I stand up and get in his way. Unfortunately, he doesn’t stop until he crashes into me. His arms come around my waist to hold me up and stop me falling on my arse.
I lift my hands up to his face and I love the feel of his stubble under my palms. “Have you finished?”
“I’m so sorry, Abbi, that wasn’t supposed to happen. I’ve been planning all this stuff and-”
I cut him off before he starts rambling again. I look straight into his green eyes before saying, “No, that probably wasn’t the best proposal of all time, but I couldn’t care less, Jax. I love you more than anything and want to be by your side forever. It doesn’t matter how you ask me - my answer would always have been the same. Yes.”
“Yes?” he whispers looking confused. “But I…that was-”
“Yes, Jax,” I say again, stopping his rant.
“But I haven’t even got the ring.” I can’t stop thoughts of my grandmother’s ring flitting through my mind. That’s never going to happen; Mum will never give it to Jax. Not that it matters, because I’ll have the most incredible man on my arm and whatever he has chosen for me will be perfect, because it is from him. “I’m going to do this again properly Abbi. I promise.”
I go to argue, but I can see from the look on his face that there is no point. He is clearly disappointed in himself for what he just did, and he obviously wants it to be perfect, so I’ll let him have his moment, even though I’m happy to just say yes now.
“Okay…shall we get this stuff in your car and head home?”
“We’re going now?”
“Yeah, I thought it would be better to get there as soon as possible. I’ve arranged with Ryan that I can stay there if you-”
“Hang on, you’re moving to Oxford but you’re staying with your brother?”
“No, I just organised that in case you weren’t ready for me to move in with you. Obviously, my first choice is with you, but as I was surprising you, I didn’t want to force you into having me live with you.”
“Are you fucking serious?” he asks, frowning again. “Do you really think I’d let you live at Ryan’s?”
“Well no, not really, but I needed a back-up plan just in case!” I say, shrugging.
“God, I love you. Come on, the sooner we get all this crammed into my car, the sooner we can be home.” He goes to grab a box, but stops and looks back at me. “Hang on, you’re telling me I’ve got to drive back for over three hours, alone?”
“Uh yeah, but when we get there, I won’t be leaving again!”
“Yeah okay, it’s worth it. Come on.”
* * *
The minute we both pull away with our cars loaded down with my stuff, my phone rings. I smile to myself when I see who it is, and hit the answer button on my steering wheel.
“Hey baby, I miss you.”
“You just left me like two minutes ago.”
“I know.”
And it continues all the way home. In a way, it is like we are in the same car. He tells me about his week, and I tell him about mine now I can reveal exactly what I’ve been doing. I tell him about my new school, and he continuously tells me how much he loves me and how lucky he is. By the time we both pull up at his building, my cheeks actually hurt from smiling so much.
It is well past midnight by the time we have all my boxes inside Jax’s flat. Thank God for the lift, is all I can think! I sit myself down on the sofa while I wait for him to get us some drinks.
My eyes widen when he walks in with a very expensive bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“So, you just happened to have that chilling?” I ask with a laugh.
“Actually, yeah. I was hoping to need it in the near future, so when I bought it I shoved it straight in the wine cooler.”
My heart turns over in my chest when it hits me that he was actually going to propose, and it wasn’t just a spur of the moment thing back at my old flat. My heart then starts pounding when I see him reach into his hoodie pocket and pull out a box that I recognise. No, it can’t be. Can it?
He slowly lowers himself down on to one knee in front of me and pulls the lid open. I gasp in shock. There in his hand is my grandmother’s ring. How the fuck did he do that? Tears instantly start pouring down my face. I look from the ring up to Jax’s eyes, and immediately recognise that they are the same colour as the ring. This ring was meant for us.
“Abbi,” he says, bringing me from my thoughts. “I’ve been waiting for you all my life. You make my heart beat faster when you are just in the room, and make me feel like you have taken it with you when you leave. I’ve never met someone I can be myself with completely, and have you love me the way I am. I never what to spend a day without you in my life, or my bed, again. You are my everything. Abigail Evans, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I squeal, before dropping down on my knees with him and crashing my lips to his. When I pull back, I see that his eyes are almost as wet as mine, but they are sparkling with happiness.
He reaches down and grabs my left hand before pulling the ring from its box and sliding it on to my ring finger. My tears start again, watching him place it there.
“Jax, how did you get this?” I ask, once I’ve calmed down slightly.
“Your mum sent it down for me via Ryan. It’s sort of a long story, which I will explain, but right now I want to make love to my fiancée.”
Chapter Eight
Jax
I’ve spent all week trying not to be annoyed that Abbi has been too busy to spend much time talking to me on the phone. We used to chat for hours every night. As the week has gone on, I’ve had to talk myself down from the panic that she is going to end things between us again. That note she left on the fridge has been read more times that I can count. She promised she’d be back, so I can only hope she is going to keep it.
