you, but nothing hurt more than when I sat in that courtroom and was told it would be two years before I could hold you again.” A tear rolls down his face.
ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF WATER
AS SHAY WIPES away a tear I couldn’t stop from rolling down my face, I take a slow, steady, confident as hell breath. She looks out into the water, and I watch as her long, dark, soft, wavy hair blows around her face from the light ocean breeze. Her blue eyes blink and squint a little from the sand that kicks up, and I just stare at her, mesmerized by everything she is to me. She looks over at me, and I can’t contain my feelings any longer.
“What do you see when you look out into the ocean?” I ask her. Her eyes soften, and she wipes fresh tears off my face. As she looks back out into the Pacific Ocean, I grab forever I was hiding and put it in my hand.
“You’ve asked me this before, forgetful boy.”
“I know I asked you this before, but I’m asking you again,” I say, standing up and looking out into the water. With my favorite pink bikini on, she sits up on her knees, playing into me perfectly without even knowing.
“I see water. Endless amounts of water.”
“That’s right, baby,” I agree, and before I can repeat what I told her long ago on this very spot, she says it with me.
I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW
“JUST LIKE MY LOVE for you, endless, baby,” I say, smiling, because just like Jace, I don’t forget a single moment we’ve ever shared. He smiles back and shakes his head.
“You remember me saying that to you?”
“You aren’t the only one that has a good memory.” I stare up into his eyes.
“I, I…have a million reasons why I fell in love with you, Shay, but right now, I just want you to know how I feel in this moment.”
I watch as my boy gets choked up and kicks up sand as he gets down on one knee in front of me. My heart starts to race, and my love for him is ready to burst straight out of my chest.
“I just want you to know the day we met, when that earthquake shook everyone’s world, it didn’t shake mine until I saw your face on that dirt field. The moment my eyes connected with yours, my heart and soul latched on so tight to you that there would never be anyone that could ever take you away. I love you. I love you more and more every day, and I don’t want to wait another second. I want your pretty hand in mine for the rest of my life. Will you please hold my hand forever and make me the happiest boy in the entire world? Marry me, Shay. Be my wife.”
Tears are flowing down my face, and every single moment I’ve ever dreamed of just came true. My boy has just given me the most calendar-worthy moment, the most perfect moment in the entire world.
Through ragged, tearful cries, I find the words I dreamed of saying since the moment I met him. As Jace holds my face in his hands, I tell him, “I’ve waited to hear you say those words to me since I was twelve years old, and just like when you said them over a year ago at the condo so perfectly, my answer will always be yes. I love you so much, Jace James, and I can’t wait to spend my entire life holding your hand as your wife.” He starts kissing me all over my face. “I will marry you today, tomorrow, and always, I will be your girl.” He takes my hand and slides the most beautiful diamond engagement ring I’ve ever seen onto my finger, then presses his lips to it. Leaning over, he grabs my phone with one hand, and with his other hand, he takes mine that is shining brightly with diamonds.
“Smile, baby. You just got engaged.”
I look over at him with the biggest tear-filled smile ever while he lifts my hand to my phone and takes a bunch of shots of our moment. After he takes a slew of pictures of me staring at him while he looks into the camera with that sexy, sweet smile, I turn my face to the camera and lean against him, as he takes some more.
“No more pictures, future husband. I’ve been crying, and I probably have ugly cry face in all of our first engagement pictures,” I demand, earning a laugh as he takes a few more pictures. “Okay, camera boy, you captured our moment.” I take my phone out of his hand, and he pushes me down onto our beach blanket.
“I captured you, baby.”
“Yes, you definitely captured me,” I say as he kisses my neck, and I hold my hand up over his body to stare at my ring.
“I know how much all of our special moments mean to you, so I wanted to get a picture right when I put that ring on your finger. Did I do all right? Do you like it?”
“It’s the most perfect ring ever, perfectly perfect.”
