Jade’s shoulders drooped when she saw the elaborate dinner and tapered candles. “No, it’s not.” The music bridged to Extreme’s More Than Words.
I saw the laundry basket with a stack of neatly folded towels on the couch and cringed, realizing I’d forgotten to put it away.
“All of this and you did laundry?”
“Cleaned the house, too.” I pressed my lips to the back of her hand. “Aiming for a husband of the year award.”
“You’re always in first place with no competition.” She flung herself into my arms and kissed me, hungrily claiming my lips.
My arms instinctively wrapped around her tight, and my mouth devoured her softness. “I should dust more often,” I mumbled, letting my hands slide under her shirt and up the warm velvet of her skin. The hooks of her bra were a cruel tease.
Focus, Seth.
It took tremendous control, but I pumped the brakes on physical romance, led her to the table, and ushered her into a chair. “There’s a Brady’s cheesecake in the fridge too.”
“Do you want to skip dinner and have dessert?” she asked as I sat down.
I braced the arms of the chair to stand again. “You want the cheesecake now?”
“Not that dessert,” she said with a sly smile.
Fuck, woman. Quit distracting me. I shut my eyes and took a breath. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but not yet.”
I took in the moment, watching how the dancing flickers from the candles lit up her eyes from afar and the way the smoothness of the shadows caressed the soft curves of her face. Jade’s blonde tresses begged me to run my fingers through them and grip tight while I kissed her hard and tore at her shirt, but I clenched my fists to stop the fantasy from unfolding before reality had a chance to catch up.
“I bought you something,” I said.
“There’s more?”
I reached under the table for a rectangular shaped box wrapped with shimmering paper and an envelope, pulled my chair closer, and sat down next to her.
She looked at me twice before ripping into the envelope. With her dainty fingers, she pulled out the card and read the front of it with a wide smile. “Lime yours.” She ran her fingers over the glitter-crusted pair of green citrus fruits with stick arms and silly grins, holding hands. Her eyes skimmed the sentimental message inside, intended only for her. “Thank you.”
I reached over and brushed her cheek. “You’re welcome. Now, open the box.”
“You’re making me feel bad.” She touched the tape. “I didn’t buy you any gifts, and I didn’t clean...”
“You walking through the door was present enough.” I patted the top of the box. “Now, open it.”
She placed her hand on top of mine. “Save this box for next year. It’ll give me something to look forward to and something to look back on.”
“I—”
“Dinner? The house? The card? A cheesecake? You’ve done plenty.”
“I’ll make a deal with you. The box can wait until next year, but I have one other surprise that can’t wait,” I said. “No tarnishing my rule.”
“Deal.”
“Close your eyes.”
She squinted at me with one eye and a smile before she fully followed my direction. I let out a long breath through my mouth until I had no air left. My heart thumped in my throat, and I got down on one knee in front of her with a small box in my grip. Nervousness tangled through my stomach, not because I feared her answer but because she deserved perfection.
“Now, open.”
The heavy lashes that shadowed her face flew upward, resulting in a fallen jaw. “What are you doing?”
A lengthy lull between songs sounded, as if it somehow knew to give that moment the attention it’d earned. “I never gave a proper proposal or an engagement ring. You know that didn’t sit well with me.”
She stared, wordlessly.
“But there’s a story to be told here, and only we can tell it.” The black velvet box creaked when I popped it open. I let the seconds unfold slowly and took them all in, knowing they’d never happen again. It had to be done right. “Do you remember the dime from the day we met?”
She stared at me with short, shallow breaths and a nod.
“A friend of mine works at a jewelry shop in Steele Falls.” I pulled the platinum band topped with a diamond solitaire from the pillowed slot and pinched it between my thumb and index finger. “I had the coin melted down and formed into a band with plating around it. This here,” I raised the ring a few inches, “is to always remind you, a little over three years ago, our lives turned on a dime. For the better.” I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. “So, Jade McCullough? Tell me. Are you brave enough?”
Her lower lip may have trembled, but her answer didn’t lag. “Yes!”
I watched my wife move from the chair to her knees on the floor with me.
With both of our hands shaking, I placed that ring on the fourth finger of her left hand and gathered her into my arms again. I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she mumbled and rested her palms on my hands, ensuring they didn’t move.
I couldn’t bring my voice above a whisper. “Waiting for me. Trusting me. Believing in me. Everything.” My mouth brushed hers softly at first, my tongue a brief tease against her lips. I pulled away to look into her eyes and couldn’t hold back anymore. Jade succumbed to the forceful domination of my next kiss, my body easing atop hers on the floor. Dinner had to wait.
I littered a trail of kisses along her jaw, pausing to leave a few near the pulsing hollow of her throat. The heat and scent of her skin hit my senses and pulled me under like a drug.
“Seth.” She ran her fingers through my hair as I slid a hand under the bottom of her shirt and lifted, my palm skimming her stomach until I reached the cup of her bra. Through the thin layer of lace, I felt the peak of her right breast pebble beneath my touch.
