Page 85 of Give Me Forever

Yep, that's it.Blasting Taylor Swift and Adele in my eardrums was doing the trick.

I finished the jewelry an hour later. It was gorgeous—a mix of gold and silver with pearls as the centerpiece. It was the most beautiful wedding jewelry I’d seen. I packed the pieces in a beautiful pink box that I'd also ordered off Etsy—I liked supporting other small businesses. Once the box was ready, I practically ran to the post office, which was only open for another half hour.

Knowing I was doing everything by myself gave me a sense of accomplishment. I didn’t have to rely on anyone again. But could I scale this up? Was it financially viable? I didn't really need much to live on, but I wanted to have a healthy nest egg just in case Mom got sick again.

I was out of breath by the time I stepped inside the post office. The clerk was mildly annoyed that I came in ten minutes before closing time, but he processed my order, and I was on my way a couple minutes later.

I walked back home at a slow pace, still out of breath from my sprint. My thoughts circled back to Sophia. I truly couldn’t believe her audacity.

To my astonishment, when I arrived at the loft, Sam was already there, leaning on the kitchen counter and drinking a glass of water.

"Hi, beautiful. Where were you?"

"I went to the post office to ship my order."

"What's wrong? You look tense."

I rolled my shoulders, attempting to smile. "Picked up on that, huh?"

"Yeah." He narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"I was going to take you out today."

"Where?"

"That's the thing. I haven't decided. Reese was determined to give me some input."

He came to me, taking off my beanie and my jacket. I always liked that he did that. His real intent was just to touch me, but I didn't mind. Not one bit. I loved the possessiveness of his actions.

"She suggested a ride on the Centennial Wheel," he continued. "Apparently it’s got some glass-bottomed gondolas. Or we could do a tour of Michigan Avenue by horse."

I wrinkled my nose.

He chuckled. "But none of those things felt like you."

"They're not," I replied, giddy that he knew me so well.

"Besides, I didn’t want this gorgeous ass to freeze in a carriage.” He paused before adding, "Come on, tell me what happened. Then I'll make new plans based on that."

"Sophia messaged me on Etsy today. She's opening a new store in New York with my money."

“Fuck!" Sam exclaimed.

"My thoughts exactly."

"Declan told me something about it.”

I quirked a brow. “He did?”

“Yeah. I asked if he looked over your contract with her, and he said there’s nothing he can do about it. He also said to keep an eye on her business once she opens it. Maybe there will be something there he can use to get your money back.”

"She just wants to rub it in my face, thinks she can walk all over me, but she can't. So I want to go to the opening party. It's in two weeks."

Sam looked at me intently. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

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