Page 5 of From Us, Forever

“Definitely at least a bit, I think,” I muttered with a small smile as I dabbed some perfume on my neck. “Do you think I would’ve been different if we’d been together? If I went to college and… if Auntie M hadn’t died? If things had been normal and I wasn’t being manipulated and played with? That I would’ve been more confident and less insecure?” I was genuinely curious about what he had to say because I felt it was a big reason.

He lifted a shoulder, clasping his slacks closed. “Maybe, maybe not. All I see is a strong girl who overcame all the shit thrown at her but still fails to see how beautiful she is.”

I couldn’t help the smile that curved my lips. “Maybe love has got you seeing me in rose-colored glasses, Jay.”

He smirked, but his eyes said another story. “Sweetheart, I was celibate for six fucking years. Because every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was you, and every time I opened them, all I wanted to see was you.”

A flutter fired into my heart. “Pretty words again, rock star,” I said, fixing my hair one last time before I stood and slippedon my sensible ballet flats that would be hidden under the train of my dress.

He clasped my chin between his fingers. “Only for you.”

I rolled my eyes as I straightened my dress, sweeping my clammy palms over it. “Ready to go?”

“Yes.” His fingers laced with mine in a tight grip, and his smoldering blues met mine. “And you look beautiful. Now, will it be so hard to believe it for one night?”

I smiled. “I guess not.”

His lips molded over mine in a soft kiss. “Good. Now, let’s go.”

CHAPTER 2

“I think I want to go out there,” I mumbled, staring at the flashing lights from the safety of the car—cocooned in the darkness and the clatter beyond.

“Where?” Jay lifted a brow, peering at me with confused eyes.

“Go out there.” I jutted my chin to the massive crowd lining the side of the curb while Jay waited for Tyler to give him the heads-up to exit. Tyler would then drive me to the private entrance for family and friends.

But I didn’t want that.

I wanted to walk out there with my man.

He gave me a bewildered expression. “You want to walk the red carpet?”

“Yes,” I said, ignoring the way my heart pounded at that fact.

He shook his head. “Evelyn, you were hiding under the sheets just hours ago. Do you think you can handle something like this?”

My eyes met his cautious blues.I couldn’t,which was why I wanted to. I couldn’t let my insecurities always get the best of me. I wanted to be seen with Jay more than anything in theworld. So even if it terrified the shit out of me, I knew I had to do it.

Because that was what they usually said, right?Do what you fear the most, and it will be worth it in the end.At least, I hoped that little quote stayed true for my sake.

“Yes, I’m sure. Now, let’s go before I chicken out. Unless.” I slid a glance his way, hesitating. “Unless you don’t want to?”

His gaze softened. “There’s nothing in the world that I want more. Come on.” Jay held out his hand upon Tyler’s cue and gently eased me out of the car.

I let the warmth from his skin suppress the tremble in my hands as I stood on wobbly feet.

The snap of the shutters and the echoes of their questions were the first thing that hit me. The only way I knew we were even going in the right direction was because Jay led the way.

The pounding of my heart intensified when we halted at a dot on the red carpet and turned toward the cameras. My eyesight was nonexistent as the flashes went frantic from his presence.

I mustered a small smile while Jay’s hand was firmly clasped around my waist. I counted it as a blessing that I couldn’t see a thing because if I did, I would’ve run out for sure.

“Look at me.” Jay leaned and whispered close to my ear, and the shutter of the cameras went wilder.

“J.J., is she your girlfriend?”

“J.J., ma’am, to the right, please.”

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