Page 97 of Untethered Heart
“You look really nice,” I say.
“Thank you, baby. Are you excited to see where we’re going?” he asks as he walks us to his car.
“Yeah!” The grin on my face is uncontainable as I look up at him. “I’m happy no matter what we do, though.”
He opens the passenger-side door, drops my bag in the back, then turns around to pull me against him.
“That’s why you’re so perfect,” he says as he tucks my hair behind my ear. “You just want to spend time together. I don’tthink you know what it means to me that you’re here for me and nothing else.”
“Of course I’m here for you.” I smile.
“I’m so used to being seen as CalebHeart. NotCaleb.”
My heart hammers as understanding takes over. I run my hands over his chest, clutching onto his neck and running my thumbs along his stubbled jawline. I couldn’t care less about his money. His heart’s intentions are what matter most to me. Yes, he had a reputation that played on my doubt, but not for doubting the incredible person he is. It was me, doubting that I was enough to make him stay.
“Since the first night we met, it was your heart that had me falling,” I whisper.
He picks me up and presses his lips against mine, hungry to claim the words I offer. He pulls back far too soon, resting his head against mine. “Let me take you to dinner before I change my mind and take you inside instead.”
***
After driving along the coast, watching the sun as it set over the Indian Ocean, Caleb pulls into the parking lot of the aquarium.
“I didn’t know the aquarium was open this late.”
I’ve only been here a few times, mostly as a kid for school excursions. But I do know there’s been extensive renovations happening here over the last few months.
“For the right price, anything is open, Siren.” Caleb smirks as he parks the car and steps out, rushing around the hood to open my door.
I place my hand in his outstretched one, and together we walk up to the entrance. It looks dark inside, and I can barely see anything through the glass doors.
Caleb wears a cheeky smile as he pulls on the handle. There’s no one sitting at the ticketing booth, but there is a faint glow of light stretching just past the wall beyond it.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I feel like we shouldn’t be here right now. There’s no one else around.
“Hi guys,” a familiar soft voice calls.
Around the corner, Tenley Callahan appears. She’s dressed in a grey sheath dress, and her strawberry blonde hair sits in a tidy bun on top of her head. “Tenley.” I smile, delighted by the surprise of seeing her.
“I was just making sure everything was ready for you two. We’ve only been reopened for the last three weeks, but I think you’ll be impressed.” She clasps her hands in front of her, looking all business.
“Thank you, Tenley. I appreciate your help in organising this,” Caleb says, with a firm hand on the small of my back.
She nods once. “I’ll let them know you’re here. Have fun.”
I watch as Tenley walks over to the ticketing booth and picks up a walkie-talkie.
“Mr Heart, welcome.” An older man in a black dinner suit stands over where Tenley came from. “If you’d like to follow me.” He holds a hand out, gesturing for us to follow, and Caleb encourages me along.
As we come around the corner, candles flicker along either side of the hallway. The only other light comes from the tanks built into the walls. It feels as though we’re walking through a cavern. The water, as it moves behind the glass, reflects all over the walls as we pass a myriad of sea life.
I try to take in as much as I can as Caleb continues guiding me along, following the usher. We come to a set of stairs that lead downward, with more candles lined up on every step.
“There’s no one else here,” I whisper.
“Perks of being a billionaire,” Caleb whispers back. “I can pay for privacy, amongst other things.”
“What other things?” I ask just as we reach the bottom of the stairs, and I see a table for two set up in the shark tunnel. More candles flicker as a huge stingray glides across the viewing window behind it.
