“Dylan, I don’t think that was necessary.”
“I was just making it clear that you’re mine.” He butters a piece of bread and takes a bite. “That’s good.”
I follow his lead and thoroughly enjoy the bread. We have small talk all through our lunch and enjoy our first meal alone since we started dating. We order a dessert to share and some coffee. While we wait, I decide that now is the time to tell him how I feel.
“I need to tell you something.” I blurt out.
He reaches over and places his hand over mine. “Okay.”
“You mean the world to me. I think you are wonderful and I’m so happy that you are in my life.”
He narrows his eyes at me but can’t hide the grin. “What are you trying to say?”
I look at him. His grey eyes are sparkling in the candlelight. He’s looking extremely handsome in that light. “I love you.”
He stares at me for a second and then stands. He comes to me and gets down on one knee in front of me. “I love you too. I never believed in love at first sight until I saw you. You are everything to me.”
I lean down and lightly kiss his lips. “Thank you for taking a chance on me.”
Chapter 19
The House
Dylan
Today has been such a bittersweet day. It has been a good day but saying goodbye to Mia and Evan was tough for me. I can’t even imagine how Amber feels but she’s handling it like a champ. My girl never ceases to amaze me. Her step doesn’t falter even if she is kicked. Hearing the words ‘I love you’ come out of her mouth is a dream come true. Now, I need to make sure all of her dreams come true. First and foremost, I need to take her on a vacation. I know that she has never been on a vacation even when her parents were alive. I plan on taking her away for her birthday.
After we finished eating, we decided to take a walk and do some window shopping. I am holding her hand and it feels great to be relaxed and in no rush to get home. I look at her. She looks happy. Both Evan and Mia have checked in and both made it to their destinations safely. She must have sensed that I am looking at her because she looks at me.
“What?” she asks.
“You look relaxed and I’m enjoying it.”
“For the first time, no one is waiting for me and I am free to enjoy myself. It’s weird yet refreshing. It will take some time to get used to.”
“Enjoy it, gorgeous. You deserve every minute of it.”
She stops walking and turns to me. “I have been thinking about something you said to me a while back. I am so exhausted working at the store and I want a job with normal hours and freedoms. Do you think your friend still has that assistant position open?”
I smile at her and pull out my cell phone. I look through my contacts and hit the green call button. “Hey John. How’s it going? Great. I’m calling to find out if you are still in need of an assistant.” I wait for his answer and continue. “I have someone who would be perfect for that position. She wants to be an architect but life got in the way. She has a portfolio.” I listen a second. “Okay. Hold on. Let me ask her.” I mute the phone and look at her. “He wants to meet you Monday. Can you do it?”
“I close on Monday so I can meet him first thing in the morning.” I smile at her and take the phone off mute.
“She can meet you first thing in the morning on Monday.” He gives me instructions. “Sounds good. Thank you and you won’t be sorry.”
I hang up and look over at her. She looks stunned. “Be at his office at nine on Monday morning and take your portfolio.”
“Wow!” She laughs. “I never thought you were going to call him now. I brought my folder of sketches with me in my purse to show you and let you make the decision on whether you wanted to call him or not.”
“I don’t need to see them. I’m sure they are awesome but I would like to see them anyway.”
She reaches into her oversized bag and takes out a blue folder and hands it to me. “Thank you for arranging all of this. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s my pleasure sweetheart.” I lead her to a bench and we sit. I open the folder and I am truly floored. “These are unbelievable. I could have used you when I was designing my home. John is going to go nuts.”
“Thank you. I have also been thinking of going to school if I get this job.”
“That’s wonderful. I think you should and you will get this job. I want you to follow your dreams now and this is your passion. You should do it and I’ll support you in any way possible.”
She reaches for me and wraps me in a tight hug. I wrap my arms around her and close my eyes. She smells so good, always like mint. “You have been so supportive of everything I have done or want to do. I am so lucky to have you. I can’t thank you enough.”
I pull away and look her in the eyes. “I love you. I will support you in anything you want to do. I told you already that you are my forever and I mean it.”
She leans in and kisses me. This kiss is hot and my hands want to roam but I don’t let them. She tastes amazing and I want to love every inch of her. She pulls away breathless.
“You haven’t seen my house. Would you like to?” I ask her. She smiles big.
“I would love to.”