The moment I finished work tonight, I was straight in the car and heading to Manchester. I am dying to see her and for her to settle all my worries about us. I fucking hate that she lives so far away. I’m dying to bring up her applying for jobs, but I’m too scared in case she says she wants to stay up there. I don’t know what I will do if she says that. I really don’t want to move, but I guess if it means being with her, then I would.
I’m practically sweating with nerves, excitement and apprehension by the time I drive down the street to her flat. When I see that her car isn’t in the driveway, a huge wave of disappointment washes over me. She knew I was coming - where is she? There are lights on, so maybe Sarah has borrowed it or something, I rationalise as I get out and stretch my stiff muscles. All my concerns instantly vanish when she opens the door with a huge smile on her face. I feel lighter as I follow her to her room where she says she has a surprise for me.
Nearly two hours later and I’m driving in the opposite direction that I was earlier this evening, in complete shock. I did not see that coming at all. Abbi has arranged for her placement to be moved to Oxford, and I am currently following her car, which is as full of stuff as mine is, as we head to my place where she is going to move in. I can’t fucking believe it. I’m embarrassingly happy. I keep seeing her look back at me in the rear-view mirror, and I can help that I’m smiling like a loon every time. I’ve been worrying all week as well as trying to come up with a plan to propose, and she’s been here planning how to change her life totally so she can be with me. I do now feel like a complete moron for blurting out the shittiest marriage proposal ever when she explained all this, but I can only feel so stupid, because she still said yes. She said yes…to me! She wants to marry me and be Mrs. Abigail Parker. Fuck, that sounds so good. After all the bad decisions and mistakes I’ve made with women in the past, I can’t believe I’m now lucky enough to have found her. When we get back, I’m proposing properly. She deserves for it to be done properly.
Once we have all her stuff in, Abbi looks exhausted so I tell her to go and sit down while I get us drinks. I quickly run into our bedroom. It doesn’t escape my attention that I just called it ours, an
d a huge smile breaks across my face. I grab the ring I’ve been hiding in my bedside cabinet. I then head back to the kitchen, pull out the bottle of champagne I bought for this occasion and a couple of glasses, before joining her in the living room. My hands are sweating. I’m physically shaking and I’m pretty sure I could puke at any minute. All this is irrational, I know, because she has already said yes, but the thought of doing it properly has me more nervous than I think I ever have been in my life. I can’t imagine this moment if I didn’t already know for certain she would say yes.
Her eyes widen in shock the moment she sees me with the champagne. She knows instantly what is coming. I put the bottle and glasses down before dropping to my knee in front of her and pulling the box out. The moment she sees it, she recognises it and tears start streaming down her face. I’m not entirely sure yet what I actually think about her mum, but I am very grateful that I can do this with the ring she has been promised for years. I don’t think it would have been the same for her if I went out and got something else.
Before I know it, she has said yes, and is on the floor with me, crying and shaking as well. The moment I slide the ring on her finger, I feel like I could rule the world. This woman is mine, forever.
When she asks me how I got the ring, I tell her I’ll explain later - which I will, but I am currently dying to get my woman naked and in bed to celebrate, not talk about her mother.
I’m still shocked by the turn of events that led to this. The night after I was given the ring, I decided to bite the bullet and ring her parents. Thankfully, her dad answered, so I thanked him for the ring and explained that I was already planning how to best pop the question to her without their interfering, but I was glad I was now able to give her the ring she had been dreaming of. I pretty much told her dad I was going to ask anyway, but it would be nice to have his permission. Much to my relief, he told me that he fully supported us, and that he would explain all this to his wife when she got home. When my phone rang just over an hour later with the same number, I was surprised to find Abbi’s mum at the other end in tears. She apologised and explained how scared she had been for Abbi, knowing she had been seeing me but not being able to meet me. I understand her concerns, as this was how it all started before. We had a very long chat, and although I doubt we will ever get along like a house on fire, I think we will be okay.
I scoop Abbi up in my arms. It makes me smile when I look down at her, because it looks like I’m practicing for carrying her over the threshold on our wedding night. God, I hope she doesn’t want to have a long engagement, because I cannot wait for her to have my name and be my wife.
I place her on her feet at the end of the bed, pull her jumper over her head, and slide her jeans down her legs so she is stood before me in just her sexy lace underwear.
“I’ve got a present for you to unwrap.” She looks at me, confused, but soon gets the idea when I nod down to myself.
She wraps her fingers around the bottom of my hoodie and I lift my arms up for her and bend at the knees slightly to help her. Once she has exposed my chest, I hear her gasp, so I know she has revealed her surprise. She quickly rids me of my hoodie and I look down to see her tracing a line with her finger around the plaster that is stuck to my left pec. Just the simple touch from her has my skin breaking out in goose bumps.
“What have you done, Jax?”
“My dad only has one tattoo. It’s my mum’s name and their wedding date right over his heart. When I was old enough to appreciate its meaning, I decided that one day I would do the same. Did you never notice that it was pretty much the only naked bit of skin?” She nods but doesn’t say anything. If the tears in her eyes are anything to go by, I’d say she’s too chocked up. “Pull it off. Gently,” I remind her - these things hurt like a bitch.
