Page 184 of One Good Crash
"Hardly. I'm just a waitress."
He reached for my hand. "You're not 'just' anything. You're the most incredible person I've ever met."
"Oh come on," I said. "That can't be true."
"Yeah? Why not?"
"It's just not. That's all."
"Listen," he said, "I've known a shit-ton of people in my life, people who've had it a lot easier than you, and turned out a lot worse."
"But—"
"But nothing. Just hear me out, alright?"
Again, I nodded.
"My dad? He married the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. And you know what it got him? A load of grief." Jax shook his head. "That wasn't gonna be me, lost in a pretty face or a hot body." He gave my hand a tender squeeze. "You won't always look like this, you know."
I looked down. He was right, of course. In fifty years, I'd look totally different. And so would he. But I'd still love him, well, assuming that by some miracle, we were still together.
He smiled down at me. "I called you beautiful. And you are. But that's not why I love you. It's not even the first thing I liked."
"Really? What was?"
"You."
"But—"
"On the inside," he clarified. "There you were, up to your neck in who-knows-what, and you're worried about me, the car, everyone but yourself. You took a lot of shit from your mom that night, but you got really riled when she started in on me. And I thought, 'Man, I bet she'd make a great mom.'"
I stifled a sudden giggle. "You didn't."
"I did." His voice grew softer. "And, before that, a great wife. A partner. Someone to grow old with."
I sucked in a breath. "Oh, c'mon. You didn't really."
"Why not?" he said. "I'm not one to mess around."
This was true. Jaden might mess around, but Jax wasn't like that. Now, I didn't know what to say. I was almost too overwhelmed to speak.
Into my silence, he said, "But this girl – the girl I love – she won't let me do a damn thing for her." He gave me a crooked smile. "So yeah, maybe I've gotta get creative, but the way I see it, she deserves to be spoiled, even if I've gotta hide it once in a while."
I was still smiling. "Once in a while? Oh, please. You've been hiding everything."
He grinned. "I know. Including this." As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black box. A moment later, he sank to one knee right there on the sidewalk.
My breath caught.
This wasn't happening.
It couldn’t be.
But then, he said, "I love you. And you know what I’m gonna ask."
My tongue was in knots, and my eyes were growing misty. "I, um…"
He smiled. "And you're gonna say yes. You know that, right?"
