Positive/Negativity (24 page)

The pause in her voice clenched at my heart. I was a lucky man to have the love of this woman.

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

Feeling content with our brief conversation, I relaxed back into the seat of the car, contemplating what a fortunate man I had become since deciding to live at the beach.
T

Hearing the sound of Declan’s deep voice always sent a thrill through me. I was really excited to see him. I truly did miss him—even when he infuriated me.

Having Aimee enlighten me at the spa actually made me feel better the more that I thought about it. If I were to admit the truth to myself, Marisol did make me feel a bit insecure. She was stunning and exotic—all the things that I wasn’t. Aimee’s report about the changes Declan had made was a bit much to take in at first until Katherine had confirmed everything Aimee was saying. Declan’s life had changed since he met me, and it made me feel more confident. I didn’t doubt that he loved me; however, the world he operated in had many temptations every day, and Marisol was but one of them, making me feel my insecurity on more than one occasion.

When speaking with Mom, it helped me to see things a bit differently as well. She reminded me that Declan had never really received a great deal of support before now, but he’d never asked for any either. She also explained that he may have wanted to offer me something more in a relationship. That hadn’t occurred to me. I needed him to know that I was only trying to help him—to be his partner—not to emasculate him.

I didn’t want to think about any more negative things at the moment. I only wanted to concentrate on dressing in something delectable that would please him. I was anxious to see him, and I was looking forward to our evening. As I applied my makeup, I found myself humming, and thoughts of this evening made me smile.

I quietly entered the back of the house, hoping that Aria didn’t hear me. I was waiting for a package from Mr. Michaels to be delivered, and I had insisted that the delivery of such remain quiet and discreet.

As expected, I had been in the house only ten minutes when I spotted Mr. Michaels’ delivery man coming up to the door. Having the opportunity to intercept him before he knocked and alerted Aria was a perfect component to add to the element of surprise I was hoping for. Thinking of an ideal gift to fit this occasion, it was imperative that a twist of shock be added for my plan to conclude successfully.

As I finished my business with the delivery man, I closed the door noisily to alert Aria to my presence in the house.

“Hey, beautiful, are you upstairs?” I called to her.

“Yes, and I’m out of the shower if you’d like to get in,” she answered.

I ascended the stairs, and there stood Aria fixing her hair in the mirror. She saw me in the reflection, and I could see the image of her face break into a look of delight at seeing me. She turned and came to me without hesitation.

Wrapping her arms around my neck, she looked into my eyes.
God how I missed her eyes!
Those blue pools sucked me in every time.

“I missed you, bear,” she said.

“I thought of you every minute. No bullshit,” I told her, and I gave her a kiss that told her so.

She looked at me with temptation in those eyes.

“Get ready for dinner, Declan, or we won’t make it there at all,” she warned.

I exited the room, making my way to the shower. My girl was correct; if I didn’t keep my distance from her, then we wouldn’t make it to Fresco’s.

“I’m going downstairs to stay away from you, baby,” she laughingly teased, calling out to me as I heard her go down the stairs.

He was dressed in Thom Sweeney and looked as if he stepped out of one of his photo sessions. His suit played up his dark eyes, which were sultry and seductive as he scrupulously examined me from head to toe.
TT

“
Mmm
…Don’t you look ravishing,” Declan said with a grin; then he lifted the back of my hand to his lips and kissed it, which made the most delightful warmth flow throughout my body. He made me blush from head to toe when he did that. “I cleaned up the best I could for you, considering the long flight,” he said.

“Hmmm…I think you pass inspection,” I replied.

I decided to be playful and put my finger to my smiling lips, shifting my eyes from side to side to indicate that he might be rated ‘okay’, but he just laughed at me.

“You’re being a
bad
girl, Aria,” Declan warned.

“I thought you liked it when I was bad?”

Within seconds, his look turned from playful to sultry. “
Aria
, keep that up, and we truly won’t make it to our dinner reservations,” he informed me in a husky voice.

I looked up at him playfully, and replied, “Nope, you have to feed me. I had a really tough day.”

With that, he burst into laughter.

“Oh, I’ll just bet you did! C’mon, beautiful, let’s get you something to eat.”

With that, we walked downstairs, and after I reached for my small clutch on the table, Declan and I headed toward the back door of the house to take the car for the short drive to Fresco’s. This romantic dinner was long overdue.

“Beautiful, your chariot awaits,” he said dramatically as he held the door open for me.

