Page 43 of Playing for Keeps
Justin accepted the box from her but continued to look at it, holding it as if he’d never seen anything like it before.
She sat on the couch beside him and bent one leg so she could face him. “Open it!”
He swallowed before slowly pulling away the paper. When the white box was all that was left in his hand, he continued to stare at it.
“It’s not much, and you never ask for anything. I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to get.”
He removed the lid from the box and pulled out the dark leather bracelet.
“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to,” she said. “Look on the inside.”
He flipped it over and read the words stamped on the inside. “Justin and Caroline.” A smile bloomed on his face. “It’s perfect.”
“You don’t have to say that. It’s nothing big.”
He reached for her hand, grasping it tightly in his. “I’m not just saying that. I don’t need to be reminded of you because you’re always on my mind, but I like wearing something you gave me.” He turned the bracelet over in his other hand. “No one has ever given me anything.”
Caroline narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve never gotten a present before.”
Her mouth fell open. Never received a present? “Ever?” she asked.
He closed his large hand around the bracelet. “Never.”
“Not even at Christmas or your other birthdays?” Her voice was climbing now. He had to be joking.
“Nope. Dad never bothered with that. My grandparents always bought my clothes and things I needed, but it wasn’t on Christmas or a birthday.”
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. How had this happened? How could Justin have been denied this simple happiness all his life? She bit her bottom lip and sucked air in through her nose.
“Please don’t cry,” Justin begged. “I’m fine. I have all I need, and now I have everything I want too.”
Caroline reached for the bracelet as the tears stung her eyes. “Give me that. I should have gotten you something better.”
Justin jerked his hand away from her. “No way. This is the best gift ever, and no one is taking it away from me.”
He reached his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. Giving in, she snuggled against him, letting the tears silently fall onto his shirt.
His hand rubbed along her back, soothing the ache of injustice. “Have I told you that this is the best birthday ever?” he asked.
“Only about five times,” she whispered. Shecould have done more, but what could she possibly do to match how happy he made her every day?
He handed the bracelet to her. “Will you put it on me?”
She slid the leather around his wrist and tightened it. When she looked up at him, his jaw was clenched, but he was smiling.
“I never thought I’d be this happy,” he confessed.
She slid her palm against his, brushing over the callouses to link them together. “Me either.”
Their lives could be like this forever. Peaceful, hopeful, and filled with love.
16
JUSTIN
Present Day
