Page 26 of The Grinch who Loved Me
Aria bit her lip, “He is the kindest man. He has the best heart and though he seemed gruff at first, it was all a facade and I can’t wait to see more. In all my life I have always been stared at, but with Ryland, he doesn’t stare at my legs. He looks into my eyes. He sees me. Not my disability. Even if it is a huge part of me. And I doubt it will faze him. It hasn’t yet.”
Her mom smiled, “Then I approve. As long as he can see you, Aria, then that’s all that matters to me. I want him to see my lovely daughter for who she is. And if he can, then he is alright in my book.”
Aria smiled, “I think I could love him. I have such strong feelings for him and I know hardly anything about him.”
Her mom smiled, “That will come with time. It always does. I didn’t find things out about your father until later. But I knew him. I knew his soul. His heart. Those are the things that are important. Not every single detail in his life. Trust your heart. Trust what it’s saying about him.”
Aria nodded, “Okay. Thanks mom.”
Her mom smiled, “You are welcome sweetheart. Let me know if you ever need more advice. And I’m excited to meet him. I hope you bring him home for Christmas.”
Aria chuckled, “I don’t think he celebrates Christmas. He didn’t have a tree or anything to indicate it, but I can ask.”
Her mom nodded again, “Good. I love you sweetheart. Have a good night. And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”
Aria blew her mom a kiss and they hung up and Aria got ready for bed.
Her phone chimed and she looked down at it. It was Farren.
Farren: I heard about a boy you are seeing? Is this real?
Aria: It’s real. He is so cute Farren.
Farren: Tell me all about him.
So, Aria did just that. She spent the next half hour texting Farren and telling her all about Ryland.
And when she was done, her phone rang again. She smiled, not checking who was calling her.
“You need more details about Ryland than I already gave you?” She teased and then a masculine chuckle reached her ear.
She pulled the phone away and saw that it was Ryland and she went pink.
“Have you been telling people about me, my little beauty?”
“I might have told my mom and my sister in law about you.”
Ryland chuckled again and his deep voice did wicked things to her body.
“I’m glad you told them beauty. I wouldn’t want you to hide me.”
She smiled, “My mom knows me better than anyone. She knows when things change and she knows that something happened.”
“Good. I like that. I hope to meet your family one day, beauty.”
Aria bit her lip, “My mom wanted to invite you to Christmas. But I wasn’t sure if you celebrated, so I told her it probably wasn’t happening.”
“I haven’t had much reason to celebrate in the last few years. So I haven’t. I haven’t been a big fan of Christmas in the past. It’s always brought up bad memories better left buried. But I find that I want to celebrate now.”
“What made you change your mind?”
He chuckled again, “You can’t get that answer beauty?”
She smiled, “You would celebrate for me?”
“I would do anything for you.”
She sucked in a breath and then her smile widened, “I really like you Ryland.”
