Epilogue - Part II

I took a deep breath and let it out, staring at the shop we were standing in front of. I swallowed and peeked at Judah, aware of his gaze on me. "Is this...? What is this? Why are we here?" I tugged my coat tighter around myself and turned to stare at the jeweler's shop again. The name glared at me from where it sat above the doors.

The Diamond Emporiumglittered in a soft metallic silver with a large painted gem sitting at the end of the sign. The windows were filled with displays of jewelry that sparkled, a shiny beacon drawing customers in with promises of making their loved ones happy.

Judah reached out and grabbed my hand, slipping his fingers between mine. His warmth surrounded me, and he didn't need to touch me for me to feel it, but I reveled in it anyway. We were here because we'd fought hard, and not only was his new company thriving, but we were as well.

"I'm not going to propose to you," he teased quietly. "Not yet anyway."

I glanced at him. "Aye, okay."

He laughed gently and bumped his hip against mine before he raised my hand and pressed a kiss to the shell bracelet on my wrist. "But I thought we could upgrade this."

"Why?" I blurted out before I could stop. "I love my bracelet. It's mine."

He nodded. "But remember what I told you when I first gave you this? I said I'd replace it with a real one made of silver or gold, your choice. It'd be a step before the proposal."

I remembered because I could never forget. Everything we'd done as teenagers was seared into the forefront of my brain, memories that reminded me of all the good times we'd had before it was torn apart. But now that we were moving forward, I didn't want to think about Judah's mum anymore. We had each other again and that was all that mattered.

I smiled and pressed my forehead against his. "Jude, I don't need a silver or gold bracelet. I have this one and it's special to me."

"I know," he whispered, plopping a kiss on my lips. "You don't need to get rid of it, but let me buy you another one. Please. For me. I want one that matches yours."

"You do?" I brushed my nose against his and tilted away so I could stare up into his eyes. My stomach fluttered and turned warm, a feeling I'd always known and understood around Judah. He managed to heat me up on the inside while it was cold out.

His grip on my fingers tightened and he smiled so widely that dimples dipped into his cheeks, and I resisted the urge to kiss each one. "Let's do this together." He tipped his head and gently tugged me, and I followed him into the building.

The Diamond Emporium was as beautiful as I'd expected, with curved glass cases of jewelry. Expensive watches, necklaces, rings, and more. There was one particular section for genital piercings, and as curious as I was, I didn't dare look too long.

Judah smirked at me when he saw me glancing in that direction, and I shrugged with a small chuckle.

"Maybe one day," I teased, earning a loud bark of laughter.

"Maybe," he agreed, leading me toward a display case of masculine bracelets. "Gold or silver?"

I hummed as I grasped his hand tighter and stared down at the collection. They were all beautiful, ranging in styles and shapes, but I couldn't bring myself to browse them because I was more interested in the prices. They started at five thousand and soared even higher, and the thought of Judah paying that much made me sick to the stomach. Despite his mum no longer being around, I wasn't going to mooch off him. We'd built his company together again with the help of the Kings' investment, and it was going well, but I still didn't want him to spend a large amount of money on me.

"I know what you're thinking." His breath was hot against the shell of my ear, teasing and sending a shiver down my spine. "Don't do it, Puffin. Don't look at the price tag. Choose the one you love."

"Judah—"

"Uh-oh, the full name is coming out." He huffed out a small chuckle and peeked off to the left, where a young woman was making her way toward us. Rosy cheeked with a wide smile, she appeared excited to be here, which was unusual but nice.

"Hello!" She came to an abrupt stop in front of us, and I took in her youthful appearance. She wore a white shirt and a black skirt, and her blond hair was pulled back into a braid. A shiny gold badge attached to her pocket said her name was Daniella. She glanced between us, her smile never dying. "Welcome to the Diamond Emporium. Can I help you?"

"Hey, Daniella, you sure can." Judah flopped our hands onto the top of the display case. "My partner and I are looking for matching bracelets."

She practically bounced on her toes and clapped her hands together. "How romantic. What metal do you prefer? We have gold, silver, platinum, and rose gold."

I perked up at the mention of rose gold. I'd always liked the look because the subtleness of the pinky glow was a nice addition, but I pressed my mouth together to stop from expressing my interest. I didn't want Judah spending the money.

Judah rolled his eyes at me. "Rose gold, Daniella."

"Jude—"

He shut me up with a kiss. Cupping my face, he nuzzled his nose against mine, uncaring that the young lady still stood in front of us. She was doing a brilliant job of ignoring us though, working at taking out every masculine rose gold bracelet from the display case.

"Tav, love of my life, my Puffin, stop being stubborn. Do this for me? I love you and I want to share this with you." He smiled because the bastard knew I was weak to his sweet begging.

I sighed in exasperation. "You are a menace. Fine."

He whooped and turned back to Daniella. Almost immediately, my gaze was drawn to one in particular. It was a thick chain bracelet, woven together in a dance of pink and gold, with a wide piece of flat metal in the middle to sit at the top of the wrist. The spot was bare, but I had a feeling it was meant for a personalized engraving.

I reached out, hesitant, before I touched the bracelet. "This one," I murmured, barely able to hear myself over the sound of my thumping heart. "We can engrave each other's names into it."

Judah curled an arm around my waist and pressed a hard kiss to my cheek. "That sounds perfect, Puffin."

"We can do that here." Daniella's grin widened as she stared between us. "We'd need a couple of days, but we have an expert who can do it."

I leaned my shoulder against Judah's as a thought came to me. "Let's put each other's names on it, and the other person can choose a saying as well. It'll be a surprise for us."

Judah's hold on me tightened. "Perfect."

* * *

Three days later, we got a call to come back. When I opened the case with my bracelet, my heart skipped a beat.

Judahwas written in a beautiful cursive handwriting on the rose gold piece, and underneath his name were his words: "I am yours always."

I glanced at Judah from the corner of my eye as he stared down at his own. Beneath my name was "Gu brath is tuilleadh."

He traced the text with his finger and finally looked at me with tears in his eyes. "What does it mean?"

I touched my lips against his cheek and cuddled in against him. "My dad used to say it to Mum. It's Scottish Gaelic and it means forever and more."

"Forever and more." Judah pressed a kiss to my mouth. "I love you, Tav."

"I love you, too."