My jaw dropped.
“Belle?” Jackson stepped closer. His grey eyes were narrowed with concern, and I saw that he was sweating.
“What?” I frowned. “What are you doing here?”
Jackson sighed. “You left before I could wake up,” he said. He smirked. “Did you know that it’s a shorter drive up here? Well, as long as you speed.”
A lump was forming in my throat and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.
“Jackson…what are you doing here? What do you want?”
Jackson licked his lips. “I…. I realized something, Belle.”
I sighed. “If you’re going to humiliate me, just— “
“No,” Jackson said sharply. “Let me finish, okay?” He sighed and I gnawed nervously at my lip as I waited for him to continue.
“I can’t,” I said softly. “I can’t let you do this – I can’t let you break my heart again, Jackson.”
“That’s not what I want to do,” Jackson said firmly. He pressed the flowers into my arm and grabbed my suitcase with one hand. The winter winds whipped around us but I could no longer feel anything resembling a chill.
“Then what?” I stared at him expectantly.
“Being with you…Spending time with you, Belle, has really made me think about my situation,” Jackson said hoarsely. “I was horrible before. I was a miser – I was cruel, and I know I shouldn’t have ever considered not giving your mom any money.”
My heart sank. “So this is about my mom?”
“No!” Jackson dropped down to one knee. “Belle, this is about you. This is about us. I love you, Belle. I’m so sorry for all of the times I treated you badly. I’m sorry for saying everything and for hurting you. I never thought I could love anyone, Belle, but when I woke up and saw that you were gone…” His voice was choked with genuine emotion. “It hurt so much.”
I swallowed hard.
“And I’ve fallen in love with you, your kindness, your goodness...” Jackson trailed off. “Your willingness to do anything for your family. I’ve never seen that before. I never even thought people like that existed.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But they do. You do, Belle. You’re too good to be real.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I said softly.
“Say you’ll be with me.” Jackson pulled a box out of his pocket and I gasped. Just as I was about to slap his hand away, he grinned. “This isn’t a ring,” he said, opening the familiar, robin’s egg blue box. Inside, a sparkling diamond bracelet was sitting on a pad of velvet. “This is a present for you. I want you to be able to look down and see how much I love you, even when we’re apart.”
The tears began to drip down my cheeks and I blushed as I tried frantically to wipe them away. My heart was beating like a drum and I had no idea what to say or do. Finally, Jackson climbed to his feet and pulled me into his arms.
“I love you, Belle,” Jackson whispered huskily into my ear. “And I want to be with you forever. Being around you has changed me.”
I stared at him. “I…. I don’t know what to say,” I said softly. My breath was coming in rapid little bursts and for a horrible moment, I thought I was going to hyperventilate.
“Say what you feel,” Jackson said slowly. He looked into my eyes and I shivered.
“I love you,” I said softly. “I love you, Jackson Rhodes.”
As our lips met, I melted against Jackson’s body and threw my arms around his neck. He pulled me close, crushing the flowers between us. But I didn’t even care – I knew that I had something better in my arms. Somehow, my love had changed Jackson…and somehow, that made things even better than they would have been if he’d always been kind and willing to love.
“I love you so much,” Jackson said quietly. “Thank you for showing me how, Belle.”
I blushed softly as he kissed my cheek. “My pleasure,” I whispered huskily. “I love you, too.”
Jackson smirked his trademark smirk. “Come on,” he said playfully, linking his arm through mine. “Let’s go get warm.”
I raised my eyebrows and blushed. “I’m still sore from last night,” I whispered softly.
Jackson grinned and I blushed even harder. “Trust me,” he said, winking. “I’ll make you all better as soon as we’re alone.”