Page 104 of One Wild Ride

“Tyler! We’re ready,” I yelled and within seconds he appeared.

I hope he wasn’t listening. What if we had decided to have sex?

He placed a silver tray down on the small table beside me and left.

I grabbed the silver bowl. It was cold but I held on. Taking the lid off I presented it to Aria.

“Oh, shrimp! I love shrimp. Perfect. Wait. Is that . . ..” She lifted the gold necklace from the center of the ice. “This is my necklace but there’s something else there.”

I put the silver bowl back on the platter and turned to Aria.

“It’s been exactly six months since your birthday. And since I missed it because of my crazy mother, I wanted to make up for it. Sort of a half birthday,” I said and released a deep breath.

“There are two hearts on here, instead of one. The new heart is covered in diamonds,” Aria said as she cupped the pendants and brought them closer for inspection.

“I added the other heart,” I said as my own heart beat wildly in my ears. “It’s there because you already have your sister’s heart and now, I wanted to give you my heart. I made the heart out of diamonds because I want to make sure you have it forever.”

I took the necklace from her and placed it around her neck. It sparkled in the sun but not as brightly as her beauty.

“Aria, I know you don’t want to get married. And now that you have explained why, I get it. But, I still want you to have something to show you that I will always be yours. You not only helped me break free from all the things holding me back, but you showed me how beautiful life and love really is. I may be blood related to my mom, but you’re my family. I want us to live together, forever.”

She sat there staring at me like I just told her I liked to fart only in bathtubs because it turned it into a sauna.

I knew I was asking too much by wanting to live with her and telling her that I wanted to be with her forever.

“This is all, uh . . .” She took her hand from me and fiddled with the hearts on her necklace.

When her eyes darted away, I knew I lost her. Fuck. I can’t believe I did this. I couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could I? We were fine the way things were. Some nights she stayed at my place, other nights I stayed at hers. About once a week we would sleep in our own condos.

“Of course I want to be with you forever, Alex. I love you. And this pendant, it’s so beautiful. When we head back to Chicago, we can figure out which place we want to move into.”

I gave her the biggest, most goofy grin before I pulled her into my arms. She curled into me, her leg wrapping around my hip. It was like her body was made for me.

My lips descended to her neck and I refused to stop kissing her until she finally pulled me away.

“Alex, stop. I want to give you something, too.” She flashed a wicked smile before hopping up from the lounger and going back inside our house. The wall of the living room was made of sliding windows that we kept open during the day so it was as if we were always outside even when we went into the house. I watched her pull a large bag from behind the couch before she came back to the lounger.

“I wanted to give it to you on Christmas in a few days, but since you gave me a gift, I thought it fitting I give you one. I hope you like it.” Aria placed the holiday-themed bag in front of me.

I kept my eyes on her as I pulled a shoe box out of the bag. She was bouncing up and down on her haunches in excitement.

While it was a shoe box, the way she was acting, I thought shoes would be the last thing in the box. I was wrong.

It was a pair of sneakers. Not even expensive name-brand sneakers, but some brand I had never seen before. The logo looked like cell reception bars.

“Thank you,” I said.

I wanted to say more but what else could I say. Thank you for a pair of sneakers when I have ten more pairs at home.

This was our first test as a couple. She buys me an average gift after I poured my heart and soul into her gift. I needed to learn to act like it was the best thing ever.

I smiled and stared at her. She giggled. The more I smiled, the more she giggled.

Then she reached over to the small table by her side of the lounger and tapped her phone a few times.

My shoes vibrated.

“Are these massage shoes?” I flipped them over.

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