****
A few minutes later, I pull into my driveway. Amber is staring at the house in silence. I press a button on my rear view mirror and the garage door opens. She is taking it all in. I pull my car into the garage, kill the engine and we get out of the car. I lead her to the door that goes into the house and press the button at the entrance of the door. The garage door starts to close and I open the door. I motion for her to go first and she does. The door leads into a mud room. I have cabinets there with a granite counter top. I have a bowl there. I remove my wallet and place it and my keys in the bowl. Just past the mud room is the kitchen and she follows me.
I hear her gasp behind me when I turn on the lights. I turn to her. “Are you okay?”
She looks around and looks back at me. “This kitchen is absolutely spectacular.” She looks around again as if she is taking in every detail. “This is every cook’s dream.”
The kitchen has dark espresso cabinets with white granite counter tops. The appliances are slate with double ovens. The center island has cabinets all around with an eight burner stove top in it. The kitchen is open to a dining room and an expansive family room. I walk to the fridge and take out two bottles of water. I hand her one. “Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour.” I grab her hand and we go into the family room.
“Holy shit!” She exclaims and I laugh. The family room has a huge fireplace on the main wall and above it is a seventy inch television hanging on the wall. The black leather sectional is ‘U’ shaped. I made sure that hardwood floors went throughout the house. I lead her down a short hallway to the front door. On one side of the hall is a set of French doors. I point to it. “That’s my office.” She looks in and smiles. Only half of the room is decorated.
“Why is it only half decorated?” She asks.
“The other half is for my future wife. She can decorate it in any way she wants.”
She nods but doesn’t say anything. Across the hall is another set of French doors. “That’s the game room.” That room has a pool table and another television on the wall. There is a poker table in the corner and funny signs all over the walls.
We continue back down the hallway to the family room. She stops me and points to the view. I have sliding glass doors across the length of the family room and it overlooks the infinity pool. The house sits on one acre so beyond the pool is green grass.
“That view is nothing short of wonderful. How do you leave this house?” She looks at me with such a serious expression. I place the hand that isn’t holding hers on her cheek.
“You are my gorgeous view. That pales in comparison.” She blushes. I kiss her nose and groan.
To my left is another long hallway. I show her three empty bedrooms and two bathrooms. At the end of the hall is the mas
ter bedroom. We enter the room and I watch her look around. I don’t have much furniture. There is a king-sized bed, two night tables and a dresser. On the wall, across from the bed, is another television on the wall. The wall that faces the backyard has curtains from one side to the other. I walk over to them and open them. There is a floor to ceiling window that looks out at the pool and backyard.
“Wow.” She says.
I turn her around and point toward another hallway. She heads that way and I follow. On either side of the hallway are his and hers closets. Hers is obviously empty. She keeps going and walks through an archway.
“Is that an infinity shower?”
“Yes it is. I hate shower doors and the maintenance that comes with them. With that shower, you can just step down into it and not worry about doors or curtains.”
From the ceiling, a rain shower head sits directly over the shower and two regular shower heads. “It looks like heaven.”
There are two sinks, one on each side of the bathroom. One of them has a long counter top with extra drawers and a vanity seat. On the left side of the bathroom is another archway and on the other is a door that leads to the toilet. I motion for her to go look and she does. Her hands cover her mouth and her eyes widen.
“I can’t believe it.” She says. Through the archway, sits a huge Jacuzzi tub. It is big enough for two and has its own view of a private garden.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“No Dylan. I love everything about this house.”
I nod. “Good. Now it’s time to go swimming.”
“I don’t have a suit.”
I step out of the bathroom and come back in with a bag. I hand it to her and she pulls out a black one piece suit. She arches an eyebrow at me and I wiggle mine at her.
“Meet you out back.”
Chapter 20
Pool Time
Amber
I’m standing there in the middle of this beautiful bathroom and I’m astonished at the enormity of the house. I’m in love with it and there is nothing I would change about it. Dylan wasn’t kidding when he said he was preparing for the future. Clearly, he wants a family. I can see myself living here and having a family with him. I shake my head and clear that image from my mind. He loves me but I doubt he’s thinking of me as a wife. We went out on our first official date today after being together five months. I have too much baggage to be considered wife material. Why would he want to take all that on? But, he has put up with it so far. My stupid insecurities keep coming out plus I wonder when he’ll get tired of it all.
I go into the little toilet room and close the door. I change into the bathing suit and come out. I examine myself in the mirrors. It’s a perfect fit and not too revealing. He knew that I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a bikini. He’s extremely considerate and I am so in love with that man. I am going to enjoy him while I can because I know that he won’t want to put up with me much longer. I walk out to the patio and Dylan is standing by the grill with his back to me. He only has on his swim shorts and I decide to admire the view before I let him know that I am here. I knew he was built but seeing it in the flesh takes my breath away. All of my girly parts immediately make themselves known. He has broad shoulders with muscles bulges every time he moves. The shorts sit low on his hips and he has a great ass. Those shorts accentuate it perfectly. His calves are strong and well defined. He is so damn sexy.
