Page 51 of Amethyst

“What will I do without you?”

“I have this week,” I say, “and when I come home for Christmas, we’ll talk. And if you’re ready…maybe you can come back to Chicago with me. It’ll be a new start for both of us. But if you’re not ready, I’ll wait forever for you, Jenna. I swear I’ll wait forever.”

18

JENNA

Christmas Eve

“I’ve missed you so much!” I jump into Max’s arms when he opens the door to his parents’ house.

He kisses me hard and then lets me go, a smile on his face.

“I don’t know why I couldn’t pick you up at the airport,” I say.

“Why should you bother when Jack sent a limo?” Max grins. “God, it’s good to see you, Jen. I know it’s only been two and a half weeks, but man, it feels like forever.”

“Where are Mike and Harriet?”

“They’re at a neighbor’s Christmas Eve open house for a few hours. Which gives us some time alone.” He leads me into the living room where a Christmas tree sparkles. He pulls a velvet box out of his pocket. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

When he opens it, I frown.

I don’t mean to. It’s a diamond pendant, and it’s beautiful and sparkling.

“Don’t you like it?” he asks.

“I love it, Max.” I turn around and lift my hair.

He clasps it around my neck.

“I was just hoping…”

“What he asks?”

“I was hoping it was the amethyst pendant.”

He turns me around to face him. “Jenna, I threw that away.”

I look down at his feet. “Oh… I suppose I can’t blame you, after the way I reacted. It’s just… it means so much to me that you kept it all this time. That you were going to give it to me on prom night.”

“You weren’t in love with me on prom night. You would have broken my heart, Jen.”

I raise my head, meet his dark gaze. “I wouldn’t have, Max. I think I’ve always loved you.”

He kisses my lips and disappears into his bedroom for a moment. Just as I start to follow him, he returns, carrying another black velvet box.

“I pulled it out of the trash later,” he says, “I couldn’t bear to part with it either.” He flips the box open.

The amethyst pendant.

“Are you sure you want it, Jen?”

My hands shake as I take the box from him and pull out the delicate chain.

“I do want it, Max. You bought it for me for prom night, and I want it. I won’t let those years I was on the island color my life. This pendant—this amethyst—is the first gift you bought for me to show your love. I’ll never part with it.”

He kisses me, then. A long, hard kiss. When he breaks it, I smile. “I have an amazing gift for you too.”

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