That her feelings were just as I’d feared, and she’d moved on. But I hadn’t given up. I’d stayed in the background, calling her and keeping in touch like nothing was different, biding my time.
It wasn’t until Christmas Eve and Aunt Gabs had opened my eyes to a few things that I realized maybe I’d fucked up somewhere along the way.
Now, with the revelation that she’d never even opened that damned present all those months ago, it was glaringly evident where exactly I’d made such a huge mistake.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but now I could see all too clearly that I’d screwed up royally by not going to that party. By sending someone else to give her such an important gift. By not telling her myself exactly what she meant to me.
I had no one else to blame but myself; I could see that. It was my fault she’d dated other guys. That she’d given all her firsts to someone else.
That she didn’t fucking know I loved her more than life itself.
It was apparent I didn’t deserve any of those firsts, because I hadn’t had the balls to take what I could finally see we’d both wanted back then.
Swallowing the knot that had filled my throat, I realized I needed to focus on our present and future. She was mine now, and I wasn’t fucking letting her go. Ever.
As I pulled into the parking lot of the little restaurant where we were having dinner, I promised myself that I would make everything up to her.
Turning off the car, I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips. “Sit right there. Don’t move. Please?”
A frown pulled her brows together, but she nodded, remaining quiet as I got out of the car. Closing the door behind me, I sent a text to Mia, begging her to do me a favor without asking questions. Immediately, I got a text back, assuring me she had it handled.
Pocketing my phone, I walked around to Arella’s door and opened it for her. She was still frowning as I helped her out.
“Are you…angry with me?” she finally asked when we just stood there looking at each other for a long moment.
My eyes continued to eat up the sight of her, wondering where we might be at this point in our relationship if I hadn’t fucked up so abysmally. Would I already have my ring on her finger? Would she have already given birth to our first baby, maybe with our second on the way?
Fuck, it was driving me crazy just thinking about all the possibilities. Telling myself to let the past go, I gently grasped her chin between my thumb and index finger, tilting her head up so I could kiss her. “No,” I choked out when I broke the kiss. “I’m not angry with you, baby. Just myself.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist. The feel of her pressed up against me only reminded me that I’d wasted so much time. I needed to fix this now, tonight. Vowing that not another day would pass without her knowing exactly what she meant to me, I kissed her again and then guided her toward the restaurant entrance.
As I’d expected and called ahead to warn, we were late. The place was small, but it had some of the best food in the entire city. There were people waiting, but I knew our table was ready for us. Instead of pausing at the hostess’s stand, I kept my hand on the small of Arella’s back and ushered her to the back of the restaurant.
“Rude,” she hissed to me as we passed at least a dozen people waiting for their tables. “We can’t just walk in and pick an empty table. You’re mega rich, but you still have to be considerate. And at a glance, this place doesn’t have an empty table to spare.”
I stopped and dropped another kiss on her lips, putting a halt to the scolding she was giving me. When I lifted my head, her fingers were clenched in my suit jacket. “I promise we have a table waiting on us,” I assured her with a grin.
“Oh,” she murmured a little breathlessly. “O-okay, then.”
Despite the turmoil my emotions were still in, I found myself laughing wholeheartedly as I linked our fingers and tugged her to where my parents were already enjoying glasses of wine at our table.
When Arella spotted them, she stopped walking, causing me to drag her a few steps before I