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Callum
The first week I dated Alina, we never left the estate. Every day I would bring her a bunch of handpicked flowers, such as daisies or a spray of wildflowers, and she would have dinner prepared on the table or a picnic under the wisteria tree.
I continued to hold out hope.
We’d spend the time talking and getting to know each other again. Being physically present with Alina as a woman felt surreal when so many details of Alina as a girl were already committed to my heart and mind.
Sometimes she would get a faraway look in her eyes which left me feeling unsettled. When those moments came, I waited, patiently watching her and waiting for her to come back to me, hoping she might share where she went. I always wondered, but I never had the courage to ask her in case she called it all off.
I wanted her to see how good it could be between us without things getting too heavy and having her shy away. I was in this one hundred percentforher, but hopefullywithher.
Today, I had planned our date.
I wanted to take Alina back to the river, where I had taught her to swim when we were younger. So I packed a picnic, after recruiting Simone’s help, along with a dozen gerberas, a bottle of wine, and a picnic blanket. All of which balanced precariously on the passenger seat of the car.
Alina greeted me at the top of the stairs with paint smattered across her cheek and hair. I couldn’t stop the grin from growing at the sight of her. She was breathtaking.
She cocked her head to the side when I didn’t exit the car immediately. I wanted a moment longer to hold this memory in my mind.
“Hey, you look like you’ve been busy,” I stated as I climbed the stairs to her.
At the top, she slipped into my arms, allowing me the luxury of a sweet, honeyed kiss.
“I’ve been painting.” She smiled triumphantly.
“I can see that.” I picked some of the paint from her hair, presenting her with the flake on my finger. “How is it that finding you like this is turning me on? I had plans for us, and now all I can think of is having you blissfully orgasm under me as soon as possible.”
A slow smile crawled its way across the lips I wanted to consume. “Are you saying the plans you already have don’t involve us getting naked together? I’m disappointed, McArthur.”
“Me too, darlin’.” I pressed her against the erection growing in my pants, enjoying the sight as her eyes widened. “But I have other plans… for now. So, we need to go before I change my mind.”
“I’m a hot mess covered in paint. I can’t go with you.”
“Baby, you look beautiful. In fact, you look stunning and full of artistic expression like theMona Lisa. Please, just come with me? No questions. Just trust me.”
Giddy, she nodded, and I almost rescinded the idea of our date for something more indoorsy that involved her legs being wrapped around my waist and twisted bed sheets.
She giggled as I flipped her over my shoulder and carried her toward my car. A squeal escaped her when I swatted her backside that was so gloriously pointing toward the sky.
Her feet hit the dirt as I swung her off my shoulder. Then, opening the door for her, I pulled out the bouquet of flowers and shuffled the rest of the items across the seat so she had room to sit.
“Oh, they are beautiful.” She admired the flowers I’d chosen for the spray of bright colors.
Simone refused to help me and sent me away from the store, feeling defeated on the way to the florist.
The time I had agonized over the selection was worth it.
With a bright smile, Mrs. McLean had asked who they were for and cooed about the lucky girl until I told her it was Alina. The smile had dropped, as had the chill in the air, to subpar temperature.
“Something wrong, Mrs. McLean?” I asked her, pretending not to notice her reaction to Alina’s name, only the change in mood.
“Oh, no, dear. I thought you were dating someone…” Her voice wavered, falling to a mumble in the end.
“Someone what? Someone who relentlessly refused to let this town defeat her? Someone who is as gorgeous on the inside as she is on the out? Someone all you town people failed? Or, someone you will never have the pleasure to know because you’d rather listen to the gossip of a few than get to know her for yourself?” The fierceness to protect her overwhelmed me. I was being rude, but I refused to care.
“I’m sorry.” Mrs. McLean had the foresight to avoid my eyes.
I laughed, sounding all the amount of insane they claimed Alina’s mother to be. “It’s you I feel sorry for, Mrs. McLean. You could have known her for her whole remarkable life, just like I did before she left, and you missed out. Now she is back, and you and the rest of them aren’t worthy of knowing the woman she has become.” I dumped some bills on the counter and left without even a backward glance. I could feel her eyes boring into me as I left her shop.