“How’s the water?” I ask and he slowly turns around. He looks me up and down slowly.
“Fuck.” He runs a hand through his hair and turns away. He looks like he’s trying to catch his breath.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” He turns to me and smiles. He looks away again. “Let’s go for a swim.”
I turn and sit on the edge of the pool. I put my feet in and turn my face up to the sun. I feel the water come up higher on my legs and open my eyes. Dylan is in the water and standing in front of me. He gray eyes are almost black. I stare back at him and he steps closer. He places his hands on either side of my hips and his face is millimeters from mine. His eyes wander down my body and I feel goosebumps travel down my body as his eyes take me in. His eyes reach mine again. “You are so beautiful and I want you so bad. Every part of my body is aching to touch yours.”
He has never said anything like that to me and I don’t know how to respond to it. I know my cheeks are every shade of red imaginable and I am so embarrassed. “You’re killing me baby.” He says and kisses me. His lips are possessive and his tongue brushes my bottom lip. I open for him and the kiss quickly intensifies. He pulls away abruptly.
I place my hand on his cheek and his eyes find mine. “Tell me.”
“I have kept my feelings for you in check for months. I want to devour you every time I see you. You turn me on like no one else ever has. All I want to do is strip you down and make love to you over and over.” He stops for a second and gathers his thoughts. “But, you need to know that I have fallen so in love with you and that physical attraction for you has intensified to levels that I can’t control.”
“I want you and I love you too but I must admit I have no idea what to do about any of it.” I give him a shy smile and he smiles back. “I’ve never had feelings these intense.”
“Me neither. I need you to know that I’m not going to push you. What I said before stands-you make the move. I won’t. When you’re ready then I will be too.” He leans over and places a kiss to my lips. He moves down to my neck. “You need to understand something though.”
“What’s that?” My eyes flutter closed when he kisses the sensitive spot just under my ear.
“I’m in this for the long haul. I want all of you.” He kisses my throat. “Your heart, your mind, your body and your soul.” He kisses my collar bone and then he whispers in my other ear. “You are my forever.”
He pulls back and looks in my eyes. “You are my everything.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to me. I feel his arms come around me and, for the first time, I feel safe. “I love you.”
Chapter 21
The Gift
One Week Later
Amber
I am sitting at the kitchen table filling out a college application. I met with a student counselor and he seems to think that getting federal assistance is very likely. He’s hoping I will get some grants and so am I. I need all the help I can get. I will be taking half of the classes at the school and the other half online. I’m excited about going back to school but also extremely nervous. The fear of failure always seems to creep up. I have already done the essay and gotten all the preliminary paperwork so the application is the last thing left to complete.
I started my new job today. I went to the interview last Monday and John hired me on the spot. I gave my notice at the store that night. It was a good day. John is great and he’s very impressed with what I know and can do without a degree or a single class. I told him that I was going to go to school and he was extremely happy to hear it. He also told me that I had an architectural job when I graduate. So far so good and I love having an eight to four thirty work day with weekends off.
An hour later, I am clicking submit on the application when the doorbell rings. I answer the door and Dylan is standing there. He quickly kisses me and I step aside so he can come in.
“What are you up to?” he asks when he sees everything on the kitchen table. He puts down his briefcase down on the table.
“I just clicked submit on my college application.” I say and he smiles wide.
“Congratulations, baby.” He opens his arms and walk into them. I feel him kiss the top of my head. “I am so proud of you. You are going to be great.”
“Thank you, love.” I pull away and look up at him. “Now we need to pray that the federal assistance that comes through is more grants than loans.”
“Even if they don’t, it will be fine.” He pulls an envelope out of his back pocket and hands it to me. “My company has a scholarship program. It isn’t m
uch but they only way someone is considered is if an employee nominates someone. I nominated you and you won it.”
My hands are shaking now and I open the envelope. I look at the check and then up at Dylan. “Ten thousand dollars.”
“Yep. All yours. I didn’t have to reveal too many details. I just told them that your parents passed and that you had to give up college to care for your siblings.” He smiles. “Like I said, it isn’t much but it is ten thousand you won’t have to worry about paying back.”
“Thank you so much. I can never repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Gorgeous, I haven’t done anything for you. You do it all for yourself.”
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