“If you’re not Buttercup, I wonder who is.” I mentally shake myself. I’ve never worried about George’s faithfulness before, and then I let Easton go and make me question it. I’m not sure what upset me more—the fact that Easton assumed a decent guy who wanted to date me must also be a cheater, or that the possibility didn’t wreck anything in me. George and I might not be forever, but I’d be hurt if he wasn’t faithful. I might not be ready for that ring, but I’d be upset if he planned to give it to someone else. Wouldn’t I?

Fuck. I can’t avoid this anymore. “When you forgot your coat at the restaurant that night, a ring box fell out.”

He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. “That’s what all this craziness has been about? You saw my ring and thought I was going to propose? Shay, we . . .” He grimaces then reaches for my hand. “I care about you, and I can’t deny how appealing I find the idea of not letting you go. But that’s a far cry from marriage, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t . . .” I sigh, and he arches a brow. “I couldn’t think of another explanation for what I saw.”

“It’s a family heirloom. It was my grandmother’s, and I’d tucked it into my pocket to take it to the bank. Why didn’t you just ask me?”

“I panicked.”

Sighing, he moves my laptop to the coffee table and pulls me off the couch to stand in front of him. The blanket falls to the floor, pooling around my feet. “What exactly do you want from me, Shay? Promises of all my tomorrows? Do you want me to beg you to stay here when you’ve worked so hard to go?”

“No. Of course not.” But it does seem strange that watching me go seems so easy for him. I just don’t understand why I’m never enough. But it’s not fair to put that on George when he’s not the one I’m so desperate to have choose me.

He steps closer and slides his hands to the small of my back, pulling my hips flush against him. “I know how hard you’ve worked for this. I’m not going to be the guy who expects you to arrange your life around him.”

“I’m not asking you to be that guy.” I swallow. “It’s just odd that you don’t seem to care that this thing between us has an expiration date.”

“I thought we were just having fun. Enjoying each other.” He lowers his mouth to mine, and I stiffen but don’t let myself pull away.