Page 50 of Inevitable

We walk through the yard for a bit till we get to the pond. I had the girl’s set-up at least 50 candles, all scattered across the rockery, around the pond and surrounding the blanket that I laid out where we sat the last time I brought her out here. There is also a basket filled with all of her favorite foods and a bottle of wine, the same kind we use to steal from her parents cellar.

I look over to see her reaction, suddenly feeling unusually nervous. I didn’t realize how undeniably cheesy this all was until just now and I wonder if she thinks so too. When I look at her, I see that her eyes are glassy and mouth slightly parted.

“It’s…this is amazing. You did all of this?” She asks softly eyes shining with so many emotions there are too many to name.

I give a half smirk and shrug one shoulder. “I just wanted to show you that I can be both. The man I am can still be the boy you remember occasionally.”

She looks at me for a moment before she launches herself into my arms, covering me with kisses. I let out a soft chuckle as she continues her assault on my face, can’t say I mind one bit. She places one final kiss on the tip of my nose before putting our foreheads together.

“I love you Luca,” she breathes.

“I love you Ashlynn, forever.”

I slowly lower us down to the blanket and settle her in my lap. I grab the bottle of wine and go to pour it in the glasses, but she swipes the bottle and takes a swig from it just like we use to and tosses me a wink. I chuckle and grab it from her, taking a sip before passing it back. I settle back on my hands and look up at the stars.

“You know, my mama used to tell me that a shooting star is really an angel making it’s way to heaven. And that if you wished on it they would carry your wish up to heaven to be granted. I would sit there and wait for stars every night as a kid and if I found one, I was wishing for silly things like a new bike or a video game. They rarely ever came true and eventually I never really thought about them anymore. Then you and I spent all those nights together, just staring at the stars. I began looking for them again. There was so much I would have wished for, but I never saw even one.

“The night my parents died I was outside, laying down on the grass in shock. I glanced up and the biggest shooting star I had ever seen was right in front of me, skating across the sky. In that moment I wished that I wouldn’t be left all alone in this world. I had lost you and then my parents and my uncle. I had no one left. I wished that somehow, someway we would find our way back to each other, that I could hold you in my arms again.”

I squeeze her tightly for a moment as she drops her head onto my shoulder. A small smile rests on her lips as she listens to me.

“I even went to you that night. I was going to take you away and marry you right then and there if you would have let me. But when I got to your house you were being dropped off from a date. Some pompous rich kid with slicked back hair and his daddy’s Bentley. I chuckled thinking there was no way my Ashlynn would give a guy like that the time of day. But when you got out of the car you were smiling ear to ear and laughing. You looked so happy. I saw you hug him tightly and kiss him on the cheek before going inside. I realized I had waited too long. I had no right to leave you and then 2 years later barge back into your life and demand you drop everything to be with me.

“So, I pushed it all down. Everything. I tried to focus on the family and make it the best and the biggest it could be. I turned off my emotions and tried to forget about you. I guess in a way my wish did eventually come true, just took a little longer than I would have liked.”

She smiles at me and softly brushes her velvety lips across mine. I smile back adoringly and sigh happily. I wrap her in my arms again as if to prove to her that I will never let her go again.

“I like to think that it was my mama that carried my wish up to heaven. She always loved you, even after everything that had happened. She was disappointed that we lost our jobs and home, but she told me to go after you anyways. I tried to explain to her that I had to make something of myself first, to deserve you. Some of what your father said rang true to me that night and I knew I had to become something better, for you.

“Then I became The Boss, and everything changed. I wanted more for you, but now I can’t imagine a reality that doesn’t have you in it. My mama always knew best I suppose. I should have never walked away. I should have fought for you, for us.”

Her face is giving nothing away now and that unease is sinking in again until she starts laughing. Not a slight chuckle or a giggle. No, she is rolling on the ground back and forth cackling like a damn hyena. I am thoroughly confused. What part of my story was funny? My face must show my confusion because her laughter slows and she sits up, covering my hand with hers.

“My love, that guy you saw that night? That was my best friend in college, Jacob.”

I scowl at the mention of the douche bag. Now he has a name, great. And now I also know it wasn’t just a date, they were closer than I thought and that pisses me off. I turn away so she doesn’t see the jealousy boiling inside of me when she turns my face back to her.

“My gay best friend.”

Her eyes are twinkling with amusement and I huff out an aggravated breath. “Are you fucking kidding me? So, I lost out on yet another opportunity to be with you years ago because I saw you with your gay best friend?”

She nods her head and crawls into my lap. “Afraid so my love,” she says as she plants sweet kisses on my face.

“Fuck, will I ever get anything right with you?” I ask, exasperated.

She smiles up at me. A grin filled with mirth plays on her face. “Eventually.”

I lift an eyebrow in challenge and flip her on her back. She lets out a squeal of delight as I bury my head into the crook of her neck and start kissing and nipping at her. We spend the rest of the night eating cheap junk food, drinking good wine and making out like a couple of teenagers under the stars. It had to have been one of the best nights of my life.

Chapter Eighteen

Ashlynn

It’s the night of the Gala. I slip on my green dress and matching heels before I look at myself in the mirror. I have my hair in a side updo with curls twisted into it. I go with an emerald smoky eye and blood red lips for my makeup, and I am really happy with the result.

When I come down the stairs to the foyer where Luca is waiting his jaw literally drops. I blush at his reaction and make my way toward him slowly. I admire on my way down how good he looks. The man wears a suit every day and is always too hot for his own good, but in a tux? He is sexy as sin. When I reach Luca, he instantly wraps me up into a deep kiss and tilts me back slightly. After a few indulgent moments he pulls back and runs his nose along my jawline, his scruff gently scraping the sensitive skin of my neck.

“You are stunning,” he whispers in my ear.

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