Sweet Agony (Sweet Series Book 1) by Jessie Lane Page B

ground, I didn’t have anywhere to put it to free up both hands.
    Lucas looked at my hand holding my present, nodded, and then reached out to take the box. My hand wasn’t the only thing trembling now as I watched him stroke the top of the rectangular box in contemplation with one of his fingers. My entire body was shivering, and I doubted it was from the cold.
    A million things were rushing through my mind, yet I couldn’t concentrate on anything except that box. Something told me this moment was pivotal when it came to Lucas and me, as if whatever was in that box was going to let me know the answer to the question that plagued me when it came to the boy I loved.
    Would Lucas ever love me back?
    Everything felt like it was in slow motion as he pulled the lid off, and then my world narrowed down to the sight of gold as I gasped. It was a heart-shaped locket with a ‘G’ engraved on it and what also looked like a tiny keyhole.
    Lucas hooked one of his fingers through the gold chain and held the dangling necklace in front of me. “Do you like it?”
    I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the gold heart. There , the hope inside me whispered. There is the proof that, whether he realizes it or not, Lucas cares for me. Why else would he give you a heart when he gave his mother and sister a hummingbird and a sand dollar?
    “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Lucas. I’m going to put it on as soon as I get home.”
    “I can put it on you now if you want me to.”
    My head snapped up in surprise. I hadn’t expected that from him.
    “Please?” I whispered.
    Some emotion I didn’t understand flashed through his eyes, sending a new round of shivers through me, the good kind.
    “Turn around.”
    I did as he told me, waiting not so patiently as I stared across the street at my house. He moved closer until he stood right behind me, his body heat warming me. Even though it was mid-winter in New York, I felt a flush cover my cheeks.
    A light stroke of fingers against my neck pulled my long hair to one side, and Lucas’s deep voice sounded softly in my ear as he told me to use my free hand to hold it out of his way. I swear I could feel his breath on the back of my neck as he draped the necklace around my throat slowly then fastened the clasp.
    Had his fingers lingered on the back of my neck? Probably not, but if they had, I might have begged for him to touch me more.
    The metal of the heart was a cold shock when it first touched my skin, but the weight of it against my chest comforted me in a way I couldn’t explain.
    I wanted this moment to last forever, but reality crashed in with the sound of my mother’s voice calling out from our house, telling me not to stay outside too long; she didn’t want me to get cold. However, with Lucas so close to me, I felt anything but cold.
    When I let my hair go, it slid back into place over my shoulders and down my back. I could have sworn I heard the sound of Lucas taking a deep breath, as if he were inhaling my scent. However, with the way I felt, almost light-headed with euphoria, I knew better than to make more of this moment than the dream come true it had already been. Nevertheless, my heart always won over my head where Lucas Young was concerned.
    You could make this moment better , my hope whispered. There I found myself yet again holding on to hope.
    Turning slowly around, I decided to end tonight the way I had dreamed for so many years. Before my nerves got the best of me, I reached up on my tiptoes, braced my free hand on his chest, and softly planted a kiss on his cheek. I felt his body jolt in surprise before going rock solid under my hand, and I quickly pulled away.
    “Thank you, Lucas. It’s the best present I’ve ever been given.” Without giving him a chance to respond, I walked away.
    I didn’t need Lucas to say anything. The heart-shaped locket lying against my skin said it all.

Chapter
    8
    Lucas
    Twenty-One Years Old
    After giving a heart-shaped