Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cade
A Week Later
“Watch your step,” I muttered quietly in Alissa’s ear as I guided her forwards. With a blindfold covering her eyes, it was difficult for her to step without the risk of tripping, which I really wanted to avoid if possible. I didn’t want a trip to wreck what promised to be such an awesome day. “That’s right, step that way.”
“What are you so secretive about?” she giggled cutely. Her hands clung to me desperately because she needed me to keep her upright. I liked the way that felt like I was her hero. “Where are you taking me?”
“We’re nearly there, hold on.” I stepped past her and unlocked the door to my condo. I wanted everything to be perfect before I finally brought her to my place...especially because I wanted to ask her a very important question when we got inside. “Here we go, come with me.”
I led her through the doors and brought her into the living room. Then I wrapped my hands gently behind her head and pulled the blindfold off. I took a step back and allowed her to spin around as she drank everything in.
“Wow, is this your house? Are you serious? It’s about ten times the size of my apartment.”
I wanted to tell her I used to live somewhere just like that before I inherited the money, but that wasn’t the truth. I always had a nice place to live. I guessed in a way I always was a bit of a bratty rich kid.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it!” she darted around the room, looking at the artwork I had displayed on the walls, the gadgets I had over by the television, before eventually settling on my large bookcase filled with all different kinds of reads. “I didn’t know you liked books, this is incredible!”
I did love to read, although I didn’t get as much chance to as I would’ve liked to, it was something I didn’t immediately share with people. “I guess there’s still a lot for you to learn about me,” I smiled brightly. “Luckily, we have plenty of time.”
Things had been going very well ever since my grand, romantic gesture outside her apartment. I still felt like I needed to earn a lot of Alissa’s trust, but she was definitely worth the hassle. I would keep trying forever more if that was what it took.
“Oh my God, and that view!” She bounded across the room to stare out at Central Park, just like I had when I first came to live here. I still enjoyed glancing out over the one bit of greenery that this city had to offer. “It’s awesome. You get to look at this every single day! I can’t believe how lucky you are.” She shook her head and laughed at me. “I can’t believe you kept this place a secret from me.”
“I had to, remember?” I hated to bring it up, but I needed to make her see why I acted in such a way. “I didn’t want you to notice how much money I had.”
“Right, well, I definitely would have noticed if I came here,” she acknowledged. “This place just screams ‘cash.'”
I wandered over to where she was standing and wrapped my arms around her. Holding her against me, I inhaled deeply and breathed in her perfect scent. The way that Alissa smelled was one of my favorite things about her. I never wanted to stop smelling her for as long as I lived.
“I hope you’re slowly starting to change your mind about what the word cash means,” I whispered sincerely. “I hope it’s clear now that I haven’t become a total asshole because of the money. I know I got off to a rocky start, but overall, I’m not too bad, am I?”
Alissa turned, and she wrapped her arms around me. Then she gently placed her lips against mine, causing a powerful desire to race right through my body.
“I suppose you aren’t terrible,” she replied with a smile. “And now I’ve seen what money can buy, maybe it isn’t such a bad thing, after all.”
That was my cue. I hadn’t been expecting her to say it, but now that she had there didn’t seem to be any point in holding back anymore. I fished into my pocket to pull out a key. She screwed up her face in confusion, which only got worse as I handed it to her.
“I want you to move in,” I told her very seriously. “I know it might seem a little quick, but it feels like the next natural step. Your apartment sucks, you love it here, and it’s big enough for us to have our space, too. It’s too big for me anyway.” I laughed awkwardly at that moment, wondering if I was getting this across in the right way. “There are even all kinds of services, laundry, cleaning, that sort of thing.”
“I... I don’t know what to say.” It was hardly surprising that she looked stunned. This was a little rapid, but I knew that it was perfect for us both. Plus, there wasn’t a chance in hell of Helen getting to Alissa if she lived with me. Not that I didn’t trust my dad. “This is too much.”
