Page 4 of From Us, Forever

I could tell this man just about anything, but this felt too raw for some reason. Like I felt less than him. “I don’t know.” I averted my eyes to the invisible lint on the covers.

“Hey,” he whispered, cupping my cheeks and redirecting my sight to him. “Why do you feel like that? You’ve never had a problem before.”

I swallowed the hardness that formed in my throat. “I did,” I replied in a low tone. “Even back then, I did, but I didn’t show it because it wasn’t that bad, but now, I feel so… so insecure being with you in the public eye, Jay.” A burn stung my eyes. “I just… I… look at me, just a regular girl who can’t even walk straight, someone who used to be a maid not too long ago. Is that the kind of girl you should be with? They’re all going to judge and talk about how you ended up with a loser. You should be with a model or an heiress, not me.” I couldn’t help the single tear that cascaded down my cheek.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, wiping away the salty trickle with the pad of his thumb while he regarded me with a sharp gaze. “Are you kidding me right now, Evelyn?” His tone raised a decibel, suggesting how ridiculous I sounded. “I don’t fucking want a model or an heiress. I want you. I’ve always wanted you. Do you really think I’ll let anyone say a word about you in front of me? Honestly…” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “It won’t be as bad as you think. Most of these people have their own shit going on, okay? So stop overthinking.” He tapped his pointer finger on my forehead.

I nodded. He was right. I knew that, so why was I thinking like this?

The warmth of his hands spread over my skin as he brought us just a whisper away. “I’m the lucky bastard to have you by my side, sweetheart. Do you know I thank my lucky stars every single day for that?”

He looked at me with so much love that I felt breathless. “You’re the beautiful one, Evelyn. Not me. I don’t stand a chance next to you. You’re this gorgeous creature who got my heart roped in a loop I can’t undo. I don’t ever want you to think less of yourself again, alright?”

I stared at him with my glittering eyes—pooled with impending tears. “Do you say pretty words because you write songs, Jay?” my lips whispered against his.

“I say pretty words because I love you. It’s as simple as that.” His eyes lightened to match the smile that spread across his lips.

My cheeks blazed pink with a blush. “I love you more, Jay.”

“I know,” he said as he brushed his lips against mine in the softest kiss that somehow drained away all my anxious nerves into nothing. Only he could do that. Even though I was already in love, it felt like I was falling in love all over again.

“Now go get your pretty ass ready,” he said as we parted, pressing one last kiss on my lips.

“Okay.” I smiled, some weight of my previous trepidation fleeting as I scrambled out of bed. I planted a quick kiss on his cheek before I scurried to the closet.

My fingers glided over the soft satin dress as I brought it to the huge vanity in the center. The faint sound of the shower hit my ears as I untied the robe around my hips and let it fall to my feet.

I shimmied into a pale pink lace panty before I carefully got into the dress. It felt like I was handling a fragile item because I just about fainted when I saw the price of this dress. Katy assured me it was nothing and that I would have to get used to it if I was going to be Jay’s girlfriend.

The fact that this dress didn’t even need a bra made me squirm. The entire back was open, stopping low at the small of my back. It was a full-length muted pink dress with dainty spaghetti straps beaded with pearls. The material was soft and glittered when a certain angle of light hit. It was so pretty that I almost didn’t want to wear it.

I regretted not getting my makeup done professionally while I painted my lips in a darker shade of mauve pink and ran some blush over my cheeks, trying so hard to get it perfect and flawless.

The thud of footsteps shifted my focus to Jay entering the room. My breath hitched as I tried hard to concentrate on the task at hand, my eyes sweeping over to him as he walked toward me just in his low-slung towel, dripping wet from the shower.

All the air in my lungs stopped when he crouched and pressed a whisper of a kiss on my neck. He then stepped back toward his side of the closet, unzipping his dress bag to reveal a very delectable tux.

“Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” I met his eyes in the mirror.

“Tell you what?” He raised a brow, flinging away his towel, then dragging a black boxer over his hips.

My mouth went dry at the show he was putting onfor me. It felt like he was taunting, showing off his carved body, every inch of it inked and delicious.

I swallowed, returning my attention tohis question. “I mean, do I look okay?” I twirled a finger around a strand of hair as I asked him. It’d been a while since I’d attended an event with him, and even then, it was nothing on this scale, so I wanted to look perfect tonight.

His eyes pinned me in an intense glare. “You’re looking at the mirror. What do you see?”

Staring back at me were big brown eyes framed with thick lashes, pink lips and cheeks, and flowing hair. The shimmering dress hugged every inch of my skin. I frowned, my eyes darting to him. “I don’t understand. Is there something wrong? I did exactly as Katy toldme.”

He nodded while he buttoned up his black shirt over his chest. “You did, and what do you see?”

I shrugged. “Plain old me.”

“Nothing about you is plain or old. You’re perfect. I just told you that a few minutes ago.” He sighed a heavy breath. “You need to see that for yourself, Evelyn. You need to see for yourself how beautiful and worthy you are. You don’t need me to remind you every second.”

He was right. I was seeking his validation to put aside my insecurities when I should have been the one working my way through them. “You’re right,” I mumbled. “I’m just being stupid.”

“You’re not stupid either.” He held me in his impassive gaze.

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