“You told me you wanted me, not my money.”
“I did want you.”
His mother made a frustrated noise.
“And he was patient, wasn’t he? He never pushed you about the house or the money. We told him there was no need to rush.”
We.
Jake closed his eyes.
That one small word told me more than her entire speech.
Maya said, “Stella, we’re going.”
But I couldn’t move.
“Rush what?”
His mother looked confused.
“Building a proper life together. Combining things, eventually. That’s what marriage is.”
I looked at her.
“And you thought I needed to change before that happened?”
She straightened.
“Jake always said you’d grow out of those things.”
I turned toward him.
“Before or after we got married?”
He couldn’t look at me.
“Before the proposal?” I asked.
“Stella—”
“Before?”
“Yes.”
His mother tried to interrupt.
I raised my hand.
For once, she stopped.
I remembered the night he proposed.
