Page 90 of Love.V2
“Are they?” I squeaked. The concept was laughable. All these gorgeous, unique declarations of love and adoration? It seemed like too much. Dylan chuckled.
“I didn’t buy them for me.” He toyed with the ends of my hair while I studied them all, looking from one to the other to the other.
“What happens to the ones I don’t choose?”
Dylan shrugged. “We can sell them, probably. Put the money towards a down paymenton a place here.”
As much as I enjoyed the idea of living with Dylan again, a violent rejection surged inside me. Someone else? Wear these beautiful pieces of art Dylan had picked out just for me? The thought broke my heart.
“Tess? What are you thinking?”
It was ridiculous and sentimental and stupid, but I felt like they’d all been sitting in a box, stuffed away in the dark for so long. Just like me, they needed to get out in the fresh air. Take a breath and feel the love that surrounded them.
“Tess?”
“They’re all so perfect…” Most girls only got one ring. I should just pick one and be grateful and blissfully in love.
“I’m glad you think so.” Dylan tucked a stray strand of hair back behind my ear.
“Which one, um…which would you pick? If you had to pick now?” I was chickening out, but Dylan’s opinion mattered. Maybe he had a favorite, and that would be that, and he would sell the rest, and I’d never have to think about how beautiful the onyx was or wonder what the solitaire would look like on my hand.
Dylan frowned as he looked down at them all. “I’m not sure.”
Well, there went that idea. “I just…”
“Talk to me, Angel.” Dylan’s voice contained a hint of a smile, and in that moment, I knew that heknew.
I looked at him through my lashes. “Is it…very extra and high-maintenance if I love all of them?”
He pretended to look shocked. “Allof them?”
I sat up straighter. “Yes! What, you want me to reject the ring you picked out for me first? Or the one when I was going through my artdéco phase? You want me to just live my life knowing there’s someone out there wearing the ring you wanted to marry me with?” I flailed my hands at the gleaming metal on the table. “It’s not even about the rings, Dylan! This could have been a paperclip!” I wailed, tilting my head back to the ceiling.
“I know. I’m sorry,” he murmured, cradling my jaw and bringing my gaze back down to his. “It’s not about the rings; it’s about us.”
“Yeah.” I may have been pouting. Uncharacteristic, but if I was going to be spoiled rotten, I might as well act like it.
Dylan heaved a dramatic sigh, glancing at the table one last time. “I guess we’ll have to keep all of them.”
My heart leaped at the thought, but I shook my head. “That’s too much. How will I even wear them?”
“Probably on your fingers,” he teased, grabbing my hand before I could pinch his side. “It’s not too much. They’re yours, Tess. Bought and paid for. Wear a different one whenever you feel like it. Wear two. One on each finger, I don’t care. Just…”
“Just?” I arched my eyebrow, waiting for the catch.
“At least wear your wedding band consistently. That seems like the big one.”
I laughed, tipping my forehead into the cradle of his shoulder. “Deal. As long as it’s a paperclip.”
I felt him shrug, then lean over. He rummaged in his work bag for a few moments before pulling out a paperclip, a triumphant grin on his face. Within minutes, he pushed a too-big, sloppy metal circle onto my finger.
“All of you, Tess. The diamonds and the paperclips. I want it all.”
It was perfect.
Epilogue
Dylan
