I’d never been scared of commitment before. When I was with someone, I waswiththem. Even back in high school, there was never any question who I was with. But now? I was having the hardest time being all-in with Coralie, and it sucked.
I wanted to be the guy that Coralie deserved and the son-in-law that her parents seemed to think I could be. So many people were depending on this relationship to last, and I was determined to make them happy even if it meant accepting my own unhappiness.
If it came down to them or me, I would pick them. Period.
Coralie’s ringtone sliced through my thoughts. I was sitting on my bed with my elbows resting on my knees, my shoulders rounded, and my head dropped down. My socks sat next to me and my shoes by my feet. I had every intention of putting them on, but my thoughts got the better of me. I sighed as I straightened and glanced down to see that it was, in fact, Coralie calling.
“Hey,” I said after I hit talk on the phone and set it to speaker.
“Hey, babe!”
I flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “Hey.”
“What are you plans today?”
I closed my eyes. “Mom’s coming in, so I’m going to go get her. Then tonight some guys want to take me out for my bachelor party.” I made sure to emphasize that it was guys hosting my bachelor party and not my best man as tradition normally required.
“Oh! Your bachelor party?” She paused, and I braced myself for what I knew she was going to ask me next. “Is Ella going to be there?”
I shook my head. “No. She’s not my best man anymore.”
Coralie sighed. “Good. I’m glad.”
My stomach twisted at her words, but I forced those feelings down. Coralie was going to be my wife, which meant Ella wasn’t going to be in the picture anymore. It was time I started accepting that.
“I’ll be flying in with my parents tomorrow morning. Security thinks it’s best for us to arrive day of as a sort of surprise to the paparazzi and anyone who might want to hurt my dad.”
“Okay. Do you need me to come get you guys?”
“No. Daddy’s hired a driver.” Then she laughed. “Plus it’s bad luck to see the bride on your wedding day.”
I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling.
“Now, don’t be mad at me…”
I frowned. Nothing ever good came from a statement that started withdon’t be mad at me. I pushed myself up into a seated position to brace myself for what she was about to say.
“I told Winchester Realty here in New York about you and scheduled you a meeting with them when we’re back from our honeymoon.”
I drew my eyebrows together as I listened to what she was saying. I parted my lips to speak, but it seemed like there was more, so I waited for her to continue.
“I know, I know, we said we were going to live in Harmony, but I really think we should reconsider that. New York is amazing. There’s so much real estate here. Plus, with Daddy’s connections, you’re going to be a shoo-in.” She sighed. “I saw Harmony, Asher. I’m not impressed. I’m worried that I’ll lose myself there.”
My entire body went cold. When I was in New York for the last month, I told her how much Harmony meant to me. That I owed the town because of what I did for the Proctors. This town felt like my home, and I didn’t want to leave it.
When I proposed, it seemed like Coralie was in support of staying here. Now, it seemed like she’d changed her mind.
“Listen, we don’t have to decide right now,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “Let’s just leave our options open.”
But I didn’t want to leave my options open. I had one option. Staying in Harmony.
“We can talk about it while we’re sipping mai tai’s on the beach.”
My mind was swimming and my stomach hurt, but I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted to feel happy. I might have been naive to think that making others happy at the expense of my own happiness was worth it. I guess I just didn’t realize I how much I was going to give up in the process.
“Okay,” I said, my voice low.
“Okay?” Coralie sounded so hopeful, and I was going to lean on that. If one of us was happy in this relationship, then I could find satisfaction in that.
