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Fucking loser.

Jenna’s childhood had been shit, so she’d probably never gotten gifts as a child.

And in adulthood?

Obviously not much there, either.

Note to self! Make up for all the gifts that Jenna had never been given.

She was going to be getting a lot of packages in California, and she’d be having crazy Christmases and birthdays.

Jenna deserved so damn much and had gotten so little.

That ended right fucking now.

I took the necklace out of the box, put it around her neck, and secured the clasp.

“I hope you’re not going to cry every time I give you a little gift,” I grumbled.

I’d given her little things like those silly Yooperlite beads, but this was the first real gift I’d given her.

She snorted. “This is not a small gift. It’s incredibly thoughtful and expensive. But I promise I’ll always cherish it. I wish I had something for you.”

I watched as she reverently fingered the pendant.

I moved closer to her and bent my head until my mouth was at her ear. “Right now, I only want one damn thing, Stargazer.”

“What?” she said in a breathless voice that made my dick twitch.

“Kiss me,” I said and nipped her earlobe.

“I think that would be another gift for me,” she teased softly.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me exactly what I wanted.

Chapter 26

Jenna

I’d started to miss Brock the moment I’d boarded my plane.

It had gotten steadily worse day by day until I wasn’t sure it was possible to miss him more than I did today.

It was Thanksgiving, and I let out a big sigh as I looked at the beautiful arrangement of stargazer lilies that Brock had sent for the holiday.

I’d already told him a million times not to buy me so many gifts, but those discussions hadn’t seemed to help much.

I’d discovered that I liked sending him things from California, too, so I couldn’t complain too much.

I’d never had anyone of my own to give gifts to, and it was sweetly intimate.

Everything was intimate with Brock, and that sweetness was absolutely delicious.

I still had a hard time believing he was mine, but he didn’t let things go very long without reminding me of that every single day.

I’d gotten my speaking engagement done, a lecture for other academics.

I wasn’t good at general public speaking, but I didn’t mind sharing knowledge with other scientists and students.