My lips grazed over the thin barricade of fabric with gentle nips. Each isolated motion resulted in a domino effect of her whimpering and arching her back against me.
I moved lower and slipped her yoga pants off along with her lace underwear in one motion. My gaze skimmed from her thighs to her toes, my mouth fully prepared to continue with a trail of kisses along her ribs, working my way south. Next, I’d stop between her legs. Then, I’d hold her hips to my face, using my tongue until she came or begged me to stop.
With her pants and underwear in a pile, I traveled my way up her body, my eyes hiccupping near her waist with an unexpected detour. My stare flicked between her face and below her navel three times before I processed what I saw.
She’d propped herself up on her elbows with a clever smile. Explanation wasn’t needed.
“Are you serious?” I focused on her canvas of flesh again and traced over it with my thumb.
In black ink, she’d outlined two hearts, spaced a few inches apart, with the word “OR” in the middle. One of the shapes was colored in pink and the other blue. Above it, she’d written, “Happy Anniversary.”
“You’re…we’re…holy…you didn’t forget.” As it turned out, I was the one who’d forgotten how to speak cohesively when I figured it’d be the other way around.
She nodded with more tears in her eyes. “It’s my turn to ask. Seth McCullough. Tell me. Are you brave enough?”
With a swift nod and a yes, I held her tight, unsure of how much time passed. Jade gave me everything I didn’t know possible. Friendship. Love. Hope. A future. And most recently, a legacy.
“Oh. I have one more surprise, too.” She reached for her purse under the table and pulled out an envelope.
“You already blew my anniversary presents out of the water.” I slid my finger under the flap and pulled the card from the envelope. I touched th
e familiar, glittery limes holding hands on the front of the card and looked at her. “Lime yours too, Doc.”
And with that, I swept her into my arms, exactly like I’d done three years ago in July and carried her up to the bedroom while Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Deeply played in the background for no one to hear.
Three months later…
Nothing made me happier than cuddling my pregnant wife. Her beautiful existence was where I wanted to be, regardless of the location. That particular chilled night in October also happened to be Jade’s birthday. I’d celebrated her from the minute she woke up and would until the clock struck midnight. Like always, I’d start over with every unbirthday in-between. Sienna came over for an early dinner and brought a Brady’s cheesecake. After dessert, she left for a date, so I had Jade all to myself. Zero complaints.
I rested my hand on her growing baby bump while I spooned her back against my chest on the couch. “So, the name thing again. What do you think about Cora?”
“Mmm. Cora McCullough doesn’t feel right either.” Jade yawned and snuggled harder into me. “Do you like Julianna? Harper?”
“Veto. Went to school with a bitchy Julianna, so that name’s tainted. Growing up, Harper was my neighbor’s Chihuahua with an underbite.”
She turned to face me, the pure adoration in her eyes never a question. “We’ve been at this for weeks and exhausted the entire book twice.”
“Maybe she’ll have a name by the time she’s eighteen.” I hopped off the couch and knelt on the floor, resting my ear on Jade’s stomach.
She giggled, and I could listen to her laughter all day. “It’s not like hearing the ocean in a seashell. Do you think she’ll whisper her name to you through my bellybutton?”
I looked up at her. “Doesn’t hurt to try.”
“Maybe it’ll be one of those things, where we won’t know until we meet her.”
“Only a few more months.” I leaned up and kissed her lips softly before settling against her on the couch again. “It’s after six. I hoped the real estate agent would call.”
Jade’s voice sounded sleepy. “I know. Waiting is the worst. So much patience. A house. A baby.”
“As long as I’m waiting with you, I can be patient until the end of time.” I stroked her hair.
“Thank you for the amazing birthday,” she murmured, her sentences becoming united and lazy while her grip around my hand started to release. “You outdo yourself every year.”
I heard the crunch of gravel outside and the engine of a Honda. My body tensed.
Jade’s deep breathing told me she’d drifted off to sleep.
I wriggled out from behind her and draped the blanket from the back of the couch over her legs and turned down The Corrs’ Runaway with the remote. Holding my breath, I opened the front door, letting it quietly click closed behind me. With intention, I’d left the outdoor motion light off that night.
Bits of rock stabbed into the soles of my bare feet, but I didn’t want to spend the few unnecessary seconds on finding shoes and miss my opportunity. “Thought you might not show up.” I briskly walked across the gravel driveway and leaned against the side of my truck. The frosty autumn air left puffs of steam stemming from my mouth with each breath.
Even in the dark, I saw Bo’s regret when he winced from inside his vehicle. “Guess you caught me.”
“First time in three years. And for the record, we do have a doorbell out front.”
Bo laughed through his nose. “We.”
“Yes, we. Jade’s my wife. Clearly, that bothers you, and I’m not trying to parade it in front of your face, but I’m not going to hide it either.”
