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He reaches for my hand, and instead of threading his fingers through mine, he flips my palm. His thumb traces the lines of my palm in a way that feels far too intimate forpublic.
“Nothing can pull us apart if we don’t let it,” I promise softly, and his jawtightens.
“Good.”
He reaches into his pocket for something, holding it up. It glints between his fingers, the size of a nickel, but it’sgold.
“What is that?” Iask.
“A promise.” His voice goes rough as he stares at me. “I told you once I’d never leave you. I might have moved to New York last summer, but my heart never left you. I meant what I said. I mean itstill.”
My breath trembles out,unsteady.
“You are the only person I let under my skin,” he goes on, his voice rough. “I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. The way you see the world, the way you care, the way you try, the way you get up when you’re knockeddown.”
My throat is tight with emotion, and every word adds to the sensations overwhelmingme.
“I choose you, Annie,” he says. “Over uncertainty, over fear, over doubt. I will always choose you. Whether you’re next to me or a thousand miles away, when you look at this, you’ll know it’strue.”
I take the ring from him, and it’s cool and heavy despite the narrow band. The inside is smooth, the outsidescarred.
No,carved.
The band is engraved withflowers.
“It’s beautiful,” Imanage.
Tyler rounds my stool and unfastens my necklace, then slips the ring over the chain and refastens the clasp. I adjust it, and the ring settles between my breasts along with the pressed flower. My fist closes aroundit.
I twist in my seat, needing to find his gaze. Once I do, it’s so full of love and awe I never want to let itgo.
I never want to lethimgo.
He claims my mouth in a long kiss that’s searing and tender at once. By the time he pulls back, I’m tugging at his hair, needing to feel his body onmine.
“Let’s get out of here,” he murmurs. “That dress is killingme.”
“I thought you likedit.”
“I’m going to like taking it off youmore.”
We pay for our drinks before putting on our coats and stumblingoutside.
“Let me call acab.”
“Come on,” I tease, “we canwalk.”
With everything that’s happened tonight, I could use theair.
I could inhale and entire city’s worth of oxygen rightnow.
“So… sign, join, or jilt?” Tyler drawls as he holds the door, reminding me of our oldgame.
“Who?” Iretort.
“Me.”
I don’t realize how late it is until we get into thestreet.
