I don’t know why the idea of going inside his house seems so daunting. It just feels so… intimate. I don’t know why. It’s just a house. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in there before. I imagine that as soon as we go inside, the walls will start closing in around us until it’s just the two of us together, chest to chest, and there’s nowhere to run or hide. I part my lips to speak, but my words seem to get trapped at the back of my throat.
I guess I take too long to answer, because he shakes his head and says, “Or not. We can stay out here. Sorry for?—”
“No,” I interrupt, finally finding my voice. “We can go inside. That’s fine.”
I gather up courage as we head to his front door so that by the time we get inside, I cut right to the chase.
“You need to stop Ryan from proposing.”
His brows knit together. He smirks. “Why? Is she going to turn him down or something?”
I hesitate to answer. I don’t want to cause a rift in Tina and Ryan’s relationship, but I also can’t think of a better reason to stop Ryan from proposing.
When I take too long to answer, Oliver’s brows shoot up. “Wait. Are you serious?”
“Well…” I stammer.
“Tina wants to break up with Ryan?” He says it with an air of disbelief, then shakes his head. “No way. I don’t believe it. Did she say that to you?”
I can’t keep up the act. “No,” I say with a sigh. “She’s not breaking up with him.”
“Then what’s the problem? Why doesn’t she want to marry him?”
“It… it’s complicated.”
His eyes bore into mine. I feel like he can see right through me. “What’s so complicated about it? She’s not cheating on him, is she?”
“No. God, no.”
His shoulders drop. “Can you just tell me the reason instead of making me guess? I feel like I’m playing twenty questions.”
“That’s the thing. I can’t tell you the reason. You just need to trust me.”
“Trust you?” he says with a laugh. “As if.” He rolls his eyes. “How do you expect this to work, anyway? If I go to Ryan and tell him he can’t propose to Tina, he’s going to wonder why. What do I tell him, that Priscilla said to trust her?”
“You don’t have to tell him anything. You have the ring. Just keep it away from him. He can’t propose without it.”
He breathes out a laugh. “Oh, right. Just steal my best friend’s engagement ring and ruin his proposal. What could go wrong?”
“It’s not forever. You can give it back to him. Eventually.”
His eyes narrow. “When? Why?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’ll tell you when.”
He watches me for a while longer. His eyes dip down like he’s scrutinizing me. I cross my arms over my chest. His gaze snaps back up to mine.
“She wants to do it, doesn’t she?” he asks.
His words are so on point that I tell myself I must have misunderstood him. I keep my lips sealed. I’m afraid that if I answer, I’ll give away Tina’s surprise. It doesn’t matter though, because Oliver has already figured it out.
“She wants to propose to him,” he says.
My face must give me away, because he nods in understanding. “The weird behavior, the check. She’s paying you to plan this, isn’t she?”
I’m so frustrated with myself for letting Tina’s secret slip. I tighten my fists. Maybe I can use this to my advantage. “You have to stop Ryan. Or at least convince him to do it later than Tina.”
“Or maybe you should stop Tina,” he counters. “Why is it my responsibility to make sure things go according to her plan?”
