Inky (32 page)

“In that case, you put it wherever you want. I’ll have to get someone to do one of you now, so my painting won’t get lonely.”

“Or you could do it.” I bravely said.

Apparently I said the wrong thing.

His jaw tensed and twitched, the same way it did when he spoke to or about his father.

I crouched down in front of him and tipped his chin to meet my eyes. “Hey. Look at me, Cole.” I waited until I knew he was back in the moment with me, out of the shadows. “I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do, okay? But you’ve helped me get the hate out and what better way than to have something you can touch and see. But whatever you want to do is…” He left. He got up and walked down the stairs and left me at the foot of the mattress, taking his jeans with him. This was something I wasn’t used to. For a split second I thought about calling Trish and asking for her advice but I thought better of it. I needed to sort this out myself, with him, together.

I looked out the windows onto the beach below and saw him walking up the coastline. I didn’t know how much time I should give him but thought, not too much. I didn’t want him to get so deep into his darkness that it made it harder to get back out. I did a quick rinse of the brushes I’d used and laid them out on a rag.

I’d intended to go after him but on my way downstairs, something caught my eye lying in the center of Cole’s large bed: a sketch pad was situated smack dab in the middle opened to a rough white page with the sentence,

For you, my Anika
.

The first page was a sketch of a hand, a woman’s hand. I assumed this was Cole’s sketching and Trish was right, he was good. Very good.

The following page had writing again
, Keep going
, it said. I flipped it to see a female’s face, the neck and jaw and lips just visible with strands of hair across them. These were beautiful, absolutely incredible. I flipped the page again
. For you, my Anika
. Me. My face. Sleeping. I had no idea when he did it but these were all of me. I flipped the page again and read: Look to the pillows and come back with your gift.

On one little black, velvet pillow was a small black velvet box.

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

I took the box in my hands and went back to the sketch pad. I hadn’t opened the little box yet. I was waiting for instructions on what to do next. I quickly looked around the room, just to see if he’d come back yet. Anxiously, I flipped the page and saw a sketch of my left hand. I flipped again and the page read:

The next time I sketch your hand, my darling Anika, I hope what you find in that box will be on it.

Oh yeah, I opened that freakin’ box. Inside was the most beautiful, elegant ring I had ever seen. I knew very little about diamonds. I didn’t care about cut or clarity or anything else. This ring could’ve been a cubic zirconia and I wouldn’t have cared but I knew it wasn’t. I knew this was special. A single band of inlaid tiny white diamonds with a pale blue diamond on top. It was a perfect round stone encased by its little tiny white diamond pals. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was for me.

Now that is what I call a proposal.

My cheeks ached. Why did my cheeks ache? Oh yeah, I was smiling. I needed to go to him, right now. I slipped the ring onto my finger... perfect fit of course... and ran through the doorway with my heart beating out of my chest. I stopped mid-stride when my phone started ringing, wiping happy tears from my cheeks... I knew it had to be him. I ran to my bag and it stopped as soon as I reached it. Damn. It chirped that I had a message. I fumbled through my bag and took it out but not before admiring my hand adorned with the beautiful ring on it. I glanced down and saw a text message.

Come to the street out front. Don’t stop for anyone. Go now
.

I thought he was on the beach? I was so happy. I didn’t care what kind of surprise he had planned next. I would have been happy to curl up next to him and make love all night long but Cole was a romantic. I didn’t care about grand gestures but I knew whatever he had planned, I would love. I wasn’t even wearing shoes but I did as I was told. Dressed in my painting top, no bra, my jeans and a ring I would never take off as long as I lived, I sprinted – no, no - I flew through the front door not even bothering to close it and headed straight to the front gate. I flung it open and looked for him, my chest heaving, waiting to see his beautiful eyes and tell him I would be his forever but he wasn’t there. “Cole?” I shouted the excitement and joy barely contained. “Cole? Stop hiding! Where are you, baby?” I looked back and forth, thinking he would suddenly pop out of the bushes behind me or drive up in a horse drawn carriage.

If only that had been the case. Out of nowhere I felt one arm roughly grab me, preventing my arms from moving, another with a cloth over my mouth, dragging me to a car only a few feet away. I felt the fight go out of me almost instantly and knew this wasn’t Cole, my white knight. As the car sped away, I heard a voice next to my ear before I lost consciousness.

“We have unfinished business, Annie.”