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But this was… different.
Maddox held my hand. In fact, he barely let me go. He secretly whispered dirty words in my ear, while we explored the museum. We shared kisses while we ate our ice cream, our lips quivering and numb.
He was completely in tune with me, always reaching out for me, watching me closely, touching me.
His romantic side was finally showing, and I got to be the first woman to see it.
It was special, I told myself.
But it was also a short affair, I reminded myself.
“So, where to now?”
Maddox grabbed my hand, tugging me to him. He folded his arm around my shoulder, anchoring me to his side. He lowered his head, so he could whisper in my ear, “Your last surprise.”
“It’s really not fair. It’s your birthday, and you won’t let me do something for you,” I mumbled, even though my heart was doing somersaults in my chest.
Maddox placed a quick kiss on the corner of my lips. “You already are.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re spending the day with me. That’s enough.”
“A date,” I said cheekily.
“A date,” he affirmed, with a warm, dimpled smile. It transformed his face. Maddox looked happy, and he suddenly appeared younger than before, more his age. All casual, carefree and young.
He was always busy with school and football, always worrying, always tense. It was a burden he carried as he tried to make his father happy, even though if you asked him – he’d lie and say he didn’t give a single fuck what his father thought of him.
He was a good liar, like that, hiding his pain behind the mask he wore, showing the world he was the Maddox Coulter: cocky, arrogant, rich–Berkshire’s star quarterback and now Harvard’s.
To the world, he had everything. Parents. Money. A scholarship. His football career. Girls at his disposal.
He was a king, and he wore his crown, filled with thorns, with an unmatched arrogance and a dirty smirk to go with it.
But deep inside, all Maddox ever wanted was acceptance and love.
So he worked endlessly for it… and always ended disappointed.
But right now? The usual tensed line on his forehead was smoothed out, his blue eyes practically alive, and his smile was…real.
Oh damn it. There goes my heart again.
Once we were back at the hotel, we waited for the elevator. “So, what’s the surprise?” I asked again, growing a tad impatient. He was dragging the suspense out far too long now.
“It’s waiting for us on the rooftop.” Maddox winked, as he took a step back, as if to walk away.
Confused, I grabbed his hand and tugged him to me. “Are you telling me you’re about to climb up the stairs to the rooftop?”
He eyed the elevator, and I could practically feel him sweating at the mere thought of entering the tight enclosure. “Maddox, you can’t climb fifteen flights of stairs. That’s crazy! We don’t have to go to the rooftop. Let’s go back to our room.”
“No,” he snapped, before shaking his head. “Sorry. It’s just… I had them prepare this especially for us.”
“Maddox–”
He gritted his teeth, his jaw growing hard, so much so that I wondered if it’d crack under the pressure. “Take the elevator, Lila. And I’ll be there in a few minutes. The stairs are not a big problem.”
“But–”
“Lila, no.”
“You’re serious?”
His expression turned stern. “Yes. Don’t argue with me on this, little dragon. You won’t win this one.”
The elevator pinged, and the doors slid open. Maddox was already backpedaling from me. “To the rooftop, Lila. I’ll see you there.”
I got into the elevator and watched him leave, as the door slid closed once again. I punched in the button for the last floor, which would take me to the rooftop. I didn’t even know we were allowed up there.
The hotel was fifteen floors, and it took me a few minutes to get where I needed to be. When I got to the top, there was a hotel employee at the door. He smiled kindly, before he let me out, sliding the glass doors open for me. I stepped onto the rooftop, which, in fact, was a wide-span terrace.
Holy shit.
I slowly took a few steps forward, taking everything in. The terrace had been transformed into a romantic arrangement. The set-up was right out of a movie or a romance novel. Oh yeah, I was definitely being wooed. Rose petals and scented candles on the ground, creating a pathway for me. There was a table set for two, but it was the view that had me in complete awe.
Oh my God!
I must have stood there, in complete shock for a whole minute.
“Surprise,” he exhaled in my ear.
I didn’t even flinch or gasp. I felt him before he spoke. Maddox’s hands curled around my hips, as I leaned against the metal railings of the rooftop. His breathing was coming out harsher, his chest heaving against my back, and I could feel his heart thudding. He climbed up fifteen flights of stairs for this… for us.
