I can't answer, instead, I'm rooted to the floor, staring at the blatant proof the man has been planning a future with me.
The bathroom door opens slowly. Jordan peeks before fully stepping in, stark naked, hair sticking up, face creased with sleep. His eyes scan me, fall to what I'm holding—
And every drop of color drains from his face.
"I was, um, rummaging for some Advil," I whisper. "Instead I found Toradol and... this."
He says nothing, just stares at the box like I'm holding his heart in my hands.
Which, I realize, I just might be.
"Jordan." My voice cracks. "How long have you had this?"
His throat works. Seconds pass. Too many seconds. Finally he admits "Four, maybe five months."
The floor tilts beneath my feet. "Five months? You've been keeping it, planning—for when exactly?"
"I didn't—don't have a timeline per se. I just—" He looks at me, and his eyes are raw. "I knew. I knew I wanted to marry you."
My mind reels. "Jordan. We've only been together for four months. You say you bought this five months ago. That means—"
"I had it before we started going out." His jaw tightens. "Yes, I know how it sounds."
My eyes pop. "You bought an engagement ring before we started dating?"
"I fell in love with you a long time ago, Sabrina," he says simply.
He starts walking toward me slowly, like I'm a spooked animal who might bolt.
And maybe I am. Because this is crazy. This is the kind of crazy that should send me running. A man who wouldn't touch me for the first two months of our relationship because I was underage, yet he'd already purchased a ring?
That's…intense. Borderline obsessive. A red flag, for sure. Except, it's Jordan. My Jordan.
He steps behind me then turns my body to face the mirror.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Something I've been dying to do. To see." He pries the box from my trembling hands. "May I?"
I'm too stunned to do anything but nod and watch our reflection—naked and trembling, both caught in this moment that feels too big for my body to contain.
He gathers my long, straight hair off one shoulder, draping it over the other. Then he leans down and presses a single kiss to my bare shoulder.
My heart slams against my ribs when he takes the ring out of the box and holds out his hand for my left hand. Without thinking, I give it to him.
The ring slides onto my finger like it was made for it.
I gasp. "It's so beautiful, Jordan."
He grunts in agreement, then poses my hand on my lower belly. Right where, someday, there might be another life growing.
In the mirror, I watch him tracking my body with dark, hungry eyes. Over my full, achy breasts achy, my flat belly still quivering with shock, and the diamond twinkling on my left hand.
"Is what you've been dying to see?" I whisper. "Me wearing nothing except your ring?"
His eyes meet mine in the reflection, then slowly nods. "I had a whole speech planned. Something eloquent and poetic about forever and choosing you every day for the rest of my life."
My throat closes. "Jordan—"
