JEN
I hum happily to myself as I climb the stairs to my flat, my folder tucked under my arm. Funny. Last week I was threatening to castrate the humming bird next to me, and now I’m the chirpy little fucker. The difference ten days make!
I slip my key into the lock, twist it, and push open the door. Sam is stood in the middle of my living room holding a giant white box with a red ribbon. I can’t help the grin on my face
“What’s that?” I ask him, kicking my door shut. I put the folder on my kitchen table and shrug off my coat.
“It’s a gift that will last a lifetime.” He grins, holding it out.
“Have you bought a vibrator with rechargeable batteries?”
“Jennifer.” He frowns a little. “Do you always have to make a stupid comment? Can’t you see I’m trying to be romantic?”
I smile. “I know, but stupid comments are always necessary.” I bound up to him and take the box. I set it on the sofa gently and sit next to it, tugging at the bow. Sam shoves his hands in his pockets and watches me as I unwrap the box.
I rip off the paper, tear open the box, and pull out the box within it. It’s wrapped – I frown. “Another box?”
“Just unwrap it.” He grins.
“Um, okay.” I shrug a shoulder and unwrap it, shoving the first box to the side. I find the same thing inside this box – another wrapped box. And another. And another.
And another.
“Are you kidding me?” I raise an eyebrow at Sam. “How many goddamned boxes do I have to unwrap before I get to the actual gift?”
“Wait, how many have you done?” He nibbles the corner of his lip and counts silently. My other eyebrow shoots up, and I give him my best “I’m not bloody impressed” look. “Um, you have a few more to open yet.”
“Fucking hell, Sam. I know you said this gift would last a lifetime, but this is taking the piss a little bit, don’tcha think?” I grumble and rip open the next box. I feel like I’m never going to get to the gift.
If there is even a gift. I know what this shit is like - and I wouldn’t put it past him to have me unwrapping a box for the sake of his amusement.
I glare at him as I unwrap the next four boxes. Ah-huh. Four more.
“One more to go,” he says softly, all traces of his earlier grin and amusement gone from his face. Actually, he looks a bit… nervous.
“Are you all right?” I grip a bit of the paper.
“Yep. Just… Open the box! Please.”
“Um, okay.” I frown and slowly tear the paper. I’ve never seen Sam nervous and it’s making me nervous. What the hell in inside of here?
The paper falls away, and inside this box is a smaller red one. I pick it out and glance at Sam. “This is the last one, right? It’s not gonna be empty.”
“Uh, no. No. It’s not empty.”
I look at the box then him. “If there’s a vibrator in here, I think I’ll be sorely disappointed with its ability.”
His lips twitch. “No vibrator.”
“Worth a shot.” I shrug a shoulder and open the box. I stop dead. “Holy shit.”
Slowly, my eyes move to Sam. The rest of me is frozen in place, unable to move. He rubs the back of his neck, his eyes intent on mine, and I watch, dumbstruck, as he drops onto one knee. My mouth drops with him. I have no words, and I want to be pinched because this shit is. Not. Happening.
“When I was seven, I met this crazy ass blonde girl. She was five.” He smiles, and my heart stops. Has it? No. It’s pounding. Hard. “She stole my sister’s hermit crab, so I chased her with a prawn until she gave it back. Which she did.
“When I was nine, I fell asleep on the beach after playing cricket with Dad, and she helped my seven year old sister bury me and shape a mermaid tail down my legs.” My mouth closes, my lips twitching at that memory.
“When I was twelve, she told me that one day she’d grown up and marry a rich guy from London who would let her paint pictures of pretty flowers and rainbows every day. Then, unsurprisingly, she followed that statement up by calling me a lobster headed idiot. But…” He smiles, his eyes shining. “I knew then, I wanted to be the guy that would let her paint pretty flowers.
“When I was fourteen, she jumped off some rocks and lost her bikini top. I think I fell in love with her that summer. Not because she was topless, but because of the way her eyes twinkled when she blushed. Just like they are now.”
I am blushing. I can feel my warm cheeks. I want to avert my eyes from him, to hide, but I can’t. He’s standing – well kneeling, on one freaking knee – in front of me, reminding me of some of our best moments, and I’m enraptured.
“When I was fifteen, she told me I needed to get my hair cut because girls wouldn’t like me if my hair was longer than them, even though it wasn’t. I still cut my hair, and I think she started to sort of like me after that.” He grins. “I didn’t see her for five years. The next time I saw the crazy ass blonde girl, I was blown away. Literally.”
He reaches forward and takes my free hand. The one not holding a freaking ring.
“I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as you looked in that moment lying on the beach. But you were off limits. I had to wait for you, and I did, for two years. I changed slowly over those two years. I changed from a careless young boy into a man that had a chance at being the kind of person you deserved. It was a small chance, but it was still a chance, and that small one was better than nothing.
“The second Lexy told me you were single that was it. I had to have you. I couldn’t wait anymore. I’d gone beyond wanting you. Somewhere along the way, I’d started to need you, and I couldn’t fight that battle anymore.”
