Page 139 of A Heart Worth Finding
Well, shit. Apparently, he wasn’t doing a great job at quashing his nerves. Then again, it was hard to hide anything from the one person in the world who knew him better than all the rest.
“I’m just happy to be celebrating another anniversary with you, sunshine.”
Her face softened, those blue eyes crinkling at the corners as her lips turned up into a small smile. “Can you believe that April will be six years since Mexico?”
Jack shook his head. He couldn’t believe that, had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he’d been only a kid when he’d met the love of his life—and had lost her for three and a half years before finally getting to keep her for good.
At least…he hoped it was for good.
Everything changed tonight, either for better or worse.
The ring box practically burned a hole in his pocket, and he was thankful these pants of his were a looser fit so she wouldn’t see the outline and ruin the whole thing.
“How was work today?” he asked as he took his seat across from her.
“Wonderful,” she said, getting that faraway, dreamy look in her eyes she always did when she spoke about her job. She’d been teaching English as a second language to the citizensof Saint Petersburg for nineteen months, and had, somehow, grown to love it more every day.
As she spoke about how two of her students were near fluent and had moved onto softening their words and brushing their accents away when they talked, Jack popped the top on the champagne and poured them each a flute—which were actually just more mason jars.
Then he rose and moved to the kitchen counter, carrying back the platter with the steaks, fingerling potatoes he’d roasted in garlic, olive oil, and a fragrant herb seasoning they’d found at a local market last summer, and the bowl of salad.
“Show off,” Jessica said when she took in the spread.
“Hardly,” Jack said with a snort. “This stuff is all ridiculously easy to make.”
“I disagree,” she said with a pout, and Jack remembered the time she tried to make instant mac and cheese, and it exploded all over the inside of the microwave. He still hadn’t figured out how she’d managed that.
“We’ll just leave the cooking to me,” he said, dropping a kiss atop her head before returning to his seat.
“Forever,” she said as she moaned around a bite of steak. He hadn’t cut it open before serving to check and see how close he’d gotten to the preparation he wanted, but he was greeted by a healthy slash of pink in the middle of Jessica’s sliced steak. “You can cook for me forever.”
“Forever,” he agreed, his throat suddenly clogged with emotion.
And he realized right then that he couldn’t wait another second to ask this woman to marry him.
“Jess?” he said quietly, and her head shot up, gaze immediately locked on his.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing is wrong,” he said. “It’s just…you know how much I love you, right?”
Jessica swallowed hard, her fork and knife clattering to her plate. “Yes.”
“Well, as much as I love you, I can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“This whole being your boyfriend thing.”
Jack rose from his seat at the same time Jessica did. “I’m sorry…what?” she asked. “You…don’t want to be my boyfriend anymore?”
The pure terror on her face was almost enough for him to abandon his plans and drag her into his arms, but he didn’t. Not yet.
“No,” he said, and it broke his heart as tears welled in her eyes. “No, Jessica Rose Daniels.” He withdrew the ring box from his pocket and dropped to one knee. “I was thinking we might try ‘fiancé’ on for size. And then, maybe later, ‘husband’?”
Her hand flew to her mouth, which had dropped open on a sob.
“Jack…”
