Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(96)
Knowing he was watching me intently, and not wanting him to think I was doubting him in any way, I popped the box out and opened the lid.
Inside were two silver bands, one clearly a man’s, one a woman’s; the woman’s was elegantly lined with small diamonds. Confused, I scrunched my brows and looked up at him. He smiled, peering down at me.
Reaching down, he grabbed the man’s ring. “They’re promise rings,” he whispered. Picking up the woman’s, he lifted my right hand. Sliding it on my finger, he softly said, “You wear one,” he slipped the man’s on the ring finger of his right hand, “and I wear one.” Smiling contently, he shook his head. “And we promise that no one comes between us. That we…belong to each other, and only each other.” As I stared at him, amazed and warmed, a tear rolled down my cheek.
“I love it,” I whispered, leaning over to kiss him.
We tenderly kissed on that couch for a long moment. We probably would have kissed longer, but a wadded-up piece of gift paper smacked me in the face. Frowning, I turned to glare at my sister. She grinned, giggling as she lifted a box of very expensive perfume…her favorite kind.
“Thanks, Kellan, I love it.”
268
He nodded at her, laughing lightly as he snuggled into my side. From the other couch, my dad cleared his throat and pointed at what Kellan had gotten for them. “Yes, thank you…Kellan.” Mom grinned as she hugged what looked like plane tickets in her hand. As I scrunched my face, trying to figure out where they were going, Kellan leaned down to my ear. “I got them tickets to Seattle, so they could see you graduate in June.”
My mouth dropped open as I looked back at him. He grinned and laughed at the look on my face. “Kellan…you didn’t have to…” He shrugged. “I know, but your parents should see all of your hard work pay off, and tickets are expensive, so…” He shrugged again.
As the relaxation of a successful Christmas morning flowed throughout the room, I leaned into Kellan’s body. Lacing our hands together, I watched where the rings lined up and smiled. Sighing at the physical representation of our commitment to each other, I noticed that Kellan was still fingering the toy car in his other hand.
Pulling back, I looked up at him. “When I gave you that toy, you said something. What was it?”
Kellan looked down at our hands, smiling to himself. Shaking his head, he murmured, “It’s nothing.”
I kissed his jaw. “Tell me anyway.”
He looked over at me and then at the room full of the family that I loved. Anna was snuggling with Mom, thanking her for a cashmere set that had probably cost my parents a small fortune. Dad was flipping through Anna’s calendar, telling her that she looked very…pretty.
Absorbing the feeling in the room, Kellan shook his head. “This is so nice…so peaceful. Kind of idyllic.” His voice low, almost inaudible, he whispered, “I keep waiting for the yelling to start.” He glanced over at me and then looked down at our hands again. “It means so much to me that you let me…be a part of this.” He looked back up at me, his face content. “I think this may be my new favorite Christmas morning.” 269
I smiled, jabbing him in the ribs. “Even though you had to climb down a trellis?” I whispered, careful to not let Dad hear me. “Even being…interrogated?” I said more seriously.
He smiled down on me and nodded. “Yep…still the best.” Knowing that he probably hadn’t had too many bright spots in his childhood, I wondered what memory had been his favorite up until this point. When I asked him, he turned his head, his eyes getting a faraway look as he remembered. “I was five. It was Christmas Eve. My dad was angry at…something…I don’t remember what, and he tossed me into a wall, broke my arm.”
My eyes widened as Kellan’s contented smile grew. This was a good memory?
Not reacting to my face, he glanced at his arm slung around me and ran our laced together fingers over a bone under his shirt. “It broke here.” In my horror, I realized it was the exact same spot Denny had broken his arm.
Kellan shrugged, his face still serene. “They took me to the emergency room, my mom complaining the entire time that they were going to be late for a party. I don’t know why I remember her saying that…” Looking over to the Christmas tree, Kellan shook his head. “Anyway, they checked me in, then left. I didn’t see them again until Christmas night.” Leaning back on the couch, Kellan smiled wider as his story grew more and more awful. “There was this nurse there, and I guess she felt sorry for me or something, because I was all alone on Christmas morning.” He looked over at the toy car in his hand, lifting it up to examine it closer. “She gave me a set of three Hot Wheels. A fire truck, a police car, and…a muscle car.” He grinned as he met my eye. “Just like this one.” Shaking his head, he laughed a little. “I played with those cars all day…” Running the toy down my arm, he murmured, “But this one was my favorite. It was the only thing I wished I’d remembered to take to L.A. when I left home. But I forgot, and my parents…tossed it.” 270
He met eyes with me again. “That Christmas was the best one I’d ever had, because I wasn’t at home. That toy was the best gift I’d ever received, even better than my guitar I think, because the guitar was mainly a ploy from my parents to keep me out of their hair…” He lifted the car again. “This…was pure.”