CHAPTER ELEVEN #2
I jerked my head in a nod. “Said it’d make the home look more stable on paper. Just until I can get approved for adoption.”
Jericho scrubbed a hand over his face. “And how do you feel about that?”
“I’d do anything for my sisters.” It didn’t matter that I hadn’t even met them yet. I knew what it was like to be raised by Renee. I knew what they’d likely lived through. And I’d do anything to make sure they never had to experience it again.
Jericho straightened and pinned me with a stare. “That wasn’t what I asked.”
“It’s playing with fire,” I rasped. But it was so much more. It was already a daily battle to keep myself in check with Fal. Living with her? Having her in my space day in and day out? It would tempt a saint. And worse, the emptiness would be so much worse when she left.
“I don’t get it. You’re both grown now. I see how she looks at you. She didn’t stop loving you for a single second. And I can’t imagine a better woman. She’s kind and fierce. Fucking funny. And she’s sure as hell easy on the eyes. Why aren’t you going there for real?”
A burn lit in my gut, the pain of hope I couldn’t hold on to, knowing I’d never have her the way I wanted. Like I craved with every last piece of me. “I can’t,” I croaked.
Jericho just stared at me.
That fire intensified, spreading through me like lava, leaving third-degree burns in its wake. “I’ll fuck it up. And I can’t lose her. I can’t lose Fal. I can’t lose the family she gave me. I wouldn’t survive it.”
“Kye—”
“Don’t,” I clipped. “I just can’t, okay?”
Jericho was quiet for a moment. “Okay. But you gotta know she’s gonna move on someday.”
“I know.” And that would kill me, too. But at least I’d still have pieces of her. The tendrils of friendship and the bond we’d always share. That was better than taking the chance of losing her altogether.
One corner of Jericho’s mouth kicked up. “You marry her, that’ll delay things a little bit.”
“Oh, fuck off.” I shoved him. But he wasn’t wrong. I’d be able to keep Fal from moving on for just a little longer.
Jericho’s half smile turned full. “I really wanna see you all respectable. Ball and chain. Kids.”
Hell.
But it would be worth it to give my sisters the home they deserved.
Sisters.
I let that truly land. I had sisters. A family I hadn’t known about. That would change. I might not have been there when they needed me before, but I would be there for them now—and every day for the rest of my life.
My hand flew across the sketchpad I had leaning against the steering wheel of my truck. I’d only slept for maybe an hour or two, and I felt it in the burn behind my eyes. But it had given me time for this.
I’d tried countless concepts, starting with traditional and expected. But it didn’t fit. If I was going down this road, I had to do it as me. And I would give Fal everything she deserved.
I pulled the pencil back and stared down at the paper. My hand was covered in dark smudges from all the different incarnations I’d drawn, but I thought I finally had it.
The center stone was a black diamond. Thorny vines cast in rose gold curved around it, and the band was made up of those vines woven together. I let out a long breath as I let the sketchpad drop against the wheel. This was the one. Me. Her. Us.
I stared at the storefront, tracing the scripted font with my gaze and studying the window displays shining in the early morning light.
Movement caught my eye, and I took in a woman with red hair pulled back into some sort of knot at the base of her head and a trench coat covering her curvy form. It was time.
I slid from my truck, taking the sketchpad with me. Melinda’s eyes widened in surprise as she took me in, but a smile quickly tipped her lips. “Morning, Kye.”
“Morning,” I greeted, my voice sounding rusty from lack of sleep. The nightmares were getting worse and worse.
“You stopping by the shop?” I heard the surprise in her voice.
Melinda was a few years older than me and had worked at Sparrow Falls Jewels & Gems since graduating high school—managing the place for the last few.
She’d also started making some of the pieces they carried.
But I had never, not once, set foot inside the store.
I cleared my throat. “I wanted to see if you could make a custom piece for me. But it’s a bit of a time crunch.”
Curiosity and interest sparked in Melinda’s features. “Come on in.” She unlocked the door and held it open. It took her a few moments to get all the lights on and turn off the alarm. “Why don’t we go to my desk? We can talk it through there.”
There was a small, antique desk on the far wall that gave Melinda a place to sit while she kept an eye on the store. She gestured to a chair opposite it, but I wasn’t sure it would hold me without breaking. I lowered myself slowly, exhaling when the chair didn’t buckle.
“Now, tell me what you’re looking for,” Melinda said, shrugging off her coat.
My throat worked as I struggled to swallow. “A ring.”
“All right. What kind are we talking?”
Flipping open the sketchpad, I slid it over to her.
Melinda’s gaze traveled over the page as she lifted the book. “Kye, this is stunning. Is this …?”
“An engagement ring.”
A surprised smile slid over her face. “Congratulations.”
“Could you make it this week?”
“This week?” she squeaked.
“I can pay a rush fee. Whatever you need. But this needs to be a black diamond. Four carats. The best clarity you can get. An accompanying band. One for me, too.”
Melinda’s jaw slackened a bit. “We’re talking quite a bit of money here, Kye. Are you sure—?”
I pulled out my wallet and slid a black credit card across her desk, one I knew she’d recognize the label on. “Take whatever deposit you need to get started.”
She blinked back at me a few times before handing me the sketchbook and opening her laptop. “I know a gemstone dealer in Los Angeles. He just got a shipment of stunning black diamonds in. I’ll see if he can deliver one today or tomorrow. It’ll mean paying for a courier’s flights, though.”
“That’s fine,” I said quickly.
“I can do the setting as soon as it arrives. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
My heart gave a jerking thump against my ribs. “Thank you.”
“Do you know her ring size?” Melinda asked.
I slid a hand into my pocket and came up with a dainty band covered in colorful wildflowers. “She wears this on her ring finger sometimes. Can you base it on this?”
Fal had left it at my house after one of our movie nights, and I hadn’t given it back. I didn’t want to look too closely at the reason for that. But now, I figured there was an upside to my creeper tendencies.
Melinda’s lips parted as she took the ring. “This is Fallon’s, isn’t it?”
I nodded, waiting for her reaction.
A smile spread across her face. “She’s a lucky girl.”
“I’m the lucky one.”
It didn’t matter that it was all for show. I’d cherish every moment I got with her. Because they’d have to hold me over for eternity when I was forced to let her go.