I lift my head to look down at her, to joke about what she’s done. I stop myself though; there’s nothing but seriousness in her gaze.
“Thank you for saving me, Jase.”
“You saved me too, you know,” I tell her as I pull my shirt off, knowing damn well she has.
She stares at me for an awkward moment and then looks down with a huff. “I don’t know what to say.”
Confusion takes over. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know what would mean more right now. That I love you. Or that I don’t love you.”
The short huff of a laugh leaves me with relief. Thank fuck.
“Let’s stick with I love you from now on.”
“Then I love you, Jase Cross. I love you with everything in me.”
Bethany
Good things don’t come often. Not for me. Not for most people. I’m aware of that. I get it. Life isn’t meant to be a garden of roses.
I’m used to the thorns. I would even say I like them. They’re predictable, when nothing else is.
The sound of the printer in Jase’s office that isn’t an office makes me jump. It’s louder than I anticipated, and I anxiously look to the doorway.
He should be here soon.
Jenny’s tucked away in her room. Some days are better than others, but overall she’s better. She’s better than she has been in a very long time. If only she could remember what happened over the past few months, I think she’d be like my old sister again. Or at least who that girl was supposed to be.
Before the paper can fall to the tray, I catch it and lift it up to look at the certificate. It’s so simple and not as expensive as I thought it would be.
It’s merely a sheet of paper with ink on it. But then again so are books, and they can be wielded like weapons. They can destroy people; they can give them hope too.
“There you are.” Jase’s deep voice greets me with a sensual need. I can already feel his warmth before he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his chest. The paper clings to my front as I keep it from his prying eyes.
“What are you hiding from me?” he questions.
“No hiding anything anymore. Isn’t that the deal?” I remind him, peeking around to not just see him, but to steal a quick kiss as well. I love it when he smirks at me.
With a lift of his chin he tells me, “Then show it.”
I do so willingly, listening to the paper crinkle and watching his dark eyes as he reads each line.
“Marriage certificate?” It’s a sin that he looks so handsome, even when he’s confused.
“It’s a certificate to get a marriage certificate. Like a gift card. I didn’t know you could get one of these. You have to be there for it to actually be done and all,” I explain to him. I thought this would be the best way to tell him that I want to marry him.
As he steps back, snagging the paper from me and then looking between it and me, nerves flow through every part of me.
“My answer is yes.” In my mind, when I decided I’d do this, I said it confidently, playfully even, but the way the words came out now was hurried and with an anxiousness to hear his response.
Which he still hasn’t given me.
“At least I answered you quickly,” I tell him and pretend like my hands aren’t trembling.
“You want to do this?” he asks me, his shoulders squared as he lowers the paper to the leather sofa and closes the space between us.
Reaching up to adjust the collar of his pressed white shirt, I tell him easily, as if he’s said yes, “I don’t want a big wedding.”
“Are you proposing to me?” he finally says with a grin and the playfulness and the charm are obvious. This is the man I love.
Nodding, I fight back the prick at the back of my eyes and tell him, “I am. Are you saying yes?”
“I already asked you, though. You don’t get to ask me now.” He walks circles around me, making me spin slowly.
“You aren’t exactly good at it, so I figured I should give it a shot.” I’m just as playful with him as he is me, nipping his bottom lip and then kissing him. He deepens it, stopping where he is and splaying his hands against my lower back and shoulder.
When he breaks the kiss, he stares down at me. “Why?” he asks me, toying with me and my emotions instead of just ending it quickly.
“You have no mercy,” I joke with him. “Are you not saying yes?” I can’t even voice the word no right now.
He only stares down at me, waiting for a response with a smug look on his face.