“I really can’t…” she stammered.

“Oh, come on. We don’t have to get anything. Just a quick look,” Bekah said, her smile bright and vibrant at the prospect. She grabbed a hold of Lexi’s elbow and hauled her through the well lit storefront. Bekah’s eyes barely focused on the stunning collections before her. She ignored the eager looks from the sales associates as she dragged Lexi to the counter. Lexi felt as if she had hit the top of a rollercoaster ride, and her stomach was on auto-pilot down the metallic runway.

Engagement rings clouded her vision. Perfectly cut, perfectly designed, flawless engagement rings on display shining brilliantly in the light. Lexi’s hands were shaking as she reached out to touch the glass for support. This was not good. She could not be here with Bekah. It was all fine and dandy when they were shopping for dresses, but this…this was entirely different. She couldn’t imagine one of these beautiful stones on Bekah’s finger securing her to the man she loved…to the man Lexi loved. She swiped a thin layer of sweat from her brow.

“Aren’t they gorgeous?” Bekah cooed, her extra thick blond hair framing her face as her eyes ballooned at the prospect of owning such a rock.

“They’re…they’re something,” Lexi mumbled coughing into her wrist.

“I’d love this one,” she said pointing to a large princess cut diamond set on a gold band.

“Would you like to try it on?” the sales associate asked materializing out of thin air with a set of keys. He undid the lock and procured the ring from its home before she even had an option of declining.

“Oh dear,” Bekah exclaimed taking the ring and sliding it onto her ring finger. To Lexi’s pleasant surprise it was much too large. It would have to be downsized considerably to even look remotely good on her finger. Regardless, the diamond still shone true and her French manicured hands only increased the beauty and perfection that was now placed on her hand. “Well, that won’t do quite yet,” Bekah conceded handing the ring back to the associate. “Next time perhaps,” she added.

“I think…I should go,” Lexi said retreating.

“Yes,” Bekah said glancing up at her, “we should go. Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“I’ll be fine,” Lexi said hurrying out of Tiffany’s and back into the open air. She let out a long breath and felt color return to her cheeks.

“Well, I’ll see you Friday, if not beforehand,” Bekah said nodding her head at Lexi as she exited. Lexi fell into the cool comforting town car and forced her mind to wander in other directions. The last thing she needed to consider was engagement rings and proposals.

*****

Ramsey had vaguely hinted that he would be out when she returned from her shopping excursion. Something related to work though he hadn’t given any details and had evaded any further questioning on the subject. He had slipped a key into her purse before letting her out of the house, and told her that she was welcome back whenever she had completed her errands. After depositing the hanger in the upstairs guest bedroom and letting any remaining thoughts of engagements flutter from her mind, Lexi found that she was surprisingly relaxed. She had a new fabulous dress. She never had to speak to Jack’s snotty girlfriend again. And soon enough, she would be spending some much needed time with her family. Not much else could get her this excited. The only issue that she had left to deal with was talking to Jack.

She needed to figure out what was going on between them before she left for New York this weekend. She only had a couple days left, and every time they had been together had held sexual tension or outright anger. If she was ever going to let him go, then she needed to get everything out of the way…out in the air.

That is how she found herself hailing a taxi to take her back to his place. It had only been three days since she had last stepped foot into his apartment, but it felt like a lifetime.

The late night attendant, she had passed while entering the building only a couple days earlier, seemed to remember her and buzzed her through to Jack’s floor. She knocked once before twisting the knob, finding it open. The lights were dim as she entered and a flickering of light was coming from down the hall. No sounds could be heard from the apartment, and as she walked past the kitchen, candlelight seemed to take over. A hundred or more candles of varying shapes and sizes filled the living room and more lit the dining room where two plates were set and a bottle of wine sat chilled.

Lexi’s mind was whirling. This couldn’t be for her. Why would he do something like this for her? Did he just want to confuse her? Granted, it was beautiful. She could feel tears welling to her eyes as they drifted from one romantic scene to the next. Is this what it felt like to have Jack be only yours?

Except he wasn’t.

He belonged to Bekah. So, what was he doing making her feel like this now? After she had confessed nearly everything to his girlfriend. After he had flown her down here to convince the new girl that she was what he wanted. Was this a thank you? Did he actually think he had to thank her for what she had done? Because this wasn’t helping her ability to get closure.

“Do you like it?” Jack asked from behind her. Lexi turned slowly and took in the beautiful man in front of her. Thankfully, he wasn’t over dressed. He wore a pair of dark loose fit jeans and a white linen button up rolled up to his elbows. His blue eyes were momentarily hidden under his midnight hair. His complexion was dark from the summer sun which only added to the exotic effect he was exuding.

“I…well…yes, but why?” she asked her eyes leaving his sexy body and falling on things that she was more capable of discerning accurately with her heart racing like it was.

“Because I needed to apologize,” he said stepping towards her.

“Is this how you apologize to everyone?” she asked attempting to keep her eyes averted. He was standing so close she could almost feel the heat rising off of him.

She knew he was smirking without glancing at him. “This is how I wanted to apologize to you.”

“You shouldn’t have,” she said weakly.

“I was out of line when I said all those terrible things to you.”

“Jack, you shouldn’t apologize. You should let it be,” she said turning away from him completely.

“I can’t apologize enough for what I’ve done to you over the years, for what I did to you this week, for having you come here and endure what I put you through. I can’t apologize enough for overreacting when I saw you with Ramsey. I can’t apologize enough for everything, but I thought I could start with dinner,” he whispered sweetly into the ear she had left exposed to him. His arms came up to encircle her miniscule waist and draw her in to him. She tried not to breathe in his delicious smell as old feelings threatened to overpower her senses. He placed a tiny kiss on her shoulder before reaching down, tugging on her hand, and pulling her into the dining room.

“Jack, you really shouldn’t have done all of this,” she said as he tucked her into the dining room chair.

“I think that I should have, and who are you to turn down a man begging for forgiveness?” he asked with another smirk directed her way.

Lexi sighed and waited for him to be seated before continuing, “We really need to talk.”

“I agree,” he said, “how is the chicken?”

Lexi glanced down at her food realizing for the first time that there was, in fact, chicken on her plate. She dug her fork into the meat and tasted the morsel. “Good. Did you cook this?” she asked in surprise.

“For you.”

She nodded wondering when he had ever learned how to cook. Last she had checked, macaroni and cheese had been too difficult for him. Now he was creating delicious entrees? “Okay, well, thank you, but we really do need to talk.”