Nick went to the door and opened it. A second later, Jackson appeared.
He waved from the doorway, a sheepish smile on his face. “I was hoping you’d say yes.”
Raina shook her head, unable to resist smiling back. “Let me just go see if she’s awake.”
There was a loud crash right above them. Raina looked up, dread racing through her.
“What was that? Ridley!”
* * * * *
RIDLEY FELL AGAINST the dresser and dropped her head down to the wood. Going to get her man was not supposed to be this hard.
The door flew open and she was scooped up into a pair of strong arms. She looked up into Jackson’s eyes. Everything that had happened over the past week fell away and suddenly all the pain, fear and heartache didn’t exist. There was just the pure, incandescent joy of being in the arms of the man she loved.
“This reminds me of how we met,” he said.
Ridley sucked in a breath, suddenly overcome with some emotion she couldn’t define. It seemed crazy that she could be so happy to see him after only a week apart. How could someone she hadn’t even known existed last month suddenly hold the difference between happiness and misery?
“Yeah, except this time we don’t have an audience.”
“Well, not exactly.” He looked over his shoulder and turned slightly. Raina and Nick came into view. Nick waved.
She smiled through her tears. “Oh, you’re right. This is just like old times.”
He carried her to the bed and put her down gently on top of the covers. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “No, but that picture frame can’t say the same. Sorry, Ray.”
Raina knelt and picked up the pieces of the frame that had broken when it fell. “I never liked this one anyway. I’ll just go throw this away and leave you two to talk.”
Ridley watched as Raina left the room and Nick followed, pulling the door shut behind him. For a long moment, they sat in silence just gazing at each other.
“What? You’re staring,” she whispered.
“I am. You’re beautiful.”
She smiled at the familiar words.
“I just want to look at you for a minute,” he continued. “I thought I was never going to see you again.”
She understood. It felt as if she could look at him for hours, just soaking up his scent and memorizing the lines of his face.
“I came to apologize. When you didn’t answer any of my calls I figured you meant what you said when you left. That after you proved you were innocent, that you never wanted to see me again.” His bowed his head for a moment.
“Wait? You called me?” Ridley pointed to her phone on the nightstand. “I never got any calls.”
Jackson picked up her phone and handed it to her. She tapped the screen a few times and then showed him the missed calls log. His number wasn’t there.
“I probably called a hundred times. Wait, call me.”
She tapped the screen. His phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the unfamiliar number.
“You changed your number?”
“No, when would I have had time to change my number?” She thought for a moment, then groaned. “But Raina had plenty of time to change it without me knowing. I knew there was a reason she wouldn’t give me my phone back!”
“She’s just trying to protect you. I don’t blame her. I’m not good for you. I’m not a good bet for anyone. I’m damaged and even if you give me another chance I’m sure I’ll make mistakes over and over again.”
“I lied to you. And I’m not sure if I would have believed me either if that much money showed up missing from my account. We both made mistakes.”
“I finished our song.”
Ridley squinted at the sudden change in subject. “You did?”
“It’s called ‘One More Day’. I’m going to record it.”
“Jackson, that’s wonderful! But I thought you said it would never be recorded? That you were scrapping it.”
“Some things are worth saving.” He got off the bed and knelt on the floor in front of her. For a moment, Ridley felt weak again and leaned against the pillows for support.
“Working on the lyrics really made me think about my mom’s advice. About wanting one more day. The thing is, sometimes you don’t have one more day. Sometimes all you have is the moment. And if you don’t take it, it’s gone forever.”
“What are you saying, Jackson?”
“I’m saying I love you. And I really hope you love me, too.”
Ridley bit her lips. “Is this crazy? Is it just completely crazy that I felt like I’d lost a limb just because I didn’t see you for a week. Is this even logical?”
“Screw logic. I love you. I love the way your forehead crinkles when you laugh. I love how you put everyone at ease, my mom, my brothers, even the kids. I love waking up and looking over at you and being the happiest I’ve ever been. Even if you find someone else, someone who isn’t all damaged and scarred, he’ll never feel the way about you that I do.”
“I love you, too. So much.” Tears spilled down her cheeks as she smiled at him.
“Give me one more day, Ridley. Marry me?”
The sound of whooping in the hallway made him scowl. The door to her room swung open and she saw Nick and Raina cheering and dancing in the hallway.
“If I’d known you were going to propose, little brother, we could have stopped at a jewelry store on the way,” Nick said.