Free New Year by Bonnie Dee Page B

against the top of my head.
    “I’m sorry too,” he said. “I shouldn’t have been so upset.”
    I pulled back and looked up into his wonderful, beloved face. A pale white scar etched over one cheek and thick black bangs fell across his magnetic eyes. God, it was those eyes that had drawn me in from the very beginning, that and his sense of humor, the way he’d teased me out of a hopeless mood.
    “ No. You had every right to be upset. I was wrong. I didn’t talk to you before I told my mom we were engaged, but don’t think for a second I was just using you to make a point. I wasn’t. I love you.”
    I gripped the lapels of his coat, ready to shake him to make him believe me. “I needed time to think after you proposed. I wasn’t prepared for it. But now I know what I want. That is, if the offer’s still on the table.”
    He frowned. “Maybe we’re rushing and it’s too soon to be thinking about marriage. Maybe we should table the ring thing and give it more time.”
    I reached up to cup his face between my icy fingers. Details of that moment still stick with me now—the scrape of stubble against my palms, the warmth of blood coursing just under his cold skin, the doubt in his eyes that I had to find a way to banish.
    “Please, trust me. I want this, and I hope you do too.” I fished in my coat pocket for the little box that had caused so much trouble, took it out, and opened the lid. The diamond chip glinted under the streetlight as I dropped to one knee in the traditional pose.
    “Jason Reitmiller , will you do me the honor of taking my hand in marriage?” I asked formally. Joking was how we rolled, but I wanted him to know I was serious, so I added sincerely, “Time seems to move so much faster than it used to. One day slides into the next, and I don’t want to be without you for even one of them.”
    Jason smiled and took my hand to pull me to my feet. He held out his left hand, and I jammed the ring on his pinky finger. It only went as far as the knuckle. He held it up to the light and wiggled it a little. “You really like this one? The diamond’s pretty small.”
    “I love this one. In fact, I think I want it back. Can I wear it now?” I offered him my hand, and Jason slipped the ring into its proper place.
    He leaned to press cold lips against mine, and I threw my arms around his neck, clinging to him in the glow of colored lights and the beautiful winter weather. I thought I heard an angel chorus singing from above, but it was just Christmas music drifting from someone’s house.
    After several deep kisses, Jason broke it off. He leaned back and looked into my eyes. “What about your parents? How did your mom react?”
    I shrugged. “She’s adjusting to the idea, but, you know what? I’m finished trying to prove myself or measure up to her expectations. This is my life, and I know what I want from it.”
    “Baby girl’s all grown up,” Jason cracked.
    At the sound of her name, Baby left her foraging under the pine tree and brought me a pine cone in her mouth. I picked her up and threw the cone away. She snuggled between us, smelling of wet fur and pine sap.
    Jason gazed into my eyes over the dog’s head. “I want to fuck you so bad right now.”
    His hoarse growl made my body contract and heat flare between my legs. “I want to be fucked.”
    I glanced around the quiet neighborhood. The houses stood well back from the street, and party guests were safe under their roofs. We could get away with doing it, right there and then, maybe on that low stone wall surrounding the Jameses’ property.
    But Baby wiggled and whined between us , and I had to let the fantasy go. I put the terrier back on the ground, leaned in to steal another kiss from Jason, then took his hand.
    “We should go back.”
    “Back to Columbus,” he said hopefully.
    “Soon. Just one more day. And we’ll spend the New Year alone together.”
     
     
    Chapter Eight
    Jason
    Makeup sex is the best. The possibility of