I’m intoxicated by the raw emotion in his voice. I’m held captive by the love shining from his eyes, and I remember the day. The way he barged into my flat and grabbed me, kissing me like he meant it. Holding me like he never wanted to let go.
“I got my girl.” He gives a small lopsided grin. “But we both made mistakes. We both messed up along the way… And it doesn’t help you’re the most stubborn girl in the whole damn world.”
“Hey now-”
“You don’t listen and you constantly interrupt me. You have the attention span of a gnat, the patience of a raging PMS hormone, and I don’t even think there’s anything I can compare your temper to.” His eyes twinkle a little, and I purse my lips. “But it’s why I love you. It’s what makes you, you. And you gotta start listening, ‘cause, babe, when I tell you I love you, I mean it.”
He stands, tugging me up with him, and gently tilts my face upwards. My hand is still clasped in his, the other holding tightly to the box.
“When I tell you,” he continues. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, that you’re the light in my dark, the only person I’m ever gonna need, then I mean it. When I tell you that I’ll always remember everything we’ve shared, good and bad, then I mean it. I’ll always remember the look in your eyes when you smile, when you’re teasing, and when you’re falling to pieces in my arms. Especially when you’re falling to pieces in my arms.” He grins widely, and I blush a little.
“I’ll always remember everything about you, babe, because I love you. I still think I’m a little crazy, but what can I do? I don’t want anyone other than you. You’re the one who makes the day worth getting through and the night worth living. You’re the one who makes a difference. You’re the only one I need. You. Just you.”
“What if that isn’t enough?” I ask uncertainly, my heart still pounding inside my chest.
“Then I’ll make it enough. I’ll make it enough to take us anywhere, do anything, be anyone. If we believe in each other, in our love, just for a second, it can do anything we want it to. And, Jen… As long as I have you, love will always be enough for me.”
Tears prick my eyes as he drops back onto one knee, and my bottom lip trembles a little. I’m not naïve. I know what he’s about to say.
“I promised you forever. When I promised you forever, I promised to love you forever, too. Now I’m asking you to let me. I’m asking you to remember all the good times and the bad. I’m asking you to let me hold you each night, wake up to you each morning, and kiss you every second I can. I’m asking you to promise me forever, Jen.” He shuts his eyes briefly, before opening them again, raw emotion emitting from them. “It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, or even this year. It doesn’t have to be in the next five years. Today, promise me forever, and then one day… Marry me.”
“You’re asking, right?” I whisper, my chest tightening with emotion.
“Yeah, babe, I’m asking,” he whispers back. “I don’t wanna rush you, but your floor is kinda hard on my knee.”
I smile a little. “Well, it’s a big decision. I’m gonna have to think on it. You know, it is forever, and forever is a long time, and god knows I can barely get through a day with you sometimes-”
He leaps up, grabbing me around my waist and tackling me onto my sofa amongst all the boxes. I shriek and hold the ring box to my chest.
“Answer the damn question, Jennifer, and stop making everything so difficult!” Sam growls playfully, his eyes still uncertain.
I snake my free hand around the back of his head and pull his face towards mine, pressing my lips against his firmly. “Yes,” I whisper.
“Yes?” he clarifies, looking into my eyes.
I nod a little, smiling. “Yes, Samuel. I will marry you.”
He beams and takes the box from me. His fingers deftly remove the ring from the cushion and he takes my other hand, pausing by my finger. “Are you sure?”
I look at him earnestly, all playfulness gone. “I’ve never been as sure about anything in my life as I am right now.”
The ring slides onto my finger, fitting perfectly, and I stare at it in awe.
“Damn, she was good,” he mutters.
“Who was?” I narrow my eyes.
“Gram.” He smirks. “She picked this ring, and she even got the size right. But that’s a story for another time.” He kisses my finger and flips my hand over, pressing his lips to my palm.
His lips ghost up the inside of my arm, over the strap of my top, and up my neck to my jaw. He cups my cheek with his other hand and pauses, letting out a long sigh.
“For a second there, I was kinda scared you were gonna say no,” he admits.
“Wait – that was an option?”
“Too late,” he mutters, scooping an arm behind my back and another under my ass. He picks me up and I link my legs around his waist, my arms hooked behind his neck.
“It is? Damn,” I tease, holding onto him tighter.
“That’s it.” He starts to move towards my bedroom, fire in his eyes. “I’m gonna take you into that bedroom of yours and keep you there until you take back what you just said.”
“The no part?” I ask hopefully.
“That part exactly.” He shoves my door open.
“Mmm.” I rake fingers through his messy hair. “What exactly are you planning on doing to me, Mr. Edwards?”
“I plan on pinning you to that bed, kissing you senseless, and devouring your body. So exactly what I plan on doing to you for the rest of our lives, the future Mrs. Edwards.”
My stomach muscles clench at the thought. “Is that, er…” I swallow in a desperate attempt to wet my throat. “Is that a promise?”
He drops me on the bed, leaning over me with his hands positioned either side of my head. “Fucking right it’s a promise.”