When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark 2)

He nods, grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah. This place shows a different classic movie every week. This week happened to be Jaws.”

“Our favorite,” I say, and a sudden rush of emotion clenches my chest.

He nods and takes my hand, leading me to the ticket counter. He purchases two tickets and then we get drinks, popcorn, and candy. When we take a seat in the theater there’s only one other person—an elderly man that’s enjoying his popcorn so much I doubt he’d know if the place burned down around him.

We take our seats in the back—the back is the best, and anyone that says otherwise is a gremlin—and wait for the movie to start.

I munch on a piece of popcorn and Xander fumbles in his pocket. His pack of M&Ms falls to the floor and I reach down to the grab them. “What are you doing?” I ask, sitting back up and dropping the candy pouch in his lap. “Oh,” I gasp. “That’s what you’re doing.”

He smiles sheepishly, holding my wedding ring out to me. “You said you’d wear it if I gave it back, but it seemed weird to just hand it to you at home.”

“So,” I draw out the word, “you brought me to a movie theater?”

He winces. “Okay, it sounds really dumb when you say it that way, but it made total sense in my head.” He swallows thickly. “There’s more, though.”

My brows furrow together. Now I’m really confused. “Okay?”

He wets his lips. “I brought you here, because the first time we watched Jaws was the moment when I really knew you were someone special to me. I remember you getting scared when the shark came out of the water and you whimpered and curled into me and I knew then that I wanted nothing more than to make you feel loved and safe for the rest of your life. So, that’s why we’re here. For me, this is the start of it all.”

Swoon rating? Off the charts, ladies and gentlemen.

I take his face between my hands and kiss him, because I don’t have any words that can measure up to that. I hope through the kiss he can feel just a fragment of what I’m feeling.

I pull away, both of us breathless now, and he holds my hand as he guides the simple silver band onto my finger. It rests there, a perfect fit, like it was always meant to be there.

He goes to put his ring on, but I grab it. His dark eyes flick up to meet mine and I think he’s afraid I’m about to throw the ring into the depths of the theater, but then I take his hand like he did mine and put the ring on. I struggle to get it passed his knuckle but I manage, and I’m surprised by the happiness it brings me to see it there. The morning we woke up in Vegas I felt anything but happy at the sight of it.

I lay my head on his shoulder as the movie starts.

“Can we do this?” I whisper softly, so as not to disturb the man a few rows down.

I feel Xander nod. “Yeah, I think we can.”

I think we can too.

Our laughter echoes through the kitchen as Xander spins me around. Turning the radio on while we cooked might not have been our brightest idea, but there are times in life where you have to pause and enjoy the little things.

I wind my arms around his neck, swaying my hips to the beat of the song. His hands rest on my waist and he laughs when I begin to make funny faces.

“Bleck,” Cade says, entering the kitchen. “You guys are gross.” He picks up an apple from the basket on the table, tosses it in the air, and catches it before taking a bite.

I laugh and step away from Xander, returning to the stove. “You’re one to talk,” I say to Cade over my shoulder. “You and Rae are the grossest.”

“Are not,” he argues.

I snort. “We sound like we’re six.” I throw away the burnt eggs and clean the pan.

Xander takes the pan from me and says, “Maybe I should do this.”

“Hey.” I pout. “You’re the one that started dancing first. It’s not my fault the eggs burned in the process.”

He shrugs. “I make them better anyway.”

I gasp. “Take that back.”

“The truth hurts, deal with it.”

I narrow my eyes. “Oh, you’re in trouble.” When he turns around, I jump on his back like a spider monkey. He starts to fall from the impact but quickly recovers.