AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grin. “I’ve already told you.”
She laughs. “Anything you want.”
“That’s right, sweetheart.”
CHAPTER5
Aria
A couple of hours later,after strolling along the Third Street Promenade, where people flock to the open-air shopping district of Santa Monica to spend their money and enjoy a day of sun and sand, Liam stops at a souvenir shop. A high-pitched scream has me glancing at the bright yellow roller coaster off in the distance. In fact, though, I can’t be sure the screaming isn’t coming from the Ferris wheel.
When I look back at Liam, I find him staring at something on top of the showcase. I move in next to him as he takes a red and yellow abstract ceramic heart ornament off the golden hook. “This right here,” he says to the girl behind the counter. “I’ll take this one for the lady.” She accepts the ornament from him and he grabs his wallet, handing her a fifty. He accepts his change before spinning around to me with the ornament hanging off his finger. “A gift to remember this weekend.”
I stare at the ornament, completely taken aback by his gesture.
Something Liam clearly takes notice of. “You don’t like it?” he asks, a frown marring his gorgeous face.
“On the contrary,” I say, a little breathless. “It’s perfect, and completely unexpected.”
He smiles, warming the richness of his eyes. “Well, I’m glad then.” He wraps an arm around the small of my back, bringing me in close against the strength of his body. “Though you’ve also made me curious. Why is this gift so unexpected?”
I glance down at the ornament, running my hand over the smooth shiny ceramic. “I guess I would have expected you to ...”
“Spend thousands on you?”
I cringe. “God that sounds so awful, doesn’t it?”
“No, it doesn’t sound awful. I’m sure that’s what I would have expected if I was you.” He leans in and grins. “Let me also remind, I already have spent thousands on you.” I blush and glance away but his finger on my chin demands my gaze. “I know you, Aria, and I know this ornament is something that would mean more to you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because you love Christmas.”
I stop breathing, staring at him. It’s a little detail about me that’s true and personal. Some women go crazy for purses or shoes even. For me, it’s Christmas. “Did Mallory tell you I love Christmas?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t talk to Mallory about you.”
“Ever?”
“Never.” He gently guides me forward. We continue walking by the shops with his arm around my waist. “It would cross a boundary, and truthfully, I like unearthing all your secrets myself.”
“How did you unearth this secret then?” I need to understand, and I’m not even really sure why.
He gives a soft smile. “Because you light up around Christmastime.”
“I do?”
He nods and chuckles. “There’s a brightness about you, and I’ve never heard anyone else talk about Christmas right after Halloween. I’ve heard you say to Mallory after meetings that you were going home to watchChristmas Vacation,and it was in November.”
I laugh softly. I can’t recall that conversation but it’s totally something I would do.
He glances down at me, a strand of hair falling out of place. “Besides, I’ve heard Mallory mention a gift she’s bought for you now and again in the office, and it’s always Christmas related.”
I gape at him. Honestly, gape at him.
He watches me, his eyes twinkling when he spins me into him, wrapping both arms around my back. “It appears I’ve dumbfounded you.”
“To be perfectly honest with you, Liam”—I stare into the warmth of his eyes, seeing things I never saw before—“it’s so incredibly sweet of you to notice something like that about me.” Maybe even the most touching thing anyone has ever noticed. It has nothing to do with my looks, my brains, or anything. He noticed something that warms my heart. No guy has ever paid that much attention to me before.
