Page 115 of The One for Me
I don’t know what I’ll do when you leave.
Of course, nothing seemed adequate, so I went with something that I thought might heal something else.
“What is this?” Sean asks.
“Open it.”
He pulls the wrapping off and looks at it. “A key?”
God, I hope this doesn’t backfire.
“Yes, and please know that if you hate this, I won’t be upset. I just . . . well, I thought that maybe you’d want something that . . . well, like I said, if you don’t like it, that istotallyfine.” I’m rambling, but I don’t care. I want him to know I really won’t be offended.
“Okay . . .” He draws out the word.
I take his hand and lead him toward the window. There sits a black 1973 Chevy Camaro. “It’s not the same. I didn’t want to fix what you had because . . . I didn’t think you’d want that. But this one”—I look out at it—“was in great shape when we found it. An old man a few hours away had it in his garage, and well, you were cheated out of yours. Jasper almost wept when we went to get it. The guy we bought it from just wanted someone to love it like he did. We did a few mechanical things to it because it wasn’t driven much. No project or laptop because . . . well . . . you know.” I try to joke at the end as my body tingles in anticipation at his reaction.
He stares at it, not speaking or blinking or moving, and I gnaw on my lower lip. I have no idea if he’s happy or wants to throw something. I look to Austin, who is just as nervous as I am, only he has no idea why.
“I wanted you to have something that was taken from you,” I explain, hoping he isn’t upset. After another minute of silence, I start to break. “Sean? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have . . . I just . . .”
“Stop.” His voice is soft but stern.
My heart races, and I fight back the urge to cry. I was stupid. I should’ve known better, but when I talked to Connor, Jacob, and Declan, they all thought it was really great. It wasn’t the car, it was new. It was taking a horrible thing and giving him back the past that was stolen because of their abusive father.
I don’t know why I didn’t just get the stupid baseball card that would’ve been zero risk.
Nothing in our relationship has ever been played safely, and I wanted our first, and possibly only, Christmas to be special.
The air releases from my chest, and I take a step back. Sean’s hand darts out and grips mine, weaving our fingers together.
“I’m not upset,” he says, still staring at the car. “I’m . . . stunned. No one else would understand what this means, but you do.”
My eyes meet his, the green irises are brimming with unshed tears. “This was supposed to make you smile.”
His head shakes slowly, and he turns to face me completely. “I am smiling under all the layers of what you see . . . I just can’t because I don’t know how else to control myself.”
“You’re happy?”
Sean pulls me tight, squeezing and then kissing the top of my head. “You have no idea.”
“Can we give her our present now?” Austin yells.
He releases me but leans down and gives me a sweet kiss before saying, “Thank you, Devney. Just . . . thank you.”
Relief that I didn’t totally screw up floods my veins, and I grin.
“Now,” Sean’s voice shifts back to the lightheartedness I’m used to, “this is a big present. So, you need to sit.”
“Really? I have to sit?”
They both nod. “We wouldn’t want you to fall over,” Austin explains.
“How thoughtful.”
Austin continues on like I didn’t speak. “We talked a lot about it. Sean wanted to get you something else, but I really felt this was the best present.”
Sean takes over the conversation. “You’re not all that easy to buy for, sweetheart. There were a lot of clues you were tossing out.”