Slowly, she picks enough at the corner to grab and starts to reveal what is beneath. The moment she sees it, her hand goes to cover her mouth and her tears break free.
“Oh my God,” she says, behind her hand. Her hand drops and she leans closer to get a better look. It’s still a bit pink and puffy, but it’s clear to see.
“Jax…it’s…amazing.”
There, permanently etched into my skin, is Abbi’s name in an intricate script with patterns and emeralds around it.
“All I need now is to add our wedding date.”
I place my fingers under her chin and lift her face up to me. She eventually breaks her gaze away from the tattoo and looks into my eyes. “I love you, Abbi.”
“I love you, too,” she says quietly, before reaching up and placing her lips to mine, and very slowly, I set about making love to my future wife.
Epilogue
Abbi
“Did you know his tattoo artist is a fucking woman? A hot one at that!”
“Of course I did; she did mine, remember? She is seriously talented,” Molly says with a shrug of her shoulders, not seeing what my issue is.
“Her talent isn’t in question, Molls. She’s had her fucking hands all over my man. She’s done all of them, even the one you’ve seen that goes down his leg. He’d have been lying there practically naked for her to enjoy.”
“Jealous much, Abs?”
“Fucking right, I wanted to stab the bitch in the eye with her own tattoo gun. She looked so fucking smug and the way she looked at him, I swear I nearly lost my shit. He’s gonna have to find a new one.”
“I think you’re blowing this a little out of proportion, Abs. Just chill out. Let me see what she did.” I carefully pick the plaster off from around my wrist, and show Molly my first and only tattoo. It is exactly the same as the one that lies over Jax’s heart, but instead of my name it is his, and it’s on the inside of my wrist.
“It’s stunning, now stop bitching and enjoy your night.” I look round at all my favourite ladies together, having a good time celebrating my hen night. Next weekend is our wedding, only five weeks after Jax popped the question. We both quickly realised that we didn’t want to wait, so we just went for it. We originally were going to wait till the summer, but realised Molly and Ryan’s baby was due then, and we both wanted them there for us so we brought it forward.
I look around again and see all my ladies. My four bridesmaids, Liv, Sarah, Eve and Molly, all worked together to organise it, and until about an hour ago, I had no clue as to what we were doing, but here I am stood in a private room of the strip club in town where Molly used to do pole dancing lessons, watching a couple of hot guys prance around said poles. They are quite entertaining to watch, but I’m not sure I want to look at a naked male body other than my fiancé’s. I mean, let’s face it, his is perfect, so no matter who steps up on the stage, they won’t hold a candle to him.
The boys are out at the bar Jax used to work in tonight. He wanted a quiet night with his few close friends and family. Our night looks like it is going to end up being much wilder than the boy’s night.
Suddenly, the music changes and a spotlight showcases a chair in the middle of the stage. Four pairs of hands grab onto me and literally pull and lift me onto it before some guy dressed in a very skimpy army uniform comes and starts dancing around me. I look around at my ladies and see everyone enjoying themselves, at my expense, as I sit here trying not to get a face full of arse or dick. As I said earlier, I’ve got the cream of the crop at home, so why would I care about this one in front of me? I notice my mum and Emma looking very sheepish over in a booth on the far side of the room. Now, I totally get why my mum is hiding, but why isn’t Emma with Molly, Liv and Susan, shouting and screaming?
Once all the fun and games are over, and the now naked dancer is getting groped by a number of my hen party, I sneak off, grab a drink and go and sit with Emma, who is now alone.
“Hey, what’s up? You never seen a naked man before?” I ask with a laugh, but the blush that creeps up Emma’s face tells me everything I need to know. “Oh!”
“Abbi, don’t start, I don’t need a man. I’m quite fine as I am,” she protests.
Molly comes over to join us, and we watch as she tries to squeeze herself and her bump into the booth.
“Molly, we are going to find Emma a sexy man,” I state, and ignore Emma groaning next to me.
“Amen!”
Emma’s story is next in the series. Find out how she tries to move on with her life after losing Hannah. Out now.
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Acknowledgments
I firstly want to say a huge thank you to my amazing ARC readers for Molly. I was so scared to let people read it after working on both novels for nearly two years, but the messages of support you sent me while you were reading them and the amazing reviews you have written have given me such a confidence boost. I cannot thank you all enough for giving me a chance and for falling in love with Molly and Ryan like I did.
It became clear to me pretty early on in writing Molly that Abbi and Jax would need a story of their own, and I’m so glad that you all felt the same. I hope you enjoyed finding out more about my feisty blonde bombshell and lovable bad boy!
Once again, a huge thank you to my awesome editor who has once again spent many hours of her life looking for all my typos. Pam, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to publish something that I can be so proud of. Thank you.
And of course, my amazing husband for supporting me through this unknown journey and encouraging me when it’s needed. I love you x
Falling For Jax (Falling Book 3) Page 10
