Page 59 of Elevating Eve

When she still didn’t say anything, he plowed forward, his nerves forcing him to fill the silence. “If you don’t love it, the jeweler I used is happy to work with you to make a new design. His name is Theo, and he’s easy to work with. I think you’d really like him.”

Still nothing out of her, and he was starting to fear he’d fucked up extra big this time.

“Or I can have Theo take the stone out and give it to you. You can put it back in the old ring or whatever you want.” He was fucking babbling now, and he knew it. But the words wouldn’t stop coming. “If I overstepped here, I’m really sorry. I know how much I fucked up locking you out of that room, and I didn’t want you to have to wait any more to get it back. I probably should’ve given you the stone as soon as I found it, but I wanted you to have a ring that made you happy every time you saw it, instead of one that made you sad. You can?—”

“Where was it?” she asked, finally looking up at him.

Oh, thank fuck. He had no idea what had been about to come out of his mouth, but he felt certain it would’ve haunted him for the rest of his days. “The emerald?” At her nod, he told her, “Under a tile by the tub. I had Theo take all the mortar off. I didn’t want to damage the stone.”

“But how—” Her voice caught in her throat, and she took a long sip of her coffee as she composed herself. “How did you find it? I don’t understand how this is happening right now.”

“Lainey showed me how to remove tile. She even loaned me all the safety gear I needed.” He shrugged. “Once I got the hang of it, it was just a matter of finding the right tile.” Every muscle in his body had ached by the time he caught a glint of green sticking out of dried mortar. His hamstrings and shoulders still fucking hurt, two days later.

She stared at him with wide eyes, her lips forming a small O.

“What?” he asked, trying not to show how much her reaction was starting to freak him out. This wasn’t going at all how he’d imagined it in his head—not the perfect scenario where she threw herself into hisarms, nor the one where she cursed him out again and disappeared from his life forever.

Still looking thunderstruck, Eve finally managed to say, “You ripped up the bathroom on your own?”

Finally understanding, he had no choice but to look indignant. “I’ll have you know, I’m perfectly capable of doing that stuff.”

She hid a smile. Very poorly. “That stuff?”

“You know.” He waved a hand vaguely, as if that somehow explained everything. “All that Mr. Fix-it, HGTV crap.”

“Mr. Fix-it, HGTV crap,” she repeated, no longer trying to hide her amusement. “Out of curiosity, before you removed those tiles, when’s the last time you held a hammer?”

Jonathan made a show of straightening his tie, belatedly realizing that probably did nothing to help his case. “That’s completely irrelevant.”

Laughing, she shoved her chair back, hurrying around the table to fling her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered, her breath hot against his ear. “For understanding, for finding it, for the ring—all of it. Thank you so much.”

Don’t kiss her. Don’t touch her. Don’t fucking do anything to ruin this.The warning flashed red in his mind, and yet he couldn’t help breathing deeply as her sweet lavender scent surrounded him. It felt like gripping a tiger’s tail. As long as his tenuous control lasted, he’d be fine.

As soon as it slipped, he was well and truly fucked.

“So, you like the new ring?” he asked, trying to distract them both before the tiger broke free. “Veritas?”

In answer, Eve planted her hands on his shoulders, pushing away just enough so she could look him in the eye. “I love it. I love how much thought you put into it. I love that you found my emerald yourself instead of paying someone else to do it.” Plopping down onto his lap, she moved her hands up to cup his face. “I love that you took the time to understand why I was so upset at you, and you’re genuinely trying to do things differently now. I love that you talked to Nell and made an appointment with a grief counselor.”

Picking up the ring, he slid the delicate platinum band onto the ring finger of her right hand. The light pouring through thecoffee shop windows illuminated the emerald, making it look almost magical. The small diamond accents on either side of the large stone shimmered. “That’s a lot of love.”

“Yes, it is.” Leaning forward, she pressed a soft kiss against his lips. “I love that you love me.” Another kiss, lasting a little longer this time. “But more than anything, I loveyou, Jonathan. The last week has been complete fucking torture without you.”

They both leaned forward at the same time, their mouths colliding with just enough force to hurt. In seconds, they became a tangle of lips and tongues and hands, holding onto each other for dear life as lust and relief crashed over them, combining to make him feel almost lightheaded.

Her tiny whimpers made him regret the choice of Bean There, Drank That for their reunion. If they had just stayed down the street, they could be up to her second-floor room at the inn in under a minute.

The barista coughed loudly, breaking the spell that had temporarily consumed them. “Sorry,” Jonathan said, setting Eve on her feet as he stood. Her flushed skin and swollen lips almost dragged him right back under her spell, damn the consequences. But he forced himself to throw a twenty on the table for the poor kid’s trouble, and the two practically ran outside, both laughing as soon as the door closed behind them.

“Oh my God, did you see her face?” Eve said, leaning her forehead against his chest as she continued to laugh. “I bet we’re permanently banned. They’re gonna put our pictures up behind the register and everything.”

Jonathan couldn’t have kept the grin off his face if his life depended on it. “Worth it,” he said, slipping his fingers into her silky hair. He pulled her back so he could look into her eyes as he said this next part. “I know I fucked up, and I’m so sorry. But I’m sure it won’t be the last time. I’m going to fuck up again. It’s inevitable.”

“So will I,” she said, eyes full of warmth. “We’re only human.”

“Exactly.” He pressed soft kisses against her forehead, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips. Christ, he loved kissing her. He loved it so fucking much. “As long as we’re honest with each other, and we’re both willing to talk about it whenever there’s a problem, we’ll get through it.”

One corner of her lips tilted up. “No more control freak stuff?”

---