“What does he think you’re doing this weekend?” he asked, giving me a side glance.
“He and my parents think I joined Melody for her trip to her grandparents’ in Connecticut.”
“Okay,” he said. But I heard the mild frustration in his voice. Lincoln hated sneaking around.
That put a damper on my mood. I didn’t want him to regret being with me.
“Hey, what’s that pout for?”
I peeked up at him. “Nothing.”
“Are you seriously going to lie to me like that?” he asked with a hint of amusement.
I gave in fast. Lincoln was the kind of guy who made it feel okay to tell him anything. “I know you hate keeping things from Ethan. I’m sorry.”
He stared at me for a moment, and then he shuffled so that we were sitting up. “I don’t want you to feel sorry about anything. We’re not supposed to think about anything but us this weekend, remember?”
I nodded.
“Looks like I have to get your mind back in the game.”
My eyebrows shot up.
“I’ll just give you your surprise.” He looked up at the sky. “I was waiting for the perfect moment. Seeing as how we’re under the stars and all, you’d say this is a pretty romantic setup, wouldn’t you?”
I let out a laugh. “Yes. Lincoln, what are you going on about? What surprise?”
He grinned and got up. I watched him with curiosity as he jogged inside and came back. Sitting down, he handed me a long jewelry box.
“This is definitely a surprise,” I said, inspecting it. Then my heart lurched. “I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts. I didn’t get you anything.”
He smiled. “This is your belated birthday present.”
“My birthday was two months ago.”
“And I didn’t get to celebrate it with you.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he held up a finger.
“No, telling you happy birthday over the phone wasn’t enough,” he said. “Go on, open it.”
Smiling, I flipped the box open. Nestled inside was a gold necklace. The chain glistened, but the pendant stole my breath. It was a single round-cut diamond—minimalist yet elegant. My eyes bulged at the name of an expensive jewellery brand scrawled on the inside of the box.
“Lincoln, I can’t accept this.”
“Why not?”
“It looks expensive,” I said, still staring at the beautiful piece. “You’re in college. This Airbnb is already too much…”
One corner of his mouth lifted into that cocky grin. “Do you like the necklace?”
“Of course. It’s gorgeous.”
“Then happy birthday.”
I looked at him, then back at the necklace. I wanted to accept it because it was fromhim. I’d never gotten anything this insanely expensive from anyone before. “But how could you afford it?”
“Sign-on bonus.”
