“What’s with the fidgeting hands?”
Eva stopped instantly and let out a small laugh, “I didn’t realize I was doing that.”
“Which is what bothers me. Why are you nervous?”
She bit the inside of her cheek which was another nervous habit of hers then cut her eyes over at me, “You sure you want me to answer this?”
I had a brief moment of panic but I reminded myself that she’d just announced to her father that she was in love with me.
“Yeah, I do.” I replied cautiously.
She let out a sigh and shrugged, “I’m worried that this is too soon. What if you get tired of having me around all the time? What if I eat your Wheaties or leave my makeup out in the bathroom or what if I snore?”
Relief washed over me. This I could fix. She wasn’t about to bolt on me.
I pulled into the parking spot under our apartment, then cut the engine
and turned in my seat to look at her. “I don’t eat Wheaties, I hope you leave all your girlie shit laying all over the place so I can see it when you’re not there and know you’re coming back. And you don’t snore. You do this soft purring thing that is so f**king cute I just want to lay awake and listen to you.”
Eva leaned across the console and gave me a soft quick peck. “I love you.”
The goofy grin those words always put on my face couldn’t be helped. “Then
come up stairs and show me how much you love me. I got all kinds of ideas.”
Eva reached over and gently pinched my newest piercing. “Can these be involved?” she asked in a husky voice that instantly made me hard.
“Hell, yeah they can.”
Getting Eva up to the apartment so I could have my wicked way with her did sound appealing but that wasn’t what I was excited about. I had a surprise waiting on her and I couldn’t wait to get up there and show her. I carried two of her boxes in my arms and set them down beside the door so I could unlock it. I also didn’t want anything in my arms obstructing my view from Eva’s face when she walked into the apartment.
I turned the knob slowly and pushed it open.
“Ladies first,” I said, stepping back to let her go inside.
Eva gave me a small confused smile and stepped in the room. I followed her inside never once taking my eyes off her face. The moment she saw the piano sitting in the middle of the living room with a dozen red roses laying on top of it, she froze. Her jaw dropped then she walked slowly toward the piano. I didn’t breathe. I couldn’t. I needed her to say something. Had I done the wrong thing getting it for her?
Eva ran her fingers over the ivory keys then she reached over and picked up the small card I’d left with the roses. It simply said, “I love you.”
When her eyes lifted to meet mine they were shining with unshed tears. Her fist came up and covered her mouth and she shook her head. Ah, shit. I’d made her cry. That was not what I wanted to do.
“I can’t believe you got me a piano,” she breathed out as she dropped her fist from in front of her mouth.
“If you don’t want it we don’t have to keep it. I just thought that since you said—“
“You’re not taking my piano anywhere,” Eva interrupted me. A smile broke across her face and a small laugh fell from her lips. “You got me a piano,” she said shaking her head like she couldn’t quite comprehend it.
“You wanted one,” I replied.
Eva set the card back down on the piano and walked over to stand in front of me. She placed both her hands on my chest and stared up at my face. “Cage, I am going to want a lot of things but I don’t expect you to supply those things for me. What I want most is YOU. And I got YOU. Somehow, I snagged the famous playboy Cage York and I don’t intend to let him go.”
Smirking, I reached down and touched her bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. “So, you mean I didn’t have to buy that piano in order to bribe you to stay? Well, hell, baby. If I’d known that I could have saved myself a whole lotta money.”
Eva burst into laughter and slapped my chest. “Here I am trying to be sweet and you’re making fun of me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you wanted to be sweet. I got an idea, let’s go take a shower and you can let me taste and see just how sweet you are.”
“You aren’t gonna let me play with my piano first?” she asked, looking back longingly at her gift.