He chuckles and says, “Now I want the perfect ending to our perfectly perfect engagement.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” I ask him as he grabs the blanket, pulling it on top of him. “It’s not totally dark yet, Jace.”
He lifts his head from my neck and looks around. “Nobody is here, and it’s almost dark. Use those pretty pink toes to slide my trunks down.” I giggle. “Come on, baby. Your boy just gave you a fairy-tale proposal. Don’t make me wait. I want to be inside my future wife right now.”
I use my feet to slide down his shorts, and he wastes no time pushing my bikini aside and sliding into me.
“This was the best day ever,” he says as he makes the sweetest love to me.
As he thrusts into me, I scream into his ear, “I’m getting married!” He falls onto me and laughs.
“Could you have at least waited until I finished crashing into you?”
“Sorry, I’m just excited I’m marrying my boy.”
“Start planning how you want to marry your boy because I’m not waiting,” he says, thrusting in and out of me with a sweet sigh and pressing his lips to mine.
OH MY GOD… OH MY GOD… OH MY GOD
“OH MY GOD, YOU’RE getting married!” Jules practically screams when she comes through my parents’ front door. She runs into my arms. “Let me see the ring!” I put my hand out and show her what my boy bought me. She steps back and holds my hand. “Oh my God… Oh my God…”
“How many times are you going to say ‘Oh my God’?” Beau says, walking into the room. Jules looks up from my ring.
“As many times as I need to,” she huffs. “Oh my God… Oh my God… Oh my God… Shay, it’s so perfectly perfect!”
“Who talks like that?” Beau asks Jace.
“Bro, they do,” Jace says, laughing.
Beau looks over at Jules then back to Jace. “I’ve never noticed that.”
“That’s because you aren’t used to spending time with sweet girls. You like to hang out with Hollywood sluts,” Jules says.
“Don’t argue, you two. This is like my best day ever!” I tell them as Jules stares back at my ring.
“Oh, Jace, you did so good. It’s perfect for Shay.”
“Why is it perfect for her? Because it’s simple and pretty?” Beau says, kind of half-joking. “I’m sure you’re going to need some huge rock on your finger to be happy like Shay is.”
Jules tears her eyes away from Beau, who is being a total jerk, and walks over to Jace and wraps her arms around him. “It’s absolutely gorgeous, Jace. You know Shay so well. That is exactly what she would have picked out. That’s what has always made you two so special—how much love you have for each other.
“One day, I hope that I find someone as wonderful as you. Shay is the luckiest girl ever to have found you. She told me the second she got home from meeting you that you would be the one. And, you truly are the perfect person for her. I’m so happy my best friend will be forever loved by you. Congratulations on your perfect engagement.”
I look at Jules as she hugs my boy tight, and I can’t help but cry tears of both joy for my engagement and sadness that my brother just hurt her feelings. Jules might come off like she doesn’t care, but what Beau doesn’t realize about my best friend is she has a heart of absolute gold.
She breaks their hug, and Jace, being the best ever, wipes the tears falling down her beautiful face and kisses her cheek. “Thanks for always taking care of my girl, especially when I couldn’t.”
&nbs
p; “I will always be here for Shay. She’s my absolute bestest friend ever,” she says, wiping more tears.
Beau scoffs and quietly says, “Julia.”
“What?” she replies, staring at Beau after Jace swoops me up into his strong arms and starts to carry me away.
“I’m sorry…” He puts his head down.
“For telling me how you think I’m shallow? Don’t be sorry. I’m used to you being an asshole. And, I’m sure any girl you decide to marry will be marrying you because she’s just so in love with you and not because of who you are. I’m sure that’s okay with you. You’re pretty much just into superficial glamour girls anyway, right?”
“Well, how can I have a comeback to that, Julia?” Beau says.
“Kind of hard to,” Jules answers, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
I don’t know why these two always have to be so rude to each other. Beau takes his eyes from hers and looks back at me.
