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Damn, he looks good.
“You look incredible, Livvy.”
I do flirty little spin in my lavender sundress knowing I now fill out my clothes with feminine curves. “Thank you, as do you.” I throw my arms around his neck and hold him tight. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He gives me a chaste kiss on the cheek. “So did everyone else.”
“I’m ready to get back and see everyone.”
“I bet, but we’re going to make a quick pit stop first .”
I look up at him trying to figure out what it could be. He grabs the duffel bag off my shoulder and puts it on his before grabbing the handle of my suitcase and rolling it back toward the airstrip where the plane is waiting for us.
I gasp when I step into the cabin and see the beautiful flowers sitting on the table. It’s an elegant arrangement of blush peonies, white hydrangeas, and light pink roses. I stick my face in them, dragging the lush scent deep into my nose. There’s a card, so I pull it out.
Liv-
We can’t wait to see you!
-Sawyer, Lake, & Grant
I turn and smile at Nolan. He walks over to me and wraps me in his arms again. I tilt my head back and look up at him. I know exactly how I feel about my relationship with the guys, but I feel like it’s something that should wait until we’re all together. I can tell looking up into his eyes that he wants to kiss me as bad as I want to kiss him.
He pulls away with a growl of frustration. Then he reaches up into one of the overhead cabinets and pulls out a small, wrapped package. He hands it to me with a smirk.
“What’s this?” I ask as I take it from him.
“Open it and find out.”
I rip it open and find an old iPod box. I look up at him with confusion. I didn’t even think these were still in circulation. “What in the world is this for?”
“It’s clue number one for the surprise.” He flops down on the sofa and pats the spot beside him.
I sit and curl myself against him, his arm wraps around my shoulder and holds me close. The flight will last a few hours, so we pick a movie and settle in together.
At some point I doze off, so I’m awoken by him singing good morning in his delicious tenor over and over until I open my eyes. I look down, slightly embarrassed to realize that I’ve drooled on him. He notices me looking and smirks.
“Don’t worry, the drool is less embarrassing than snoring,” he teases.
“Pshhh, you’re one to talk.” I smack his stomach lightly. “Are we about to land?”
“Yeah, that’s why I wanted to wake you up.” He reaches down beside him and hands me a blanket. “Clue number two.”
An iPod and a blanket. I think about it for a minute, my eyes darting back and forth between the two. Then he hands me ear buds on a chord. As soon as I understand, I turn around and look out the window.
“Are you taking me to Founders Prep to lay on the lawn and listen to music?”
“Yes ma’am.” He chuckles at my enthusiasm. “I can’t think of a better way to spend an hour or two than laying in the grass, listening to music, and watching the clouds roll by with you.” He lifts my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to my knuckles.
A car picks us up on the tarmac and takes us through the downtown area of Founder’s Ridge. There are more mid-rise buildings now, all modern and sophisticated as this community was built for and by the exceptionally wealthy. It looks the same in many ways but also different, smaller now that I’ve lived what feels like a hundred years in one decade.
The school looks exactly the same. The buildings are well maintained and stately, grooming the next generation of CEOs and politicians. Nolan spreads the blanket out on the quad. He lies down and slides the left earbud in his ear, giving me the right for mine. He turns on the iPod and hits a playlist that starts with “Yellow” by Coldplay.
The nostalgia of this moment has me grasping his hand as a tear falls. I didn’t know if I would ever feel this free again. He starts singing, and while Chris Martin is amazing, he’s got nothing on my man. I look over at him, his eyes are closed as he sings along in perfect harmony, and I know there is no way I would ever let him go. I won’t let any of them go.
We lie like that until the final song on the carefully curated playlist ends. He pulls the earbuds from both our ears and looks over at me. He leans down. I think I’m finally going to get the kiss I’ve been dying for, but instead he kisses the tip of my nose and then stands. He holds his hand out for me, pulling me to my feet. We fold up our blanket together and walk hand in hand back to the driver waiting for us.
* * *
