Page 114 of Undeniable

“That’ll just make it more fun,” he quipped, and I swatted his bicep.

James’s eyes locked on the necklace, directly level with his gaze and hanging around my neck. The same flower I’d worn until I’d given it to him. The same one he’d rarely taken off.

His gaze softened as he toyed with the charm. His eyes went distant, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I always did when I looked at the necklace for too long. It was hard not to think about the years we’d spent apart, trying to hate each other, keeping any feelings locked down, and wondering what it would’ve been like if, instead, everything had turned out completely different.

“I can say with complete certainty,” he began quietly, still looking at where his fingers carefully clasped the flower. “That there has never been a man who loves a woman more than I love you. And it’s scary to think that the future is unknown, but I know it’s going to be okay. If I have you, everything will always be okay.”

Suddenly, there was so much emotion welled up in my throat that I couldn’t swallow, let alone breathe. How he could go from joking tothat,I would forever be stunned, but I could feel his words as much as I heard them.

“I think we’re kind of lucky,” I said, my voice shaking with each syllable as I pushed back his slowly drying hair and cupped his cheek. “We got to fall in love twice.”

James gave me a small smile but shook his head before tilting so he could brush a kiss on my palm.

“You disagree?”

“Yes, because saying that we fell in love twice makes it sound like I stopped loving you at some point. Like there was a beginning and an end. But there wasn’t. I’ve been in love with you the entire time.”

He straightened enough to kiss me softly, clasping my face and smiling against my lips. “I love you, Killer. I loved you then, and I love you now. I’ve loved you every day in between, and I’ll love you every day after.”

A tear or two slid down my cheeks and landed on our connected lips.

“I love you, too.” I tilted back as he brushed away the remnants of my tears. They were happy tears, as they all had been since we’d reconciled.

“So simple,” James murmured, idly tracing the curve of one breast before doing the same to the other.

“We were anything but simple for a really long time. I think we could use a little simple.”

He dramatically tossed his hands in the air and shook his head. “You definitely just jinxed us. Now we’re really in for it.”

And then he kissed me again.

James

It was cold, or at least chillier than it should have been to have the windows down. But Ivy wanted the cool breeze to flow through the cabin of the truck, and I wasn’t going to tell her no. Especially not when it made her smile like that.

We were only minutes away from Amanda, Josh, and Reed’s house, but I contemplated taking the long way if it meant I got to watch her sit in contented happiness for even longer.

Over the low hum of the music, she was telling me a story about when we were younger. One where Forrest, Brendon, and I tormented her for no good reason. But she was laughing at the memory of our childish antics and how she and Shelby had plotted some sort of revenge that never came to fruition.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

The abrupt change in topic pulled me from my thoughts, only to realize that she’d caught me staring at her. I had no idea what the rest of my face looked like, but I knew I was thinking about how perfect she was.

“Your laugh and your smile are two of the best things in the world,” I said honestly.

Ivy rolled her eyes. Her head fell back against the seat behind her, and she tilted her face to look at me. She tried to appear annoyed, but I saw right through it.

“You’re extra cheesy today.”

I shook my head and turned on the turn signal while I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“I’m just happy, but I’ll try to tone it down.”

She laughed again, and I squeezed her hand.

“Idon’t mind it. But I don’t think our friends are going to have the same opinion.”

I wasn’t kidding earlier when I’d told her I wanted to skip the party and stay in that little cabin. I loved my friends more than almost anything, but in that little bubble, it was like nothing else mattered.

---