Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(142)

“Like it?” she asked, wiping under her eye. “I love it.”

“Why do you look sad? What did I do?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing. It’s really beautiful.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “If it’s so beautiful, why are you sad?”

“It’s just…this is everything I want. You. I want you.”

“I’m yours,” he said, holding his palms up in submission.

“I know.” She tried to get her thoughts together. It was all so perfect, so beautiful, and exactly what she wanted. She just didn’t want something bad to happen. She didn’t want anyone to take this away.

“The last time we were together in New York, you showed me your grandma’s ring and left,” Lexi whispered. She hated bringing it up, but she couldn’t pretend not to have fears. She wanted to confide her fears to him and allow them to fade away naturally.

Jack nodded, understanding crossing his face. “I prefer to think about the month before when I held you in my arms every night.”

“Sometimes, it’s easy to forget the highs with all the lows.”

“There are always going to be lows,” Jack responded, sweeping her hair behind her ear for her. “But I don’t think any of us could really appreciate the highs without them. And I can’t promise you that there won’t be lows. There will be, but every high will be worth it.” His achingly tender lips found hers.

“I know, Jack,” she murmured against his lips. “It’s just…memories.”

“I don’t want to erase those memories. They keep us on the straight and narrow. They remind us where we went wrong and where to go from here. They kept us together,” he said. “You and I, Lex, we’ll always be unfinished business.”

Lexi smiled up at him, letting the tension slide off her shoulders. Jack was right. Of course he was right. There would always be problems to face, but as long as they had each other, trusted in each other, they could overcome them.

“It took me ten years to get to you. I think that’s a fair trade as long as I have a lifetime to spend with you,” he whispered.

Lexi smiled up at him, practically glowing at the statement. How long had she imagined a lifetime with Jack? And now…it was within reach.

“Please don’t freak out,” he told her.

She cocked her head to the side in confusion until she saw him pull out a small black box from his pocket.

“What…is…that?” she stammered, already well past freaking out.

“I told you not to freak out. It’s not what you think,” he said with a tight chuckle.

“Um…” she said, her eyes wide.

Jack opened the box and plucked the small piece of jewelry out before she could get a look at it. At this point, her stomach was sitting somewhere around her feet, and her mind was somewhere else, far, far away. Her mouth was dry, and she could hear ringing in her ears. What exactly was in this little black box that she wasn’t supposed to freak out about?

“I just…I got you something,” he said, his blue eyes meeting hers.

That look alone made her soften. This was Jack. He knew what made her freak out. He knew everything about her.

“You’re such a big part of my life. And I know we’re not ready to make a big step, but I felt like I just needed to show you that I am ready to make a little step. It’s more important to me, I think, Lex, to show you that I’m committed to you more than anything. Because I am. I can tell you a million times that I’m all yours, but I know that time will be proof of that. So, for now, I just thought I’d start with this.”

Jack held out a tiny silver ring with a looped knot on the top. It was simple and easy and so unbelievably perfect for them.

“I want you to be tied to me, Lex, in every way possible,” Jack said, his voice hoarse. “I want you to wear this one until we’re ready for you to wear the other one.”

Jack slid it onto Lexi’s finger. Her heart was in her throat the whole time. This wasn’t an engagement ring or anything, but it meant so much. Maybe, at this moment in time, it meant even more than that. It was a promise ring—a promise to commit to her, a promise to love her, a promise to treat her the way she deserved. And by wearing it on her finger, she was promising him the same in return.

And so much more—so much that they would never be able to articulate to the other, except through glances and touches and experiences and time.

And they had all the time in the world.

THE END