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Ash: I’ll be at your apartment in thirty minutes. You better be there and make sure you tell your doorman to let me up.
Oh my God!
Nerves. Excitement. Worry. Anticipation.
He’s on his way here.
Sitting on the couch, my heart races as I stare at the clock. My knee is bouncing up and down and my fingers are working overtime as they tap a rhythm on my leg. I wasn’t prepared to see him today. It’s like I need to be in a certain mental state, and I’m just not there yet.
And of course Emma sprinted out of here, leaving me alone. She claimed she had to meet someone, and now here I am, feeling like I’m sitting in the lion’s den.
How does he even know where I live? I don’t remember telling him. Maybe Emma did. Ugh . . .
Twenty-nine minutes.
The doorbell rings.
My heart leaps into my throat, I gasp, and my eyes dart to the door. It startles me even though I knew it was coming.
He’s on the other side of the door!
Taking a deep breath, I wipe my hands across my thighs to dry them off and calm them, and I get up to answer the door.
As I open it, my eyes drop to his feet. I’m so nervous.
Blood is pounding through my ears and I feel instantly sucked into his orbit. I’m in love with this guy, and it’s been two weeks of complete heartache. I want nothing more than to walk into his arms and have him make it all better.
Slowly dragging my eyes up, I soak him in. He’s wearing chunky, black, retro boots, well-worn designer jeans, he’s wrapped in a navy pea coat with a navy and green plaid scarf tied around his neck, and topped off with a navy beanie.
His height, the lines of his arms, the thickness of his legs—all of him—my body hums with familiarity for his.
Settling my eyes on his, he’s watching me closely with those gorgeous blue eyes of his that seem to pop out amongst all the navy. Brown pieces of hair are sticking out from under the hat, his face is clean-shaven, and his lips are red from the bitter cold outside.
Just the sight of him causes an ache way down deep in the pit of my stomach. He’s just so much more than anything I have ever seen. I can’t breathe.
With his eyes locked onto mine, he pinches his lips together, and rocks back on his heels.
“Do you want to come in?” I fumble, opening the door a little wider and hanging on to it for support. Tank runs around my feet, growls at him, and wags her tail at the same time.
“No,” he says quietly, but firmly.
My heart sinks with disappointment.
Taking in a deep breath, his cheeks flush and his eyes brighten with an unspoken emotion. “I just wanted to come and drop this off. I know I could have mailed it, but it was important for me to give to you.” He pulls a box from behind his back and holds it out to me. It’s the size of a shirt box, and I’m confused.
“You bought me a Christmas present?” I look back up to his face.
He looks off to the side and swallows. “No, not really. But it is something that I wanted to give to you, and only you.” He frowns through his words, and my heart sinks knowing I’m the one who’s made him this unhappy.
Carefully, I take the box from him and hug it to my chest. He’s wrapped it in silver paper and tied it with a red bow. A lump forms in my throat along with the inevitable sting of tears.
“Thank you,” I whisper, trying to hold it together.
Did he really travel here just to give me this? My arms tighten around the box. I know he’s not going to take it back, but I feel the need to grip on to it just in case. It’s something tangible from him, and even though I have no idea what’s in it, it doesn’t even matter. This present means more to me than he’ll ever understand.
THERE ARE TEARS in her eyes.
Why are there tears in her eyes?
