Page 78 of Cross the Line
I nod. “We did.”
Hitching me up against his body, he throws me over his shoulder. His arms band around my knees, and when I wriggle, reaching for Jayden’s hand, Elijah bites my ass so hard my toes curl and my fingers claw into Jayden’s palm.
His stare glows with satisfaction as he follows Elijah and me to the kitchen island. Even though we’re from two different worlds and have lived two different lives, he knows what this means for Elijah and me. Our happiness is written across every upturned line of his face—in his dimples, in the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. This means just as much to him as it does to us.
“We have something for you,” Elijah says, setting me on the counter while Jayden hands me a red velvet box.
It’s not as heavy as it looks, despite the gold latch and corner detailing. While Elijah steadies the bottom, I tug the green and blue plaid ribbon free.
“What is it?” I ask, too excited to keep my hands from shaking.
“Here,” Jayden chuckles, unlatching the box for me.
Only when I look past him do I realize there’s a fireplace flickering on the television. I don’t have to ask—it’s obviously Jayden’s doing. He’s an all-in kind of man. Elijah, on the other hand, is about the quiet gestures.
The old adageit’s the quiet ones you have to look out forcouldn’t fit anyone better.
Lifting the red silk flaps, I peer inside the box. Oh, boy…
I look up at both of them with a gasp. They must be trying to suffocate me with emotion because, if the tree weren’t enough, this is too much. Too perfect. Too sentimental. Too everything.
“My… my hands are shaking too much. I can’t take it out,” I say, trying not to burst into ugly tears.
Jayden gently lifts the large tree ornament from the box, holding it under the spotlight so the stained glass glitters with iridescent purples, blues, and greens.
Lowering it, he twirls it so the painted birds seem to soar over my thighs and their bare chests.
Everything about it is exquisite—unlike anything I’ve ever owned. When Elijah pauses the spin with his finger, my heart melts completely.
The photo Jayden took of us on the Hollywood Mt. hike is intricately painted on the front.
“We agreed this was the best memory we made this year,” he says, his voice as choked as mine when Elijah spins it to show the date and location painted on the back.
Though he stays silent, I see Elijah gnawing on his lip, his eyes glassy with emotion. Jayden slips an arm around his shoulders, hauling him flush to his side as he steps closer to me until my knees press against his thigh. Elijah threads our fingers together.
“It’s glorious,” I sigh when Elijah gives it another gentle spin, letting the birds soar over us—just like when we were kids dreaming of freedom, of a better life.
When I look back, that moment painted on the glass was the beginning of our forever. That day changed everything. Our whole lives for eternity.
Not for the better?—
For the best.
CHAPTER 22
FINLEY
I barely kept my eyes open the entire ride to the studio. The Uber driver kept giving me the oddest looks, as though he was checking to make sure I wasn’t dying.
There was no way I was going back to sleep after Jayden’s and Elijah’s surprise. I was too wired, too excited, too much of everything good and wholesome to do anything except spend every second with them until they had to leave for training.
I check my phone for a reply from Summer. Every Thursday, she has a full-caff latte from the coffee shop a few doors down from the studio. Except, the past two weeks, she’s asked for half-caff, so…
My phone vibrates with a reply just as I’m walking through the coffee shop door. The place is busier than usual, and it takes me twice as long to leave with our order.
I’m juggling the coffee holder in one hand and a box of raspberry muffins along with my phone in the other when the door opens. I wait for the person to come through while replying to a text from Christina, but instead, they say, “After you.”
I freeze.
