Page 91 of The Holiday Makeover

Was this the regret?

Had he been planning to ask someone else to marry him? Katie? Jessica? Whoever she was, she probably had long, shapely legs and voluminous hair that was always perfectly styled, and would never snort on national TV. And no doubt she knew how to pose beside a man like Tate Ryder. She probably loved the spotlight as much as he did.

Without thinking, I flipped open the lid.

And there it was.

A huge rock.

The kind his mother would wear. The kind that required finger exercises to hold up and sunglasses if you stared directly at it in the light.

It wasn’t the kind of ring Tate would buy for me.

I was a simple girl when it came to jewelry. He knew that.

A few tears slipped down my cheeks.

The thought hit me so hard I almost dropped the box.

Tate had been ready to marry someone else.

He loved someone else.

Someone who wasn’t me.

“Rory.”

Tate’s alarmed voice caught me off guard. I was so stunned by the ring that I hadn’t even heard him leave the bathroom.

I dropped the box and whipped my head toward the door to find him standing there bare chested, his jeans hanging low with the button still undone, his wet hair dark and mussed.

A beautiful vision, really.

But everything felt ugly.

Wrong.

“Who is she?” I stuttered out, my voice trembling. “Who does this ring belong to?”

Tate crossed the room and sank onto the bed beside me, panic written all over his face as he reached for my hands.

I pulled them back and scooted as far away from him as I could, my head hitting the headboard.

“Rory, it’s not what you think.”

“Are you planning on getting engaged? Is it to Katie? Jessica? Just tell me,” I demanded.

“Hell.” He closed his eyes and dragged a hand down his face. “I should have just thrown the damn ring away.”

“Who is it, Tate?” My voice came out more forcefully this time.

Tate’s eyes slowly opened and landed squarely on mine.

“It’s you,” he said. “I bought the ring for you.”

I blinked.

Then blinked again.