“I want to take you guys out to celebrate,” he says with a little sorrow in his voice, probably from the bickering with Jules.
“After my little girl comes and shows me her ring and tells me all about her engagement,” Mom says, walking into the great room. I put my hand out with Jace holding me in his arms. “Oh, Shay, it’s just exquisite.” My dad walks in and looks over her shoulder. “Oh, Steven, look how pretty.” He smiles and pats Jace on the back of his shoulder.
“You did good, son. You did really good.”
“Did you know Jace was going to ask me, Dad?” I look up into my boy’s eyes.
“I’ve known since you came for dinner, before you went to Oregon,” he answers.
“You are a sneaky, sneaky boy, Jace James.”
“I was supposed to have that chat with your dad over a year ago,” Jace says.
“Don’t remind me why you weren’t able to.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m going to take them out,” Beau says.
I look up at Jace. “Do you want to?”
“Whatever you want to do.”
“Okay, maybe for a little while so Jules and I can chat about wedding stuff.”
YOUR HEART IS BEATING IN YOUR NECK
SO THIS IS WHERE my girl hung out and got tipsy. That’s what’s going through my mind when we walk into the upscale bar. It’s a far cry from the dive I had my pity party in back in Oregon, and I can’t help but feel a bit of jealously that Shay was in here without me. She leads me to a table reserved in the corner, and as the guy that looks a little too hard at her sets a bottle of champagne onto the table Beau ordered, I pull her into me. He pops the cork while still staring at Shay, and then glances over at Jules.
“What’s the occasion?” he asks, grinning.
“I’m getting married,” Shay says so damn sweet.
He glances at me as he pours four glasses. “Congratulations.” I look at him probably a little too hard. I can’t fucking help it. I hate anyone looking at Shay.
I nod at him while my girl says “thank you” in the only way she knows how— fucking perfect.
The guy walks away, and Beau toasts us, lifting his glass as Shay hands me one. “Congratulations. I can only hope that one day a girl will love me for just being Beau, and not because I’m Beau Stark.”
Jace and I turn to Jules, who is holding her glass up and looking away from Beau’s hard stare as he reminds her of what she said at my parents’ house.
“Really, though, I’m so happy for you two… I mean, you are young.”
“And madly in love,” I throw out there.
“And, madly in love.” Beau continues, “Isn’t that what life is all about? To find that one person that completes you in every way? All jokes aside, I’m so glad my sister found that person in you, and hopefully, we will all be that lucky to find a love as special.” Then he puts his glass against ours and says, “To true love.” We all clink our glasses and take a drink.
“That was straight out of a script. You couldn’t have possibly said that from your own thoughts,” Jules says, putting in another dig.
“Actually, princess, that came from my heart.”
“Well, then that was very nicely said.”
“Thank you,” Beau says to Jules with his famous Stark smile. She rolls her eyes and pours us all more champagne.
Shay hands me my glass. “No more for me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” I tell her as I look over her shoulder and see what took me away from her. She leans over and places a soft kiss on my neck and then looks at me with a cute scrunched-up nose.
“Your heart is beating in your neck, tough boy.” I tighten my jaw and take in a breath. She looks over at where I’m staring and gasps. “Jace?”
“It’s okay, baby. Don’t get upset.”
“You look upset.”
“I’m fine.”
“I want to leave.”
“We’re not leaving, Shay.”
“Jace, please.”
“No.” I pick up her hand I’m holding and kiss her ring. “I’m fine. I promise you that.” I play with her hand, and she entwines our fingers.
“Please, can we leave? I want to go home.”
Looking down at our joined hands, I know after what she told me my hand means to her that I don’t want her to ever see anything but love, and a swinging fist isn’t showing her that. I get up off the chair, but when that fucker starts walking toward me, I don’t have any choice but to wait for what’s coming. I’m a lot smarter than I was a year ago when I threw him to the ground, and I loved Shay just as much that night as I love her right now. It’s indescribable how much that is, and now that we’ve gone through a year of hell, and she’s got my ring on her finger, there is no way I’m acting like a pussy now. I won’t fight, but I will not walk away unheard either.
