“About…” I knew exactly what she meant, but I wasn’t ready to face it yet.

“Let’s start with the ring.” She picked up my hand, taking a closer look at the ruby ring.

“Yeah, the ring.”

“It’s from Levi, isn’t it?”

I wasn’t going to lie. I’d never been good at lying to my mother. “Yes.”

“When were you going to tell me?”

“It’s not what you think…” I leaned back against the couch.

“Then explain it.”

If only I could. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated, huh? Okay, let’s start simple. Are you and Levi engaged?” She put a hand on my arm.

I dared to glance at her. “Kind of.”

“Come on, Allie, be straight with me. How can you be ‘kind of’ engaged?”

I wanted to spill it all out. “It means we are, but I’m not sure if I want it.”

Those words must have had some magical quality, because her tough exterior melted and she pulled me into her arms. “Oh, honey.”

I let her hold me, loving the comforting feel of her and the familiar scent of her perfume.

“This is because of your father and me, isn’t it?”

I looked up at her. “What?”

“We didn’t give you a positive view of marriage, and I spent your entire childhood telling you how big a mistake it is to get married young. But if you love Levi—”

“This isn’t about you and Dad.” I wasn’t letting her blame herself for any of this.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.” At least I could answer that honestly.

She smiled. “Well, that’s a start. You’re young. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. I just don’t want you making a decision based on what happened to me.”

“I’m not.” I looked her right in the eye.

“If you weren’t sure, why’d you take the ring?” She asked it quietly, like she was afraid of upsetting me.

“I didn’t have a choice.” I whispered it, not sure whether I wanted her to hear.

She pursed her lips, and I knew she was choosing her words carefully. “Because you were afraid you’d lose Levi otherwise?”

I didn’t say anything.

“I had no idea he was so serious about your relationship.” She rubbed my back the way she always did when I was upset. “Does he make you happy?”

I shrugged. “Most of the time.”

She laughed. “Fair enough.”

“I’m not going to tell you what to do. You’re an adult. I knew you had strong feelings for him when you decided to stay in New Orleans. You tried to tell me it wasn’t about him, but obviously I was right.”

I nodded.

“Did you invite him to come here with you?”

“No. He wanted to, but I needed space to think, you know?”

“I know. I’ll try not to push you too much, sweetie, but I just want you to do the best thing for yourself. When I visited you this summer, I tried to encourage you to take chances, but don’t confuse that with turning your back on who you are.”

“I won’t.” I didn’t know if I could keep my word, but I’d try.

“We’re home,” Steven called from the front hallway.

“Coming.” Mom patted my leg before getting up. “You’ll be okay no matter what you decide.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Where’s Hailey?” Andrew asked, coming to sit down next to me on the couch.

“Sleeping.”

He looked over his shoulder, probably making sure she wasn’t suddenly coming out of our room. “Is she single?”

I laughed. “Yes, but don’t get your hopes up.”

“Why not?”

I decided to be nice. “Because we’re only here for a week.”

He visibly relaxed. “It’s a whole week.”

“If you say so.”

His expression grew serious. “Are you really engaged?”

I nodded. “Toby told you?”

“Yeah. My dad asked why he didn’t just give you more space.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say.

Andrew didn’t respond right away. Then he cleared his throat. “Why are you engaged? Don’t you think you’re too young? This just doesn’t seem like you.”

I turned toward him. “Since when do you know anything about me?”

“We’ve gone to school together forever.”

“Until this year.”

“And you’ve changed that much in a few months?”

“Does this conversation have a purpose?” I didn’t want to start a fight, but I didn’t know how much more I could take.

“I just think you should check out all your options.”

“My options?”

“I don’t mean me. Obviously, that’s out of the question now that we’re probably going to be family, but there are tons of other guys.”

“Toby didn’t put you up to this, did he?”

“No. You know we’re not friends. I was glad when I heard you kicked him to the curb. He never deserved you.”

Maybe I needed to reevaluate my feelings about Andrew.

“How long have you known this other guy, Lyle is it?”

“Levi.”

“Levi? Like the jeans?”

“I guess. It’s short for Leviathan. And I’ve known him six months.”

“So you really just met him this summer? Doesn’t this seem rushed?” Andrew seemed genuinely concerned so I didn’t snap at him.

“He’s someone who knows what he wants.”

“My dad thinks you’re making a mistake. He’s going to talk to your mom about it.”

“Great.” I felt anger rising. Who did Steven think he was to butt in?

“Hey.” Toby walked in and sat down right next to me. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Not really. I’m just trying to figure out why Allie’s rushing to get married.” Andrew paused and then made a strange face. “Wait, you’re not pregnant are you?”

“No!”

“Okay, just checking.”

I crossed my arms. “People get married young for reasons other than pregnancy.”

Toby smiled at me condescendingly. “What reasons do you have?”

“I don’t have to answer that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wake up Hailey. If she sleeps much more, she’ll be up all night.”