Page 28 of Obeying His Rules

“I don’t know,” she asks, looking at the small wrapped box in her hands. “What is it?”

“I can’t tell you that, silly. It would ruin the surprise! Open it.”

She twists in my arms and looks up at me, a very obvious vulnerability in her eyes.

“I saw you talking to a girl earlier…before the party.”

This isn’t good. Jenny often slips into moments of jealousy, and sometimes it can be hard to get her out of them.

“Yep, that was Emily. She works in accounting.”

Jenny nods. “She likes you. I can tell.”

Oftentimes, humor diffuses situations like this.

“Well who doesn’t like me?” I grin.

Jenny looks away.

But not this time, I guess.

I hook my finger underneath her chin and lift her gaze to mine.

“Hey, I’m just playing. She just works for me, sweetie. There’s nothing going on there. You know I only have eyes for you.”

“Yeah?” she asks hopefully. “You sure?”

“Of course!” I reply. “Now come on, open my present. I want you to see what I got you!”

She looks at me, and I can see her teetering on the edge. This could go either way. But finally she smiles, looks down, and carefully unwraps her present, exposing the blue jewelry box beneath.

She looks up at me, hopeful suspiciousness in her eyes.

“Keep going,” I tell her.

She delicately sets the wrapping paper aside, none of it torn, takes a breath, and opens the box.

Inside lies the necklace I picked out for her. A heart made from 950 grade platinum, and at its center, a flawless single carat diamond.

I hear a tiny gasp from her lips and lean in closer.

“Do you like it?”

She simply nods, as if she can’t believe it.

“I didn’t want anything gaudy and huge. Just something tasteful and delicate. Like you.”

She looks stunned as I take it from its box and string it around her neck. She’s not even able to simply let it hang; she has to lift it in her hands to examine it.

I smile as I watch her. I wasn’t sure whether she would think this gift would be too much this early into our relationship–especially after what happened at the bridge and her being in therapy–but I wanted to get her something special, so I went for it.

“Happy birthday, Jenny. I love you.”

She smiles and looks up at me, and I see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. She smiles and leans her head against my chest.

“Thank you, Marlon. I love you too.”

About an hour later, when the party is winding down, I see Emily coming up the hall toward the office, a tablet and a stack of files in her hands. She nods at me, and I immediately sigh.

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