“Give me your lips,” I tell her, as he gets closer. “Do you love me?”
“More than anything,” she answers with a quivering voice.
“Do you have faith in my word?”
“Yes.”
“Then believe me when I tell you right now that nothing bad will happen.”
“Okay,” she says, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Don’t cry, pretty girl. Your boy can always take care of himself, and taking care of you is what I’m meant to do. I can’t do that the way I want to behind bars, so stop crying.” She shakes her head, and I press my lips to hers, tasting all that coconut happiness that Cole took away from me.
“Can we talk?” Cole asks, putting his chest out a bit. I laugh inside because he wouldn’t have lasted a week in prison. He looks around our table at Beau, who stands up straight and folds his arms over his chest, and then over to Jules who looks as scared as Shay.
“We can talk in private, not in front of Shay,” I say, holding my girl’s hand lovingly at my side.
“You can talk to him right here. I don’t want you two by yourself,” Shay chimes in. I look down at her and soften my voice.
“This is not a conversation for you. This is between Cole and me.”
She shakes her head no, and I tilt my head to the side and nod yes. She gets her way with most things she wants but not this one. Cole and I need to get this over with so we can move on with our lives.
“Jace, please…”
“Drink your champagne. I’ll be back in a minute.” I look over at Beau, who looks ready to react if he needs to—he won’t, though. “Watch your sister for me. I’ll be back.” He nods, and I lift Shay’s hand and kiss her ring finger. “Stay here, Shay. You wanted to chat with Jules about wedding stuff, and now you can. You’ll forget that I’m gone.”
“I won’t forget.” She glances at Cole, then back at me. “I can’t ever forget,” she says, reminding me of our nightmare. “Please, stay here.”
I don’t ever want to disappoint Shay, but this is long overdue, and I don’t want her to hear what I have to say to Cole. She’s not used to the words that will make their way out of
my mouth, I’m sure, and I want it to stay that way.
I look at Jules as Shay grips my hand. “By the way, Jules. Shay and I are getting married tomorrow night, so you better get a dress in the morning.”
“Tomorrow night?” She turns to Shay. “Shay, you can’t get married so soon.”
“There, you have plenty to chat about,” I say, prying her pretty hand out of the death grip she has our hands in. “I love you. I’ll be right back.” I kiss her cheek before turning toward Cole. “Let’s go to the alley and talk,” I tell him as I walk away from the table to the door. I don’t look back because I don’t want to see the devastation in Shay’s eyes, but once this conversation is over, I think she will be able to let some of that fear go.
HAVE FAITH
“BEAU, YOU NEED TO go out there!”
“I’m not going out there, Shay.”
I start playing with my charm bracelet and stare at the door.
“Jace won’t do anything stupid, Shay, so let’s focus on the fact that he just told me you are getting married tomorrow!” Jules says, drinking more champagne, completely dismissing the fact that my happy moment might very well be ruined with those two in an alleyway right now. “You can’t get married tomorrow. There is no way I can find a dress that soon, and where are you even getting married? We’ve had no planning whatsoever, Starkie. If you tell me you are getting married at the justice of the peace, I will totally have to find a new best friend. That is completely unacceptable!”
“He was kidding! He was just trying to get you to distract me! Do you really think I would get engaged and married the next day? I want a pretty dress, too. It’s my wedding!” I get up off my chair. “I’m going out there, Beau.” He pulls me back.
“No, you’re not. Jace and Cole need to hash it out on their own.”
“They already hashed it out on their own before. One was almost killed, and the other spent a year in prison. They aren’t good at talking things out, Beau!”
Questionable Love (A Love Beyond Labels #2) Page 44