Safe With You (31 page)

Authors: Sophie Lira

“Open them, darling.” He steps back.

“Kyle, this is gorgeous … ”

“Your surprise.” He runs the rough pad of his thumb over my bottom lip before kissing me once. The only light illuminating the room is the glow from the strands of white lights hung around the window. He flips another switch and hundreds of mini dragonfly lights glitter around the room.

The soft scent of flowers creeps into my nose and my heart flutters. This is his grandmother’s shop. He reaches over and turns on a main light in the hallway, illuminating it enough to show all the warped wooden shelves, antique glass vases, and flowers everywhere.

“One more thing.” His lips press a slow, soft kiss underneath my ear and pulls out something from inside his jacket.

“What’s that?” I start as he hands me a large mahogany, hinged box imprinted with an antique, gold crested seal in the middle. If the box was any smaller, my mind would be launching into areas we certainly aren’t ready for.

“You thought this was your Christmas present?” He shakes his head and kisses my forehead as my hands shake. Pulling out the intricate, satin red bow, I take a cleansing breath knowing I’m about to have a brain explosion of titanic proportions.

“Wait, allow me.” His soft hand envelops mine as he takes over the honors, lifting the hinged lid. “I love you, Olivia.”

Those are fucking diamonds.

A rose gold, antique locket stares back at me, shining brightly. I gasp and dart my head up. An intricate design of small flowers and pavé diamonds impeccably detail the outside. As if this exquisitely meticulous necklace wasn’t enough to cause me to pass out, two gigantic solitaire diamond earrings, also set in rose gold, are nestled in the lush black velvet.

“I adore it … Oh my God.” I kiss him again and again. “Thank you, it’s stunning.”

“You’re welcome.” He tilts my chin up. “Your face was more than I could have ever imagined. May I?”

“Of course!” I yank the faux gold hoops from my ears. The air comes back into my lungs and I breathe deeply, the first time in my life where I’ve been nearly asphyxiated by happiness and surprise. “It’s … perfect.”

Kyle takes the necklace out of the box and the light reflects off it like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. He leads me over to the gold fleur-de-lis mirror and drapes the necklace around my neck. It sits perfectly, right above my clavicle, and brightens my complexion tenfold. My fingers brush over the medallion and he lifts the back of my hair, placing the clasp in the middle of my neck. He reaches behind him and takes out both of the earrings, handing them to me one at a time.

“It was my grandmother’s.” He wraps both of his arms around my waist and looks me in the eyes through the mirror. “I knew this would be the perfect place to give it to you.”

“Thank you.” I’m still adjusting the ice rink on my upper body. I don’t even know what else to say.

“My mom gave it to me when you came with me to Houston the first time.” His arms tighten around me and the scent of my favorite cologne makes my insides clench with lust. “And the diamonds are from a vintage jeweler when we went to LA. They reminded me of the shine in your eyes the first time you told me you loved me.”

Oh, he’s good.

My fingers still trace the lines of the pendant. “I love you, so much.”

I breathe deeply as I turn around, trying not to demolish my makeup more with happy tears. Gasps and small moans escape my mouth as he presses against me. Our lips move as one for a few minutes as I express my thanks.

The weight of the gift I have for him feels like lead in my oversize clutch. I take out the simply wrapped gift and hand it to him. “Looks like I have a surprise for you, too.”

“I thought we were going to Cooperstown?” Kyle picks up the tag knotted to the red curled ribbon around the snowflake wrapping paper.
“Schmoopsie, I still remember everything, too. Love, Olivia,”
he recites with a laugh, shaking the box.

“Just open it!” I bump his arm as he pulls out the bow and ribbon. “It’s not as exquisite as your gift, but it means just as much.”

He unwraps the box and pulls the cardboard tab, his jaw dropping as the frame slides out and the white and silver speckled tissue paper glitters and opens. “This is amazing.”

I run my fingers along the edge of the black frame. “I’ve been planning this for a while. I hope you didn’t mind that I jacked the Bazooka wrapper off your dresser.”

He leans in farther and inspects the drawing. “I’m not going to lie. I thought I lost it and was pretty bummed.”

