first.”

  Silence filled the kitchen as the three other men exchanged glances, and Memphis felt an awkwardness settle around them, the source of which he couldn’t quite identify.

 

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