Forever (Friends #3)(77)

"Well, I'm giving you yours now," he says, presenting me with a small box wrapped in gold foil paper and topped with a bright red bow.

Oh. It's small. Looks like jewelry, which makes me incredibly nervous. I take the box from him and unwrap it with trembling fingers, anxious to discover what's inside. The wrapping paper reveals a black velvet box, and when I slowly pop it open, I gasp at what I find tucked inside.

A ring. A delicate band of rose gold with a small sapphire in the center, flanked by tiny diamonds on either side.

It's beautiful.

"So pretty," I whisper as I take the ring out of the box and study it. He plucks the ring from my grasp and takes my hand, sliding the band on the ring finger of my left hand.

I actually hear my mom squeal when he does this.

"I love it," I tell him just before I lunge for him and wrap him in the tightest hug I can muster. "I love you," I whisper in his ear just before I kiss it.

He slides his fingers through my hair, skims them across my nape, making me shiver. "I love you too."





Later, after we clean up the wrapping paper mess and eat Mom's homemade pumpkin pie while watching Trent play his new video game for a while, Jordan and I are about to go outside on the front porch before he leaves for the night when Mom stops us.

"Your father and I have discussed it, and Jordan, we'd like to invite you to stay the night if you want to," she offers. "Amanda mentioned to me earlier that there's no one home right now for you, and I hate to think of you alone on the night before Christmas." The tremulous smile on Mom's face tells me she's about to cry. The holidays always make her emotional. "Please say yes. All I can offer is the pullout couch, and it's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but we'd love to have you stay."

"I'd like that, Mrs. Winters." He smiles at my mom and she envelopes him in a quick hug before she pulls away. "Thank you."

"If you need clothes to sleep in or whatever, I'm sure George has some," Mom suggests, fluttering her hands around like she doesn't know what to do with herself. I have a strong feeling she thought Jordan would turn her offer down.

I'm so glad he didn't.

"I have my gym bag out in my car," Jordan tells her. "I have a change of clothes in there."

Mom beams, all traces of her near crying long gone. "Perfect. Go get it, but hurry! It's cold out there."

We go outside and I stay on the porch while Jordan runs to his Range Rover and grabs his gym bag. I watch him amble back up the porch stairs, my heart swelling at the sweet look on his handsome face, the excitement dancing in his eyes. He loves that my parents invited him to stay over.

I love that he's staying over too.

"Do you like the scarf my mom made you?" I ask him when he rejoins me on the front porch.

"Yeah. It's really nice. And warm." It's still twisted around his neck and he gives one of the ends a tug. "Did she make you one too?"

"Oh yeah. She does every year. I just haven't opened it yet." I grin. "I have a huge collection of Mom's homemade scarves, and so does the rest of my family."




 

 

"Guess I need to catch up then," he says sheepishly, and I can't take it anymore.

I tackle him right there on the porch, kissing him with all I have. I'm so forceful, he drops his gym bag on the porch and his arms go around me, holding me tight as he kisses me hungrily. We've been holding back all night, trying to be discreet in front of my family, and now it feels like a dam just burst.

"Okay, stop," he finally says minutes later, pushing me away from him. Though not too far. "Or we might get arrested for public indecency."

This makes me giggle. "Are you going to maul me on my front porch?"

The sexy look on his face tells me he's considering it. "Don't tempt me."

A shiver moves through me and he pulls me back into his arms. "Cold?"

"Yes." But happy. So happy. The porch is lit from the glow of the Christmas lights Dad puts up every year, and pretty much every house on our street is lit up as well. "Oh! I want to give you something."

He frowns. "What?"

I wiggle out of his hold and pull the small wrapped box out of the pocket of my cardigan. "This is for you."

His frown deepens as he stares at the box I'm holding before he lifts his gaze to mine. "I thought you were giving me my gift tomorrow."

"I have two presents for you. This is the special one. The other one can wait until Christmas." Tomorrow's gift is a bottle of cologne that will make me want to lick him every time I smell him.

A real win-win gift, if you ask me.

He takes the present from me and slowly unwraps it to reveal a simple black box. He pulls off the lid and finds the men's silver link bracelet I bought for him. Lifting his head, he smiles at me. "I love it."