“I really love your mom,” Brooke finally says, and my responding smile is automatic.
“She’s great, isn’t she?”
“Cherish her,” she replies, and I know she means don’t take a single minute for granted because she may be gone. Brooke talks about her mother often, as I imagine the memories of her are still so fresh since it’s been less than a year since she died.
“Always,” I promise, leaning in to give her a kiss. I then roll back toward the bedside table as I tell her, “I have something for you. Two somethings, actually.”
“Oh yeah?” she asks curiously. I pull open the drawer, and sitting beside the condoms that I’ll have to donate to Dax or something are two jewelry boxes. The gray one from my mom holding her engagement ring, and a square, flat black box with something I bought just for Brooke today. My mom and I went on a quick shopping trip after lunch and she helped me pick it out.
“Come here,” I tell her as I roll back with both the boxes, and then hitch myself up so my back is against the headboard. Brooke’s eyes are on the boxes as she slides over and curls up against me.
Setting the black box on my lap, I hold the gray one up and open the top. “It’s my mom’s.”
“Oh, that’s so pretty,” Brooke murmurs as she reaches out to pluck the ring from its nest.
“My mom brought it for you to wear, so you could show your dad we’re engaged and he can finally stop worrying. And don’t even think about saying no because it’s my mom’s. She really wants us to use it.”
Brooke shakes her head before looking up at me. “I wouldn’t say no. I think it’s incredibly sweet and meaningful your mom would do that. I mean, I know she thinks we’re both jackasses for even getting embroiled in this mess, but I also think she’s amused by this too. She’s going to help us fumble through it as best she can, and this is her way.”
“Exactly,” I say as I take the ring from her. I hold her left hand and slip it on her ring finger until it settles in place. I’m not prepared for the punch of emotion that hits me square in the chest at seeing it there. That ring that in normal circumstances would mean that Brooke belongs to me for the rest of our lives, and it’s not a horrifying feeling at all. If anything, it feels a little too right, and that will totally freak me out if I continue to think about it.
Clearing my throat, I release her hand and pick up the black box. Handing it to her, I say, “This is for you.”
“Why?” she asks as she takes the box from me.
My eyes come to hers and I can see that she’s genuinely baffled that I would get her a present, and that doesn’t set well with me at all. Does Brooke not feel the same way as I do? Or perhaps she doesn’t understand at all how I feel?
Which is understandable, because I don’t understand what I’m feeling either.
I nod at the box, urging her to open it. “It’s because I think you’re amazing and I don’t need any other reason.”
Brooke’s gaze stays pinned on me. She doesn’t make a move to open the jewelry box, and I start feeling like maybe this wasn’t a good idea. But then she leans in and presses a kiss to my jaw, murmuring, “I think you’re amazing too. And thank you for the gift.”
Relief floods me and I give a nervous laugh. “You’re welcome, but you don’t even know what it is.”
“Doesn’t matter what it is,” she says with a smile. “I’ll love it.”
Fuck…chest squeezing painfully again.
Brooke finally turns her attention to the box and lifts the lid slowly. Inside is a platinum bangle bracelet with the word fierce written in script on the top and outlined in tiny diamonds. It was not an inexpensive purchase, and Brooke would know this since she knows fashion and jewelry.
She gasps. “Oh, Bishop…that’s way too much for a—”
“Yeah,” I say dryly as I put a finger over her lips to silence her. “That’s not exactly what I want you to say.”
Her eyes slide from the jewelry to me, eyebrows raised.
“I want you to say, ‘Bishop…I love it and it makes me horny as well and I really want to do dirty things to you right now.’?” I wink at her and move my finger from her lips.
She doesn’t give me an eye roll but returns her attention to the bracelet. She pulls it from the box and slips it onto her left wrist. It fits perfectly and she holds it out to admire, turning her wrist this way and that, causing the diamonds to sparkle.