I laughed at him acting so gallant, stepped out onto the back porch, and reached my hand up to touch his face. He winked at me, which made me giggle. It was then that I turned. What I saw made me immobile. Sitting in the street was a brand new, show stopping, garnet colored, Ford Mustang Convertible with a big bow on it.

My. Heart. Stopped.

I stared at the beautiful car, left momentarily speechless. Puzzled, I turned my face toward him, still completely clueless.

“Declan, what have you done?”

He had a grin plastered on his face.

“It’s quite simple, baby,” he said to my quizzical look. “You bought me a building…and I bought you a car.”

With that, he scooped me up in his arms and practically ran down the stairs to place me into my splendid Ford Mustang.

He picked up my hand, palm up, dropped the keys into it, and with a wicked look and tone, he said, “Here you go.
You
can drive.”

Dinner at Fresco’s was wonderful. I’ve always enjoyed eating there, but being at the restaurant with Declan was perfect.

What is it about going somewhere with someone special that makes it seem completely different?
That’s what I felt when I walked in with him. Fresco’s wasn’t very crowded, but tonight, it felt new and it suddenly became
our
place. The maître d’ seated us and brought the wine list, which I relied on him to choose. His eyes never left mine, and his expressions varied with the conversation. He went from adoring and seductive, to playful. I attempted to talk about serious business, but Declan said we’d work it out and tonight was for us to enjoy. I wholeheartedly agreed.

In the months that he and I had grown as a couple, I realized that he was an enigma. I was, however, solving more of his mysteries every day. I had also sensed that he never allowed anyone such access to his life previously, and the conversation with Aimee at the spa confirmed that. The thought both pleased and excited me.
TTT

Declan couldn’t get enough of touching me throughout the entire dinner. I loved his touch. Throughout the evening, he stroked my arm and caressed my hand; then he held my wrist and encircled it with the thumb and middle finger of his other hand.

“This wrist is just a little bare, baby,” he said.

Declan reached into his pocket and removed a small, soft bag with an emblem on it. I recognized it from the Pandora jeweler.

“What’s this?” I asked as he laid it on the table.

“Just a little something I wanted to give to you. Open it,” he encouraged.

I picked up the bag and peeked inside. It was a Pandora bracelet with one charm on it. The charm was a beautiful seashell with a golden starfish on it. I instantly adored it.

He took the bracelet from me and encircled it around my wrist to clip the clasp closed.

“It’s beautiful, just like you.”

“I love it. Thank you,” I said. “A car
and
a bracelet? I’m not sure I know what to make of all of this.”

“The car, we can talk about later. If we’re going to be partners, in business and otherwise, we have to learn to accept gifts from each other, but we can sort all those details out in the next few days. Agree?” he said.

I nodded my head. “Agreed.”

Looking down at my bracelet and charm, I couldn’t help but smile. I had always wanted one and had mentioned it in passing to Declan. I liked that each bracelet was meant to be a collection of what was special to the wearer.
Now, I could start my own collection.

“The charm’s so pretty. Pandora has so many unique ones. What made you choose this one?”

“That’s simple, baby,” he said with a shrug. “I’m the seashell; I have rough edges all around. I may look graceful, but appearances are deceiving. The only thing that makes a seashell beautiful is being tossed and turned in the tumultuous conditions of the sea.” Pointing to the starfish, he held the charm up to me. “You’re the beautiful starfish; you’ve always been a thing of beauty. The fragility of a starfish is an illusion and they survive the storms of the sea through their strength. They can be completely self-sufficient but choose to be part of a pair.” He closed my hand around the charm and looked deep into my eyes. “On
this
charm, the beautiful clings to the rough. Although they go through different conditions of their respective seas, once joined, she clings to him. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, through the storms, his ugly transforms into beauty and her frailty is
positively
his strength. The charm is
us
, Aria.” His loving description of how he saw us represented in the simplicity of the charm brought tears to my eyes. He held my hands across the table and lovingly smiled at me. “Aria, the love I’ve found with you is the strength I need to be happy every day of my life.” Declan’s words challenged everything I felt about myself.

“Oh Declan, you have it so wrong…” I said to him. “You’re not rough. That would be me.” Looking at him I felt emotion overwhelm me. What I was about to tell him was forming a lump in my throat. “I was the emotional wreck when we met, and I was shattered and broken on the inside.
You’re
the beautiful one. How can you not see that?” I looked at him to try and impress each word on his heart.