Read No, Not that Jane Austen for Free Online

extra plane ticket for you and we can elope right now if you want to."
    I raised my eyebrows and choked on my words.
    "You had to see this coming." He set the box on my lap. "I love you. Always have."
    "I ... I..." I suddenly needed to open the window to breathe. My pulse quickened so fast I felt it beating in my ears. Everything around me—the dashboard, the steering wheel, his face, my hands—blurred until I closed my eyes.
    He slapped my arm and laughed hysterically. "You totally bought it."
    I looked back and forth. "What?"
    "It's a fake ring." He kept laughing and handed me a wrapped gift. "This is for real."
    I held up my hands. "Slightly freaked out to open it."
    His little boy smile replaced the mischievous grin. "You'll like it."
    I slowly unwrapped the paper and set it neatly on the floor of the car as he smiled. How did he remember? It was so long ago. I didn't even remember telling a soul. Not even him. Running my fingers along the edges, I tried to thank him but the words refused to make an appearance.
    "It took me years obviously, but I finally found it a few months ago. Thought I'd wait until your birthday though."
    "Where did you ... how?" I opened the box and felt the familiar smooth velvet. "How do you know it was mine?"
    He shrugged. "Who else buried a box in the woods in the exact area you said it would be?"
    "You just went out there and dug it up? This is really it?"
    "When I had time every few months or so. It's been years. I just didn't want to give up because you always talk about how you wish you had never gotten rid of it. Thought I'd surprise the hell out of ya if I found it, so I dug around until I did. Found some jewelry and other stuff in my search." He pulled out a bag. "Some of it you might like."
    Don't cry, don't cry , I said to myself, but my eyes already stung with joy. "Thank you, Donny." I pulled him into a hug. "I can't thank you enough."
    "You could by accepting my proposal."
    I hit his arm and sat back, staring at my box. The box that held my dreams. Underneath the velvet was a secret compartment. I looked at him, wondering if he searched it. Not that I'd really mind. The guy knew me inside and out. Still though. The secrets under there would tell him things about me I hadn’t told even him, things I didn’t know if I could face again after all these years.
    "I better run in there." He couldn't erase his smile. "I'll miss my flight."
    "I'll walk you in."
    We walked fast and it didn't take him long to find where he needed to go. His family traveled far more than mine. The only major vacation I remember was our trip to England. Mom and Dad and their ridiculous obsession with all of that stuff. Jane Austen and everything related. Made me want to turn my fork upside down and lower my face on it until I punctured out my eyeballs. Okay, maybe not that bad, but it overwhelmed me to the core.
    Donovan stopped when I could no longer follow.
    "Time for a little radiation exposure," I joked, only he knew I wasn't really joking.
    He ran his fingers through his messy dark hair. Typical lacrosse player with hair flipping out at the ends. It's a wonder we stayed so close with all of our differences.
    "Happy birthday, Jazzy." He gave me one last hug as my mind drifted back to the first time he called me Jazzy. We were playing in my basement while our parents talked upstairs and he thought the way I played with Barbie’s was "jazzy." I guess in his little kid world that meant weird or crazy. True though. I hated Barbie’s. So I guess I gave them mullets and dyed their hair with Kool-Aid and well, yeah, that can be a tad weird to some people.
    "Thanks again, Donny," I said. "I'm serious. You're the best friend I've ever had. I love you."
    "Love you too, girl." He looked over his shoulder. "Gotta go. Talk soon."
    I watched him check in and disappear, then took a step back. My foot bumped into something and I almost lost my balance. I turned to find a guy flat on his face, cheek pressed against the