Five months later
September 4
In her car in Solar’s parking lot, Karma stared at the diamond ring on her finger. She had never seen the proposal coming, and yet, yesterday, at her parents’ Labor Day cookout, Brad had asked her to marry him.
Everyone had just finished chowing down on burgers, baked beans, and potato salad while sitting around the large patio table when Brad addressed her dad.
“Mr. Mason, I’d like to ask you something.”
“Please,” her dad said, “call me John.”
Dad liked Brad. At least he acted like he did. Karma thought he was just happy that she’d finally moved on from Mark, which was why he was overly welcoming when she’d shown up at the cookout with Brad. Her dad had heard about him for months, but this was the first time they’d actually met.
Brad offered a deferential smile. “John then, I’d like to ask you something.”
“Sure, ask me anything.”
Across the table, her brother Johnny, whose behavior was much improved from last summer, bounced his one-year-old daughter on his knee. Johnny’s wife, Estelle, looked on. Both had been surprisingly quiet and polite, but Karma knew the peace could only last so long. Johnny would eventually show his ass again.
Brad took her hand and squeezed. “John, I’ve been dating your daughter for six months.” He paused as she turned and gave him a quizzical look. What was he doing? “I love her, and, with your permission, I’d like to ask her to marry me.”
Thud! Marry him? Where had this come from? She’d never seen this coming.
Her mom uttered a soft squeal and covered her mouth as her eyes lit up. Johnny stopped bouncing his baby. A slow grin spread over her dad’s face as he clasped his hands under his chin.
“Brad, I can think of no one better to marry my daughter.” He pointedly met her gaze, his meaning clear. He was ready for the Mark Strong chapter of her life to be officially over. Marrying Brad would guarantee that.
Brad pulled a diamond ring from his pocket, scooted back in his chair, and got down on one knee. “Karma, with your dad’s blessing, and in front of your family…” His whole face beamed as he poised the ring at the tip of her finger. “Will you marry me?”
She stared at him, her hand in his. Everything about this moment was perfect. Wasn’t it? She glanced around the table at her family. This was what she wanted, right? She wanted to be married. She wanted a husband, a family, and a life where she was no longer alone.
As she took a deep breath and nodded, a tiny burst of alarm resonated in her soul. She brushed it aside, forcing herself to leap forward rather than stay rooted in the past. Even after a year apart, Mark’s memory still rested in the back of her mind. She was beginning to think she would never completely get over him. But the Mark she still thought about from time to time was the Mark she wanted him to be, not the Mark he really was. She had to keep reminding herself of that. And she couldn’t let her life stall out on a fantasy.
Case in point. Brad was offering her the future she wanted. She would be silly to refuse.
“Yes, Brad. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She was striding forward, furthering herself a little bit more from her memories of Mark.
Brad had slid the diamond onto her finger and hugged her. Even her brother had congratulated her. Surprise, surprise. Maybe there was hope for him to grow up yet.
Karma broke from her thoughts when her phone chimed, planting her back inside her car. She quickly gathered her purse and bag and hopped out. She’d sat so long reliving Brad’s proposal she was now officially late.
Oops.
She rushed up the sidewalk and into the lobby as her phone began ringing again.
“Good morning, Nancy.” She rushed past the receptionist.
As she took the stairs to the second level, she fished through her purse for her phone. At the top of the stairs, she finally pulled it free and checked the screen.
Lisa. Why was Lisa calling her?
Darting down the hall to her desk, she slapped her phone to her ear. “Lisa, what’s up? Sorry it took so long to answer. I’m running late. God, I need to talk to you.” She had yet to tell Daniel and Lisa that Brad had proposed.
“Karma! Will you shut up! I need to tell you something.”
Sheez! What was up with Lisa?
Karma dropped her bags on the floor at her desk and booted up her computer. “Fine. Sorry. What?”
At that moment, the door to Don’s office opened.
“Ah, there she is,” Don said, gesturing toward her.
Lisa was still talking in her ear. “Karma, don’t freak out, okay, but…”
Everything fell into slow motion. The earth dragged to a near standstill on its axis. Lisa’s voice sounded like she was talking through a layer of cotton. And Karma was sure her chin hit her desk as her mouth fell open.
“Mark’s here!” Lisa hissed. “In Don’s office. Right now.”
Karma almost dropped her phone as her gaze met Mark’s for the first time in a year.
“I know,” she murmured and hung up.
And just like that, in the time it took for a light to come on once the switch was flipped, all her hard-fought efforts to get over him vanished.
He was back. Mark was here.
And didn’t her wildly beating heart know it.