Page 101 of Owen

“I like this better. This is perfect. This isus.” Smiling, she looks from me to the box and back at me again.

I peel back the lid of the box, as if revealing a pearl snuggled deep within an oyster shell. But what sits inside is something so much better and even more precious.

She lets out a deep exhale and smiles with delight as I show her the hidden gem. “It’s so beautiful.”

“This was my Great, Great, Great-Aunt Helena’s ring. Her and my Uncle Thomas were very much in love.” My Uncle David informed me of that fact when I told him I planned to marry Jade but had no ring. I didn’t even know I had a Great, Great, Great-Aunt Helena, but now I do. I knew my father,God rest his soul, was the only heartless bastard on his side of the family. Whatever happened to him to make him so cold, I will never know, I guess it’s what made him and my mom perfect for each other. When Aunt Flora scampered off to the safe in her home and came back with this ring along with excitable chatter and romantic tales, backing Uncle David’s story, I knew it was perfect for Jade.

“It’s green,” she says, stating the obvious.

“It’s an emerald cut, emerald solitaire.” And the biggestfucking thing I’ve ever seen. There is not a hope in hell I would have been able to afford the three-carat Columbian gem.

“It’s a family heirloom?” she says, her voice quiet, almost disbelieving.

“Yeah. Do you like it?” I ask.

“It’s huge.”

“Thanks.” I look down at my cock and back up at her.

She chuckles, swiping my shoulder playfully with the back of her hand.

“Do you want to try it on for size? We may need to have it adjusted.”

She tucks her lips into her mouth and nods.

Carefully pulling the ring out from the place it’s been hibernating for decades, Jade holds out her hand and I slide it onto her ring finger.

“It fits perfectly.” She holds it up, tilting her hand back and forth to watch the shiny gold band and green gem catch the light. “It’s beautiful.”

“We need to get it insured.”

She pulls her newly engaged hand to her chest. “Is it worth a lot?” she asks, her eyes full of concern.

“A little.” I don’t let on that it’s worth five times more than her new Audi SUV.

Batting her eyelashes, she holds her hand against her naked chest and wiggles her fingers. “How does it look?”

“Fucking beautiful.” But I’m not looking at the ring, I’m looking at her.

“We’re getting married.” She sighs blissfully.

“That we are, Hotshot.”

Grabbing the sides of my face, she kisses me deeply, then mumbles against my lips. “You’re going to be the best stepdad any little girl could ever want.”

“I think I aced it already. I think I’d like another girl.”

She chuckles. “You did. And oh my God, we’ve only just gotten engaged. No talk of babies.”

Not yet, but I sure as hell want to start trying as soon as I get myself back on my feet.

In a flash, sadness lines her forehead and edges her now watery eyes. “I don’t want to go today.”

“I’ll be back home with you and our little pooping machine in less than a week.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” An ache in my chest gives a nervous jolt. I don’t want her to go either.

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