Page 96 of Love on Deck

That was probably just as unhealthy as it sounded.

Amelia was right. It was time to let it go and move on. “Okay. Yes. I’ll—”

The doorbell rang, and both of us turned to look at the door.

“Did you order something?” I asked.

Amelia shook her head.

“Should I answer it?” We both knew what question I was really asking: are you ready to see Kevin?

Amelia hesitated.

“Just talk to him,” I urged. “You might feel better.”

She closed her eyes and nodded.

I got up. “Maybe do something with your hair,” I said over my shoulder. I’d only gotten half of it braided.

When I swung the door open, I wished I’d had the foresight to do something with my own hair, too, besides twisting it super tight and shoving a claw clip over it. Jack stood there, his hands in his pockets, his head tilted down a little. He wasn’t facing me as the tall, confident flirt I had known last week. This guy was carrying a burden, and I hated that it was probably emblazoned with my name.

His green eyes met mine, making my legs unsteady. “Is Amelia here?”

“Yes.”

“Kevin’s up on the roof. Any chance we can convince her to go talk to him?”

The roof? My roof, where it was something like forty-eight degrees? “He knows it’s March, right?”

Jack’s mouth tipped in a smile. “Yeah. It’ll be worth the cold. Trust me.”

My emotions flinched, but my body remained as uptight and wound up as ever. I turned away from him but didn’t shut the door. Amelia was still sitting on the floor beneath the couch when I reached the living room, her brow clouding with uneasiness as I passed on the message.

“Want to borrow a thicker sweatshirt?” I asked.

“Just come with me. I don’t plan on being up there long.”

We followed Jack down the hallway and to the elevator. The ride up to the roof was awkward and long, though it probably only took twenty seconds in real time. I avoided Jack’s gaze, but it was impossible to avoid the scent of his cologne. It triggered a visceral reaction in me, caving in my chest and making me yearn to step into his arms.

The first thing I noticed when we reached the roof and stepped into the cold was the addition of white twinkle lights strung haphazardly. Kevin stood in the center of the roof in a sweatshirt and jeans, watching us approach with intensity.

Jack took my elbow, pulling me back slightly so Amelia would walk ahead on her own. I leaned back a little too far, my shoulder resting against his chest before I thought better of it and took a step away. His arm dropped.

“What is he—”

“Just watch,” Jack said quietly. They’d planned something. From the lights, I guessed it was a big romantic gesture.

Amelia approached Kevin, and he immediately dropped to one knee, pulling out a Tiffany blue ring box and holding it out to her, opened to show a gorgeous diamond halo ring.

“That’s not the heirloom,” I whispered.

“We just went and picked it out a few hours ago.”

I looked at Jack. He was already watching me, trapping me in his gaze. I fought the impulse to lean toward him and tore my attention away, settling it back on Kevin and Amelia.

“I need you, Ames,” Kevin said, his voice desperate. “It doesn’t matter if my parents can’t appreciate you or what we have. That’s their loss. The thing that matters to me is you. Please come back to me.”

Amelia was already crying. “You think you’re okay with that now, but I’m the one getting between you and your parents. It was supposed to be different. Our wedding was supposed to make them take us seriously.”

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