Page 99 of Jump on Three

She was so fucking cute. It was all I could do not to scoop her up and kiss her breathless. But she was on a mission, and I already knew she would not like being interrupted.

Something important had happened this week, culminating in the conversation we’d had on the ride home tonight.

Just ask.

I’d really thought we’d been over before we’d had a chance to really get started. But I hadn’t asked. I hadn’t told her how I felt for her or what I wanted. It had been stupid to assume she knew.

Now she did.

And I was in her room, waiting for the present she wanted to give me as if I wanted anything other than her.

“Close your eyes,” she ordered.

“Okay.”

“Put your hands out.”

I laid my hands on my thighs, palms up. “I’m nervous.”

“What could I put in your hands that would scare you?”

“I would not enjoy a surprise snake.”

She giggled. “I’ll remember that. But my gift to you is not a snake.”

Something soft landed in my hands. My fingers curled around the object, pressing into its give. No hisses, not a snake.

“Okay. You can look,” she murmured.

I opened my eyes, finding a pile of knitted yarn in my hands.

“It’s brown.” She twisted her hands at her middle. “Your favorite.”

I spread the pile apart. It wasn’t just yarn but a stunning scarf in brown and gold. The craftsmanship was impeccable. At least two meters in length, it must have taken a long time to make.

I wound it around my neck twice, fingering the ends when they were in place. The yarn had swirls of gold, lighter brown, and specks of yellow. Beautiful.

I looked up at her in awe. “You made this for me?”

“I told you I would.” She reached out, smoothing the scarf against my chest. “You don't have to wear it now. It’s much too warm. I just wanted you to have it.”

I flattened my hand over the tails of the scarf. “I’m not taking this off. No one has ever made anything just for me before. And this—how did you do this?”

The yarn was shaped like diamonds. I didn’t have the words for it, but it wasn’t a normal, everyday design. She must have spent a lot of time creating this, and she did it for me.

She shrugged. “It’s a pattern I learned last year. I’ve only used it to make blankets, but I decided it would look nice for your scarf.”

“Come here.”

She stood her ground two feet away from me. “I’m here.”

I pointed to the floor between my feet. “Right here. Come here.”

She shuffled forward until she was standing where I had pointed. “Like this?”

“Yes.” I wrapped my arms around her and pressed my face to her stomach. She sucked in a breath and held it so long I almost let go, then she released it, and her hands came to my shoulders. “Thank you, Evelyn. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

Her fingers sifted through my hair, making long strips down my crown. “It’s just a scarf, Ivan.”