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I need that thing out of here.

Snatching the box out of his hand, I march into the kitchen. My eyes focused on my end goal — the trashcan. Nix catches my hand just as I’m raising it over my head to chuck the vile jewelry.

“What are you doing?”

“I need it out of here, Nix!”

“Okay, baby.” He wraps his arms around me and I bury my head in his chest. “We’ll call your brothers and they can come get it but we need to keep it.”

Tears well up in my eyes. “No! I need it gone forever. I need it to not exist anymore!”

“Shhh, sweetheart,” he whispers, wiping my tears away. “I know, but for right now we need to keep it. When this thing is all over, we can crush it, burn it, or toss it into the swamp. Whatever you want.”

“Do you promise?”

“Absolutely, baby.”

I bite my lip and nod at him. “Okay.”

“There’s my girl.” I smile and he pulls me back into his arms. “I love you,” he adds and I just nod, still unable to say the words.

“Will you tell me the story about this necklace?” After a moment, I nod. He scoops me up and carries me over to the couch, sitting me on his lap. I sigh and unload the story about that morning. When I finish, he just nods.

“One sec,” he finally says, setting me off to the side and striding into the bedroom. He comes out a moment later and sits down beside me again. “Get back over here,” he commands and I scramble into his lap.

“What’s up?”

“Well, speaking of birthdays, I didn’t get a chance to give this to you.” He pulls a velvet box out from behind his back. I gape at him, my eyes flicking between his blue gaze and the black jewelry box in his hand. We had just started dating right before my birthday and he got me a present? And not just any present but jewelry.

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“Naw, I wanted to, baby. I’m sorry it’s late. I actually just got it a few days ago. I had to have it specially made.”

Specially made?

“This is too much.”

“Nothing is too much for you, baby. Open it.”

Glancing down at the box in my hand, I slowly peel the lid open. Inside is a silver bracelet. A charm that connects the two pieces of the bracelet catches my eye and I gasp when I realize what it is.

Oh my God.

“It’s a…” My voice fades off, unable to finish my sentence.

“Lobster,” Nix finishes for me. It’s more than a lobster. It’s two lobsters, twisting to form an infinity symbol. The bracelet itself and its symbolism steal my breath away.

“Nix.” Tears well up in my eyes as I look at him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks, wiping a tear that falls down my cheek. “If you don’t like it, it’s okay.” His voice is full of disappointment.

“These are happy tears. I love it.”

A slow smile spreads across his face. “Really? You wouldn’t lie, right?”

“Never.”

“I love you.” His lips brush again mine in a sweet kiss. A sigh slips out of my mouth as he pulls away.