My ring finger had twitched, reminding me that there would be no ring. I had nearly knocked over my chair trying to stand up. I didn’t cry in front of him. I just left. I didn’t look back. When I got home, I sat on the kitchen floor, my knees drawn to my chin, my heart pounding so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath. Break up? He thinks we should break up? Is this possible?    
    Riley. My Riley. With his steady, dark eyes and that matter-of-fact way he approached life. With his driven ambition and focused personality and that small, sweet smile he saved only for me. What had happened to the steadfast Riley I knew? He’d always been so sure about us. I’d never known him to have the slightest doubt about himself, his career, about me or our future together. The shiver inside my heart scared me. Because even the tremble in his voice hadn’t camouflaged that part of him I recognized so well. The low tone in his voice and the truth in his brown eyes told me that he’d already thought this through. He knew what he was doing. I shook off that feeling and squeezed my eyes shut. I leaned back against the refrigerator and felt the cold seeping into me.
    My thoughts raced back and forth from: This is temporary. He’s afraid of making a real commitment to me. He needs some space. It’s going to be fine. He’ll come back to me; to: What just happened to my life? Has Riley lost his mind? I can’t start over again! First dates, blind dates, lonely Friday nights—that was all supposed to be behind me! I should be trying on wedding gowns and choosing flatware!
    My mind had replayed Riley’s words over and over. Somewhere around the hundredth time, I felt something inside me dissolve and I started to cry.