Page 91 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
Sensing me, like she always does, she looks up and takes in the guitar case that I’m carrying. Her smile turns curious as she moves toward me. I put it down on the blanket, my palms beginning to sweat nervously again.
“Hmmm, what could be in here?” she says teasingly, sitting next to the case, thinking she knows what awaits her, but she has no fucking clue.
“Open it and find out.”
I sit down across from her and my heart starts to thump wildly in my chest as she opens the case. Jesus, I am a fucking pussy.
I watch her reaction carefully, her smile completely vanishes as she stares in disbelief at the sleek, black acoustic guitar, her trembling fingers brushing gently over the handwritten signature.
“Cade?” she asks with a shaky whisper.
“Yeah, Red.”
“Why is Elvis’ name on this guitar?”
I clear my throat, “Because he signed it. I’m told he also played it at some concert back in 1976 and…”
“Holy fucking shit!” I rear back in surprise, shocked that those words just came from her mouth. “Is this real, Walker? Like, I mean, is this for real?” she asks with a note of hysteria in her voice.
“It fucking better be.” I spent a good fucking chunk of savings on that goddamn thing and I trust Jimmy; if he says that it’s real, then it’s real.
“Oh my god! Oh-my-god…” she mutters in utter disbelief, her smile returning and her eyes becoming glassy. “How were you able to buy something like this?”
“A guy I met overseas, he was an older marine heading for retirement, and his hobby was collecting anything and everything you could think of. He told me it was what he planned to do after he retired. Anyway, I still had his contact information and figured if anyone could help me find it, it would be him. And I was right, although it took him a little bit. I wasn’t sure whether to do Elvis or that Cash guy,” she smiles as I say this, making me guess I got the name wrong, “but Christopher said Elvis, so that’s what I went…”
I get cut off when she launches herself at me and knocks me to the ground.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she says over and over again, peppering kisses all over me.
I begin to feel her warm tears spilling on my face, which would make me feel like shit if she didn’t have the biggest fucking smile I’ve ever seen on her right now.
“I guess that means you like it?” I ask with a slight twitch to my lips.
“It’s the most extraordinary, precious thing anyone has ever given me. I love it, Cade.”
I can’t help but feel fucking proud for being the one to put this smile on her face. “I have one more thing for you.”
“Another present? You really know how to make a girl feel special, Walker. Who knew?”
I grunt and ignore her sass. “It’s not really another present, it’s more giving back something that belongs to you.”
She looks at me perplexed and suddenly I get nervous again. “Sit up just a bit, baby.” I help raise her to her knees slightly then reach into my pocket and pull out something I’ve kept with me for a long time and never parted with.
“Hold out your hand.” I tell her gently as she sits back down on my stomach.
When she does what I ask I lay the delicate chain in her hand. She sucks in a sharp breath as she stares at the anklet with the music note she left for me two years ago.
I wait for her to say something and try to gauge her reaction but her expression shows nothing except shock. “I can’t believe you have this.”
I clear my throat. “Our belongings were sent to us while we were in the rehabilitation center. I’ve been waiting for the right time to give it back to you.”
I’m hoping she isn’t mad I didn’t give it back sooner, but I wasn’t ready to part with it. When she doesn’t say anything I take the anklet then lean up slightly and hook it around her slender ankle.
She stares down at it for a minute before swinging her, wet, emotional eyes up to mine. “I gave this to you so you would have something to remember me by.”
I reach up and cup the side of her face. “I never needed anything to remember you by, Red. I would have never forgotten you.”
A small sob escapes her just before she leans down and rests her forehead on mine, our lips only a breath away from one another, temping me to take a taste. I’m just about to when she says, “I love you.”
I tense without meaning to, unable to stop myself. There are those three fucking words, again, that I have been trying not to think about since she said them the other night. It has fucking panic gripping my chest like a tight vice, making it difficult to take in a breath. I’ve only ever had one person say those words to me, and it was a little girl who didn’t know any better.
“You don’t believe me.”
The sad note to her voice makes me feel like shit. “It’s not that…”
“Then what? You can’t possibly still think love doesn’t exist. Look at Jaxson and Sawyer.”
I stare into her wet, emerald eyes, seeing a burning need for answers, and before I can stop myself I tell her the truth. I tell her my biggest fear. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s I’m wondering when you’re going to wake up and realize I’m not worthy of it.”
She sucks in a sharp breath and I feel more of her tears hit my face, but I don’t break my gaze from hers.
“Never,” she whispers sadly.
“All love comes with conditions. Why do you think so many people divorce?”
“Not mine. I love unconditionally, and I think you’re perfect, all of you.”
“There is nothing close to fucking perfect about me, Red. You have to know that by now.”
“That’s just it. I see every single one of your flaws, and I value them as much as I value your strengths. You are perfect to me in every way. The good,” she presses a soft kiss to my lips, “the bad,” she gives me another one, “and… I was going to say ugly but there is nothing ugly about you, Cade Walker,” she adds with a smile.
