“Mmmm, you suck so very well,” Liam purred. Just that quick, all of my sleepiness disappeared.
“Are you looking for matching rings or would you like something original to each of you?” Liam and I were looking at rings at a jewelry store in the mall the next morning. There were so many to choose from and it was a little overwhelming, but our salesperson, Candace, was very helpful without being pushy. “Let’s try this,” she said when we didn’t answer right away, “rule out the metals you don’t like.”
“I’m not fond of yellow gold,” Liam replied then looked at me for my thoughts.
“I’m not fond of yellow gold either.”
“Alright,” Candace said, “we’ve made a lot of progress with just that decision.” She put the trays with the yellow gold rings in the case, but it still left several to choose from. “We can always have the rings custom made if you don’t find the design you like in your preferred metal.”
Candace went through each metal option until we ruled them all out except for titanium. We worked our way through the trays of titanium rings, which were all beautiful, but none of them seemed to fit our personalities. I was starting to get discouraged until Candace pulled out a tray of rings with etchings on them, several with Celtic symbols and my heart immediately skipped a beat in recognition that we were so very close.
“Oh, look at this one,” Liam said, holding up a ring that had a dragon etched in flames all around the band. It was so surprising that someone could get such intricate detail on a wedding band. “It’s perfect. My Dragon.” I nodded quickly, suddenly feeling very emotional.
I continued to look through the selection for a ring that better suited what Liam meant to me. Our rings would be forged of the same metal, but the symbols we wore on our rings should match what the other person meant to us. Liam would wear a dragon on his finger to represent me, but I wanted to wear something that represented my Ace on my finger. Then I found it, a band with beautifully etched Celtic hearts all the way around the ring. “My Ace of Hearts,” I said, holding it up for Liam to see. He smiled approvingly and leaned in for a quick kiss.
“Let’s get you both fitted then,” Candace said cheerfully.
I KEPT LOOKINGdown at the ring on my left hand and recalled the way Jack’s eyes lit up with love when he slipped it on my finger in front of all the customers and sales staff in the store. I thought it was sweet how Jack wanted to create a proposal so that I could proudly tell our families how it happened, but I loved his original proposal the most. I didn’t need fancy or formal, I wanted real and that was what I got.
I sighed happily and looked around the mall to see if Jack was on his way back with our coffees. He had left me sitting at a pretty table for two while he went to get our drinks. He did spoil me in the sweetest ways. My eyes landed on my sexy guy as he made his way back to me, but he wasn’t alone. I sat up straighter as my eyes raked over the handsome stranger walking beside Jack. I didn’t care for the way he smiled at Jack or the easy way Jack chatted with him. They looked like they knew each other really well and taking in the stranger’s age and sexiness left me feeling suddenly insecure. This guy was definitely closer to Jack’s age, which had been an issue for Jack.
He gave you a ring. He asked you to marry him. He bought you a double oven. Stop the nonsense!The smile on Jack’s face when he saw me and pointed his coffee cup in my direction eased my mind where my pep talk had failed. This man was seriously in love with me and it was obvious he was proud to introduce me to this stranger, who smiled disarmingly at me.
“Sorry for the long wait,” Jack said, dropping a kiss on my lips as he handed me my cup. “I ran into Noah at the coffee shop and brought him to meet you.”
“Oh.” I put my drink down, stood up, and threw my arms around Noah to give him a hug. Suddenly, it made sense why Jack had been so pleased to see him. No wonder they looked familiar. “It’s so nice to meet you.” I bit my lips to keep them from trembling. Without this man would I have been there with Jack? Would Jack have taken the tragic turn that so many returning warriors with PTSD took? Tears burned behind my eyelids at the thought of a world without Jack in it, but the weight of his ring on my finger helped me shift my focus away from the what if’s. I pulled back and smiled at Noah, offering my hand to shake.
Noah grinned widely, looking a little flushed over my exuberant greeting, but shook my hand anyway. “This seems a little tame after your initial greeting.”
“Just a little,” I replied. “Let’s move over to a bigger table so you can join us.”
Noah looked at his watch and then said, “I would really love to stay and chat, but I’m meeting someone for lunch.” I couldn’t help but wonder who this someone might be; I couldn’t tell by his tone if it was personal or professional. It wasn’t my business, but the smidgeon of insecurity that lived inside me had me wishing it was personal. “Maybe some other time?”
“Sure,” I replied with a nod.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Liam. Congratulations on your engagement.” He looked at Jack and added, “You deserve this happiness.”
“Thanks, Noah.” I could tell that Jack wanted to say more, perhaps tell him that none of it would have been possible without him. He didn’t say anything because it was out of his comfort zone and he only pushed himself when it came to me.
We waved Noah off and had a seat at the table. I didn’t think I really wanted to wear rings before our ceremony, but that changed as soon as Jack mentioned it the night before. I loved the feel of his ring on my finger and loved how my ring looked on his finger. I reached over and traced a finger over the metal band that represented our commitment to one another. I laid my left hand over his and angled it so that both of our bands were visible then snapped a picture with my phone.
“We better get home soon so I can set our plan in action, because I don’t think I can take this ring off just so that no one will notice it. I plan on taking this with me into the afterlife.”
“I’m not taking mine off either.” In his eyes, I saw how affected he was by my words. “Will you send me a copy of that picture so I can have it too?”
I texted the picture to him as we made our way out of the mall and into the frigid cold December morning. I shivered beneath all of my layers and Jack pulled me into his side, wrapping his arm around my shoulders to offer his body heat.
He turned on his preferred radio station once he started the Jeep. The songs switched over on the station from a hard driving honky-tonk song to a ballad. I expected Jack to drop the gear shift into drive, but he didn’t move. I looked over at him and found him staring at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“This song always makes me think of us. It’s even the ringtone when you call me, did you know that?” I shook my head. I didn’t know that Chris Young’s “Who I Am With You” reminded Jack of us or that it was my designated ring tone. It was a beautiful song and listening to the words about a man wandering through life lost and alone did sound a lot like Jack before we met. Tears threatened to spill down my face by the time the song reached the chorus.
“It’s a beautiful song,” I said once it ended, as I wiped my damp eyes with the back of my hand. I hated being an emotional crying wreck. I bet Noah wouldn’t drown the interior of the Jeep with his tears. “I have a song for you too.”
“You do?” Jack’s eyes lit up.
“Yep, let me play it for you.” I turned down the radio and searched though my music until I came to the right song. I hit play and the beginning of Sir Mix A Lot’s “Baby Got Back!!” came out through the speakers of my phone. Jack’s eyes widened when he recognized the song and then he pulled me into a headlock then proceeded to give me noogies while I laughed about the shocked look on his face.