I watched Bo reach out his window and lower an oversized gift bag, letting it fall the last twelve inches to the ground with a soft thud. Next, he reached for the gearshift. The backup lights illuminated bright white as the tires rolled backward a few feet.
I spoke sternly, “This is what you do, every year on her birthday. You drop off a bag or a box and disappear for another three hundred and sixty-five days.”
Bo activated the brakes hard and opened his mouth, but I cut him off.
“I’m not finished. What you don’t see?” I pointed toward the house. “The days following, I’m the one who gets to pick up the pieces. Watching her mope around the house. Asking why won’t you return her calls. She dissects why you, her ex-best friend, hate her so much you won’t even reply with a fucking two-word text when she thanks you for a gift, a gesture she doesn’t understand. Then? A week later, it all tapers off until you pull the same thing again next year.” I tried to gather my thoughts. “If you cared at all—”
“I still care. That’s why I leave a present.”
“Perpetual sadness?” I pulled the flannel shirt around me tighter and crossed my arms. “What a thoughtful gift, Rodriguez. This year, it’s bound to be ten times worse. She’s pregnant and hormonal as a teenager.”
“Yeah, I know. News travels around town.” Bo mumbled, “Congratulations.”
The colorful bag with cartoon stick figures wearing birthday hats could get dropkicked over the cliff as far as I was concerned. “I almost don’t want to give her whatever fresh hell is in there. I won’t keep it from her. Just know I’m tempted.”
“It’s easier this way,” Bo said.
“For you,” I replied. “What about her?”
“What about her?”
I didn’t hide my frustration. “Seems like as soon as I entered the picture, you exited. Some best friend you turned out to be.”
“Yours or hers?” his words cut like jagged glass.
“Don’t do that,” I said. “You chose to stop talking to me a lifetime ago, and then you followed the same path with Jade. The difference is you still show up once a year to remind her you exist.”
“She doesn’t need my existence anymore.”
“Are you seriously...” I took a moment to extinguish my temper. “Is this a way for you to punish her for what happened when you and I were in high school?”
“You don’t get it, man. And you never will.”
“Don’t get what?”
Bo’s voice intensified. “You don’t know what it’s like to love and lose her!”
“This is an effort to win her over?”
“No. She made her choice when she met you. Whether she knew it or not then…I knew. And I got rejected, which makes it too hard to watch you two...”
I walked over to the open window and felt a steely coldness in my chest that rivaled the wind. “What do you mean ‘rejected’?”
“Nothing.”
I didn’t move a muscle. As much as my teeth tried to chatter from the unforgiving weather, I didn’t give in. I’d waited three long years to finally confront Bo, and I wasn’t about to wait three more.
“My accident. I know Jade. No doubt she told you everything.”
I nodded. “She did.”
“Her version of ‘everything’ is different from mine. So, in your words?” Bo’s tone was laced with bitterness. “‘What you don’t see?’ You think I don’t remember what happened up on the cliffside before I fell? That I didn’t memorize every detail of disappointment on her face when I said I loved her? That I can’t immediately see the guilt in her eyes when I close mine? The regret in her voice when she said she didn’t…” He blinked rapidly. “You’re wrong if you think I don’t know. I’ve played the memory loss card for years to protect her while I deal with the injuries she can and can’t see. That night,” Bo swallowed hard, “reminds me every day she never had the same feelings for me.”
I thought back to what Jade said on the drive to Peking Cocks.
“He doesn’t remember any of that night, and I’ll never bring up what he told me. Like it never happened.”
“The truth wasn’t t
hat important. Living the lie was,” he said.
“Bo…”
“That was my way to erase everything.” He hit his chest with an open palm. “My second chance. I decided I’d rather have her as a friend than not have her at all. Even that’s too much anymore, and holding on hurts.”
“I didn’t know.”
Stillness.
“You didn’t. But now that I know I’m hurting her…I need to be the one to let go. It has to be me. But I want you to promise me something. You can’t ever let go.”
I nodded and reached down for the handles of the bag, its worth heavier than its contents when I handed it to him through the window.
He placed it on the passenger seat and backed up the driveway without looking at me or saying goodbye.
I’m not sure how long I stood out there in the cold, processing what Bo said. The only reason I snapped from my daze was because my pocket buzzed. I reached for my cell phone and pushed a button.
“Hello?”
“Mr. McCullough?” a female voice asked.
“Speaking.”
“This is Christie over at Sunset Realty. Congratulations. Your offer was accepted.”
For a few minutes, thoughts of Bo fell to the wayside. After that phone call, I hurried up the porch, forgetting Jade napped on the couch. I shut the door harder than intended.
Jade squinted into the lamplight. “Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Doc?” I knelt down in front of the couch. “Tell me. Are you brave enough?”
She looked panicked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I brushed her hair from her face to ease her concern. “We got the house.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck with an excited squeal. “Are you serious? This is my best birthday!”
“For a few different reasons,” I glanced through the window where Bo was parked minutes ago and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness, “I think you’re right.”
Jade Page 45