“Trust me,” he encouraged softly. “I haven’t crossed a line yet, have I?”
“No.”
“Then allow me to enjoy this,” he asked, hoping she would play along.
He wanted to see her face when she opened the bag and saw the little gift. Quickly, he peeked at her ears to see that they were indeed pierced, and let out a nervous breath.
“Please?”
“Jax…”
“Mary, you are here in the bakery, and we are just sitting here. What do you think is going to happen?”
“That you’ll spring some horrible thing on me, scare me, or…”
“I’m never going to do that to you. I promise. I will never touch you without your permission – ever.”
She sat there for a moment, before shutting her eyes… and then peeking through one of them. He laughed easily and shook his finger at her, only to see her smile as she closed them again.
He dug out the gift bag from under the table and set it before her.
“Open them,” he whispered, staring at her face, wishing he could take a photo of her, but knew she would probably balk at that too. She was a very personal, private person and he could respect that.
Her hazel eyes widened as she looked at him.
The gift bag was shiny white with a large bright red crown on it. There was red tissue paper sticking out the top, and it reminded him of Valentine’s Day… even if it wasn’t.
“This is for me?” she whispered, looking between him and the bag.
“Well, yes,” he grinned, memorizing every second and every emotion that crossed her expressive face. “I mean, I could certainly wear it, but it might raise a lot of questions.”
“Wear?” she asked, raising an eyebrow curiously at him before the most amazing thing happened. She peered inside the bag and her entire being transformed as she smiled widely at him, her face illuminated with joy and wonder like a child in front of a toy store that he never imagined.
“Ohhh Jax…” she breathed openly, pulling out the little gift box and the chocolate bars. Just the way she said his name – that would haunt his dreams for months and years to come.
He swallowed hard, trying not to let his body react to that simple phrase.
Mary’s delicate fingers slowly opened the box as her eyes looked up, meeting his, and impossibly so – her smile widened even further.
“You didn’t…”
“I did…” he replied easily, not fighting the way he felt, and hoped that it wasn’t written all over his face. He was falling for this beautiful woman before him, and amazed by every facet of her personality.
“They are… they’re little Tardis earrings?” she breathed, marveling at them. “These must have cost a fortune, Jax. Are those crystals in the windows? Ohhh Jax! There are tiny keys, too?”
“You like them?”
“I love them…” she breathed, looking beyond touched… and then her face froze as her expression changed. “I cannot accept them.”
“Then shall we go get my ears pierced?” he asked simply, watching her and refusing to feel let down.
This was a rejected, hurt, wounded person needing to justify wanting something special for themselves – and now that he knew a little bit more about her? He understood so much more.
Sure enough, a little curl to her lip was there as her eyes met his.
“What?” he said innocently. “Those are awesome, and if you don’t want them because they are from me – then I need to get my ears pierced.”
“It’s not because they are from you,” she mumbled, her cheeks pink.