𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐀 · "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞."
After losing her job and being left at the altar, Dr. Fiona Page is left to pick up the pieces of a "picture perfect" lif...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CW: Hot tub sex, oral sex, discussions of death, and very brief mention of suicide.
Is hot tub sex sanitary? No. Do I care? Nope! Welcome to romance books, baby! Where everything's made up and logistics don't matter.
Please remember to vote and comment!
Everybody's chasing something But they don't know they're chasing someone The more I live, I am convinced Everyone just wants to be in love - "Love and War in Your Twenties", Jordy Searcy
JAMES
ASPEN, COLORADO
TWO DAYS BEFORE THE CONFERENCE
February 7, 2023
"Do you think she'll like it?" James asked, glancing over at Bea as they leaned over the jewelry case.
She rolled her eyes.
"Dude, I know my ex-girlfriend. She's a sucker for an opal ring, okay? Opal anything, actually. I got her an opal necklace in high school and she still wears that thing."
James smiled. Fiona was sentimental about some things, and she was thoughtful. She did things for him that meant something; it was beyond what was tangible, there was real love there.
"Isn't it a soft stone?" James asked, wincing as he gazed at a dainty opal ring through the glass. The stone itself was surrounded by soft diamonds, and the band was white gold.
It wasn't an engagement ring, it was a promise that he would build a life with her.
"What, do you think she's working in a fucking mine all day?" Bea snorted as she looked at her phone. "She types on a computer and organizes reading lists. It'll be fine— and what does soft stone mean anyway?"
"That it scratches easily," James replied. "I thought you were well-read, Cooper."
Bea smacked him and James winced.
"You're already taking her away from me, you wanna make fun of me, too?"
James rolled his eyes and Bea threw her head back, cackling.
"I'm fucking with you, dude!" She flung her arm around him and squeezed him gently. "Seriously. Steve and I are rooting for you guys. You seem to really love her."
"I do," he whispered. "I just wish I knew what ring would... you know, symbolize that."
"She loves opals. They're her favorite stone. And you could get her anything and she'd wear it," Bea chuckled. "She's crazy about you."