“There’s a cartoonist who has a studio by Helena’s.” I take a deep breath as I link my arm into his, leaning my head on his shoulder. “She tweaked the dialogue and made it into a drawing to look more like us. Natasha helped me with the mounting and we inlayed the original comics into the framing mat.”

His breath wavers.
“I think I owe you dinner. Considering I didn’t hear it land, maybe a few rounds of beers, too,”
he reads off of the drawing of Bazooka Joe playing baseball with his friends. “How did you find the time?”

“I’m sneaky!” I smile as he sits on a stool, pulling me into his lap.

“I love it, but not as much as I love you.” He smiles and kisses me softly, the lightest brush against my glossed lips.

Taking his face in my palm, I stare at him, searching his face for answers to questions I’m not sure exist. “I wonder what I did in another life to deserve you, all of this.”

His baby-smooth cheek leans into my palm as his forehead rests against mine. “I ask myself that hourly, darlin’.”

As his lips press to mine, I don’t protest about being late, ruining my makeup, or anything else. I let the euphoria consume me, all of me, for as long it takes.

*Xeno- (n.) the smallest measurable unit of human connection.

Typically exchanged between passing strangers.

A flirtatious glance, a sympathetic nod, a shared laugh about some odd coincidence.

Moments that are fleeting and random, but still contain powerful emotional nutrients

that can alleviate the symptoms of feeling alone.

[Xeno is used with permission from-

http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/16571284794/xeno
]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I know there’s probably a thousand people I’m going to forget. But thank you to everyone who inspired me, helped me out, or encouraged me to keep going these past few years. I would not be here without every single one of you.

More specifically, this novel would not have been possible without the amazing Elle Marr and Victoria Smith. Aside from being the best critique partners I could ever, ever hope and dream for, they are wonderful friends I’m lucky enough to have in my life… even if they live on the other side of the country. Without their unwavering dedication to my nine-thousand emails, re-reading the same scenes another nine-thousand times, I’m sure I would have chucked this to the road long ago.

Speaking of critique partners, I was lucky enough to also stumble upon great authors via Scribophile.com. This book would not have been possible, period, without this website. A big hug goes out to Gina LaManna, Isabella Harper, Kishan Paul, Kelly Hastings, MA Dison, Stacie Gilles, Dannie Moran, and everyone in Ubergroup and Coffee Talk for supporting me since the beginning and offering me wonderful advice whenever I needed it.

Aside from the internet, I would like to thank my in house lawyer and wonderful friend, Nisha Sharma, for being the most knowledgeable person I know. Between her legal advice, plot brainstorming, publishing-guru-ness, and overall being one of the most amazing people I’ve found during this crazy journey your support was integral.

I’m also lucky enough to have a group of friends that have kept me a float and gotten me out of my own head when I was beyond burnt out. This goes without saying but I would not exist without the love and support of you all. I know I can’t name all of you, but Heather (you know you’re always first in my life, schweet fasche), Amie, Lisa, Gabby, Robin, Kasi, Megan, and everyone in the #ECFArmy. Thank you for being there for me during this journey… and in general.

Last but certainly not least, thank you to Mandy Schoen (my wonderful editor) and Julia Weber (my equally wonderful agent). You put so much faith into Kyle and Olivia, and I can never thank you enough for seeing everything I saw in them and their potential. Holding my hand and guiding me through the journey of publication has been such an awesome ride. Thank you for also not giving up on me through my panic-attack induced emails. The same goes for Georgia McBride, the owner of Swoon Romance, for taking the extra time to always provide such great insight into making this the best it could be.

SOPHIE LIRA

Sophie Lira
hails from the east coast, with the accent to prove it. As a self-proclaimed sports junkie she can usually be found rooting for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Ravens, and especially her Alma Mater, Rutgers University. She’s also a seasoned beer snob with a preference for crisp pilsners, pumpkin anything, and chocolatey stouts. Her number one passion outside of writing is her never-ending wanderlust. Sophie is always looking for her next batch of frequent flier miles, passport stamps, and the perfect clouds to post on Instagram. She resides in Central New Jersey and spends her days working at a local brewery. Favorite things include: Dunkin’ Donuts coconut iced coffee, the Olympics, Crossfit, all-you-can-eat sushi, and Siberian Huskies.

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