"Under his roof." Zane coughed into his hand.
I glared.
Wes burst out laughing. "I don't know you, but I think I really like you right now."
I held out my hand. "Lincoln Greene."
The redhead blushed. "Remember that movie, Wes, the one I cried over."
"Oh…" Wes's smile fell. "… that movie."
"Look, I'm sorry!" I threw my hands up.
He burst out laughing. "I'm kidding. Great flick, wanted to kill you for making my wife cry and actually contemplated burning the damn thing, but…"
"A toast!" Zane stood on a stump. "To family."
Dani quickly handed me a cup of something, and I lifted it into the air as we all made a toast.
"And to the birthday girl," I said after we drank. "Eighteen. How's it feel?"
She glanced around the fire. "Perfect."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Dani
"WALK ON THE BEACH WITH ME?" Linc held out his hand to me. With a giddy laugh, I grabbed it and followed him down closer to the shore, while everyone behind us was being serenaded by AD2 and Gabe. A few years ago, if someone would have told me that my sister would be married to Jaymeson, and on my eighteenth birthday I'd have some of the most famous celebrities in the world singing around a beach fire in my honor, I would have laughed in their face or thought I was hallucinating.
Their voices were drowned out by the roar of the ocean as we made our way to the shore. My bare feet squished against the cold wet sand. Linc didn't say anything as we walked hand in hand for what felt like a mile. Finally, he stopped and turned; his eyes lit up like he knew a secret.
"Do you want your present?"
"You walked me a whole mile from the warmth of the fire to give me my present?"
He lifted my hands to his lips, kissing both of my wrists before dropping them and reaching one hand into his pocket.
His reddish-brown hair blew in the wind, casting a shadow over his face. I shivered, partially because I was cold, and partially because he was so beautiful. I'd always thought so, but seeing him standing before me, no secrets between us, nothing but excitement over what could happen in the future, did something to me. Butterflies spread throughout my stomach as he lifted a long jewelry box in his hand.
A small box would have freaked me out.
But this one seemed too big to have something like a ring in it.
Cautiously, I reached for it, but he jerked it back and shook his head. "A kiss, and then you get your present."
"Oh, so I have to pay for my own gift?"
"Yup." He leaned down, brushing a kiss across my lips. "Okay, your debt's paid. Open your gift."
Tentatively, I pulled it from his hand and slowly lifted the lid on the black box. Inside was another box, this one blue. Tiffany blue.
"Oh?" I glanced up. "Tiffany's?"
"I had to hide it so you wouldn't know right away." He nodded as if he was brilliant.
I pulled the lid back and gasped. A small silver charm bracelet caught the moonlight.
"It's a charm bracelet," he said in a low voice, "with a purpose. I hope you don't mind, but I talked to your sister about…" He gulped. "… about you before the accident, about the things you liked, what you were involved in. Cheerleading was obviously a big deal." He pointed to a megaphone charm. "And I added the crown because you were a princess. Still are, if you ask me." The crown dangled next to the megaphone. His voice broke. "I added the car as a way to show how you survived through a huge trauma in your life." He pointed to the next chain. "This is a cross, representing your parents — what they did, what they stood for."
Tears blurred my vision as he kept talking.
"I added the pen to represent your muteness and your ability to text and write notes, which far surpasses anyone I've ever met."
I choked on a sob.
"And finally…" He pointed to the last charm, an open-centered heart. "I added the heart… the one you gave me the minute you said yes. Symbolizing that I'm giving you mine too. I, uh…" Lincoln cleared his throat. "… I was hoping to bridge the gap for you. Combine your life before the accident with your life now."
I had no words.
And, for once, I didn't want them. I wasn't trying to speak, embarrassed because I couldn't. Because, sometimes, words were the last thing you needed, especially when they couldn't do your feelings justice. I jumped into Linc's strong arms and kissed him with all the passion I'd been keeping inside, wrapping my arms around his neck, drinking him in, making love to him with my mouth.
"So," he said gruffly, pulling back only enough to talk, though his lips moved against mine. "I take it you like your gift?"
"I love it." I kissed him again and again. "It's perfect."
"Zane got you a pet pig. A real one," he pointed out jokingly.
I burst out laughing and kissed both cheeks. "Right, that's like an eighteen–year-old's version of a pony. I get it, but this…" I hopped out of his arms and held out my wrist while he slowly fastened the bracelet. "… is absolutely perfect." I grinned up at him. "You're perfect."
"Hardly." He shook his head, his tone serious.
"You are!" I said in a convincing voice. "Now, let's go show Zane how awesome you are."