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“Well, I kind of helped.”
“I’m the one who got his face smashed,” the intruder—no—the hired man mumbled.
“Let me help you.” Jason offered a hand and helped him to his feet. “I’m... sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. My name’s Barry. I’m one of Sabum’s old students. You had the perfect reaction. Anything less, and you would’ve failed that little experiment.”
He turned to the two people he trusted most. “Yes, about that.”
Hannah’s face whitened. “I’m sorry, Jason. It’s my fault. You mentioned a few weeks ago that you wanted help making progress with lessons, and look... you totally defended me. Did you feel any pain?”
“Uh.” Had he? He couldn’t remember? “I was too panicked. I don’t remember.”
She laughed. “Well, I’d say that’s a good sign.”
Sabum nodded. “I’d say so. Good work tonight.”
Jason looked down at his feet and back at the three people staring at him. He couldn’t believe what he had just been through. “I can’t believe this.”
“Oh yeah.” Barry dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring box. “Um... I am really sorry about that. Hopefully, I didn’t ruin anything.”
He looked between Hannah and Jason. Hannah was looking down at her feet, a terrible sign. “Uh... I better get out of here before I make things worse. Great job tonight, Jason. I hope we meet in other circumstances next time.”
Jason blew out a slow breath. “Me too.”
Sabum pulled at his shirt. “Yes, let’s all get out of here. Hannah, take this shell-shocked guy home. He worked hard tonight.”
Hannah met his eyes for the first time. She was chewing on her bottom lip, not the best sign. He started gathering his things, and then she led him out to her car. They didn’t say anything as they headed home.
“Are we going out?” he said. His voice shook more than it had earlier. Well, not as much but there was definitely something wrong.
“I think we better head home.”
Disappointment stabbed him in the gut. “Okay.”
When she pulled up to her house and was about to turn off the car, he stopped her. Better to have this conversation in air conditioning.
He pulled out the ring, but she put up her hands to stop him. “I’m not read—”
“I know.” He opened the box and showed her the simple silver band. “I’m not either.”
“Oh,” she breathed. And then she sighed. “That is beautiful.”
“It’s a promise ring, to show you that, one day, I want you forever.”
Her smile widened. “Jason, you’re going to make me cry.”
He chuckled as he slipped the ring on her finger. “I love you, Hannah, and even though you almost gave me a heart attack tonight, there’s no other person I want by my side.”
Her face broke as he stared into her eyes. She wiped at her face with her shirt. “I know it’s silly to cry over this, but... I can’t remember the last time someone’s told me they loved me.”
“I promise to tell you every day.”
She grinned and held up her ring. “Promise?” she joked. “So, you’re not mad at me for tonight?”
“No, I need a moment to process everything, but more than anything, I’m happy. I did that tonight. I protected you. Well, I’m pretty sure the guy went easy on me, and you could have karate chopped the guy to pieces.”
“But still, you didn’t freeze up. You stepped up and defended me. I was so proud.”
