Page 145 of Forever After All

“Because one is a promise ring, and one is an engagement ring. I thought I’d let you choose because I don’t want to scare you off, but I also want you to know I’m all in either way.”

Jess’s eyes widened. He bought two rings.

“You’re crazy!” she shouted. Why was she shouting?

“Crazy in love,” Linc said with a grin.

She covered her mouth with both hands and looked back and forth between the rings. He bought two rings. He bought two rings so she could choose how fast things moved between them.

Her breath hitched, and she wrung her hands in front of her chest. “Why would you want to marry me?”

When she finally got up the courage to look at him, the softness in his eyes begged her to trust him. She could see the fear pinching the edges of his eyes closed. She’d asked a question instead of answering the silent one he hadn’t asked yet.

“For the first time, I know what it’s like to love, and I don’t care if someone makes fun of me for telling you exactly how I feel about you.”

He lowered the rings, still holding one in each hand. “You deserve better than me, but I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing you with someone else. So I became a better man. I’m still working on it, but one day, I hope to be the man you deserve.”

Jess crouched and slipped her hands around his, lifting them both between them. “Which one is which?”

He lifted his left hand. “Promise.” Then his right. “Engagement.”

Jess wrapped both of her hands around his hand holding the engagement ring. “This one.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, barely breathing as he pinned her with an intense stare.

“Absolutely sure.”

Linc rose to his feet in one swift movement, wrapping his arms around her on the way up and taking her with him. “Wait!”

“What?” he asked.

She’d wrapped her legs around him on instinct, and now she clung to him with her lower half while leaning away at the top. “Your shoulder.”

“Nothing could stop me from kissing you right now.” He pressed his lips to hers, hard and sure before pulling right back. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Even if you’re sappy sometimes.” She leaned in to whisper, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Epilogue

JESS

The sun glistened over Jess’s diamond ring. Tilting her hand one way, then the other, she admired the beauty. She’d never been interested in jewelry before. Never even owned a necklace.

But the ring on her finger had changed that. The solitaire wasn’t huge–just a small oval–but its weight drew her attention over and over. Clasping her right hand around it, she peeked around the side of the reception hall. A vine of greens with little white flowers mixed in wound its way around the wooden arbor. A few dozen chairs were lined up in rows with a person in each seat.

So many people. And they were here for her and Linc.

It was perfect.

Everly had squealed and cried when Jess mentioned getting married at the ranch. There were real tears, and the tingling behind Jess’s eyes told her more tears were about to join.

So she’d spat out a quick, “Whenever you’re not too busy. Just something simple,” and made a hasty escape.

She’d expected a long engagement. The ranch booked up months in advance. Everly had said before that they had weddings on the calendar years out.

That didn’t stop her from setting aside a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to give Jess the perfect, small wedding. The September midday sun was high in the sky, and a light sheen of sweat beaded on her brow.

Don’t be nervous. Don’t be nervous. Ten minutes.

---