Page 94 of #Moonstruck

“Jewelry?” I could barely squeak out the word.

“Not jewelry.”

Powerful relief surged through me, allowing me to relax.

“Because what would Maisy Harrison love more than jewelry?” he asked.

“Being right,” Cole yelled out, just avoiding my swatting hand.

“Could you be any more annoying?” I asked my brother. “By the way, that was rhetorical, not a challenge.”

“Come see,” Ryan said, gesturing me over. He stood in front of the closed bunk-alley door. “Open it.”

Just beyond the doorway stood two guitars: a custom acoustic Martin guitar just like he had, and a blue-edged Fender Stratocaster. These were not guitars that cost hundreds of dollars. They cost thousands. Maybe tens of thousands.

“I wanted to replace your broken Dreadnought. I bought you two in case you lose one or some random crazy person breaks it,” Ryan said. He went over and picked up the Fender. “This one I had signed.” He turned it over, and Bonnie Raitt’s signature was on the back.

He handed it to me.

“Ryan, I couldn’t possibly accept.” But I said it even as my fingers curled around the neck of the guitar. It was so beautiful. And the perfect weight. I plucked at the strings, excited to sit down and tune it.

“Seems like you just did. Are you going to tell me I spent too much money?”

“No.” I turned over the guitar and ran my fingers over where one of my idols had signed it. “You can afford it. And it would be really selfish of me to deny you the pleasure of giving me a gift.”

He threw his head back and laughed, and it filled me with such an overwhelming wave of love that I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing tight. “Thank you, Ryan. This is literally the best gift anyone’s ever given me.”

“Hey!” Parker protested somewhere behind me, but I didn’t care.

I looked up at the most incredible boyfriend in the entire universe. “Thank you. I love you, Ryan.”

“Because I bought you guitars?” he teased.

“No. I love you for who you are. I see you, the man. Not the money, not the pop star. And that’s who I love.”

He kissed me then. The gentle warmth of his mouth blurred my mind with hazy pleasure. Each kiss was longer, slower, and more intoxicating than the last.

“Gross! Give her the tonsillectomy later, dude. There’s a party going on!”

We broke apart, but the promise and want in his eyes nearly made me reconsider. We went back into the lounge, and Fitz handed me a piece of pie. I asked Ryan to hold my guitar for a second.

The pie was delicious. “This is now the second-best thing that’s ever happened to my mouth.”

Ryan laughed at our private joke. When I finished, he gave me back the Fender and retrieved the Martin. I wouldn’t let anyone else touch my guitars, and I sat there holding them, not knowing which one to love and play with first. I wondered if this was how mothers of twins felt.

“What kind of jewelry did you think I was going to give you?” Ryan asked, sitting next to me.

I felt my eyes get big. “Nothing.” Not only wasn’t that an answer to his question, but also it was basically untrue since I’d already announced that I thought he would get me jewelry. I saw Fitz and Piper’s present on the table. “Earrings.”

“You didn’t think I’d give you a ring, did you?”

“Of course not. That’s silly.” My voice sounded pathetically unbelievable even to my own ears.

Ryan smiled at me like he didn’t believe a word I was saying. He kissed me on the cheek. “When I know you’re ready.” He got up to join the group of guys playing a video game.

When he knew I was ready, what? He’d give me one? He’d said only half a sentence.

But did I want him to finish it?

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