I grabbed onto her hands and stared deeply into her eyes. “Come on, think about it. It makes a lot of sense, right?” I took a deep breath and said the three words I was still getting used to saying. “I love you.” Every time I got them out, it felt so right. I did love Alissa, so much that it hurt. “And, you love me. Why shouldn’t we live together?”
“I don’t know... I mean, won’t our parents freak?”
“Who cares what your mom says,” I practically growled. “And, my dad is happy for us.” Her eyes widened in shock. Clearly, she didn’t know that I’d already told him. “He guessed really, but he’s totally cool with it, he just wants us to be happy.”
“Happy...right.” I watched as Alissa gulped. “I guess I’m just a little scared because you have all this money, and I don’t have anything to bring to the table. I don’t want to come and live here to become totally dependent on you. I don’t want to feel like I have to rely on you for everything, you know?”
That hadn’t even crossed my mind. I wanted to give Alissa everything. I truly felt like she deserved it. “Partners are supposed to rely on each other for everything, that’s one of the amazing benefits of having someone. The money is ours anyway, how the hell am I supposed to spend a billion dollars all by myself?”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” she replied wryly. “But I suppose it’s a little bit because of me that you got the money in the first place.”
“Now, you know that isn’t true... But if encourages you to move in with me then I’m all for it. Anyway, you have your own thing to bring to the table; you can’t think that you have nothing.”
“What’s that?” she asked quietly. Clearly, she couldn’t think of anything, which made me want to smile once more. She brightened every room, she made me laugh, made me smile, made me happy. Having her near me would be the best damn thing ever.
But there was something I wanted her to do. “You need to help me work out what I’m doing with my life. I can’t just do nothing!”
“You could,” she counteracted. “But I like that you don’t want to. Of course, I’ll help you figure things out.”
I was still in her good books because I had a drive. And I did, I just wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to do with it yet, which was why I was so jealous of Alissa’s love for music. If anyone could help me to find out where my future lay, it was her.
“So, is that a yes?” It sounded like a yes, but I wanted to be certain.
“Yes.” She nodded decisively. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”
I picked her up and practically threw her into the air gleefully. I was so happy, so unbelievably excited that she was going to live here.
“I have something else to show you, actually. Something that I didn’t want to sway your opinion.” I took her hand once more and led her into another room. “I had this empty space that I didn’t know what to do with but now...” I showed her inside and allowed her to twist and turn excitedly. “Of course, you can decorate it how you want, but I want you to have your very own music room.”
“Oh my God, this is too much!” Tears filled the corner of her eyes, but happy ones. She seemed overwhelmed by this small gesture, which made me feel amazing. “This is lovely.”
“Well, I mean, it’s only a small space.” I shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed. I didn’t know it was going to be taken so well. “I just want you to have somewhere to practice when you get a spot in a big, amazing orchestra.”
“If.” Still, she didn’t have full certainty of herself.
“When.” I knew that she could do it - there was just no doubt in my mind. She had the talent, she just needed the confidence. “Now come on, I have something else that I want to show you.”
“Another room?” She grabbed onto me willingly and allowed me to drag her through the condo. “Ooh, I’m excited. I can’t wait to see the rest of this place.”
“I’ll give you the grand tour later. For now, I have something specific to tell you.”
I took her into my massive bedroom, which was the room I loved best about this place. I had the largest bed brought in as a nice luxury that I felt really great about now that Alissa was here.
“We’ve been spending time in my crappy little bed, and you have this?” she exclaimed loudly. “I think I’m mad at you again. Honestly, how can you have kept all of this from me?”
“I feel terrible about it, but since the bed hasn’t been broken in yet. I do need someone to do that with me.”
We had a lot to celebrate, a brand-new start, and this felt like an amazing way to do that. I circled my arms around her waist and yanked her closer to me.
“I suppose I can help you with that,” she replied coyly, biting down on her bottom lip. “I don’t see why not.”
Then she shoved me backwards until I tumbled onto the sheets. I folded my arms behind my head and grinned brightly at her. Gone was the shy girl I met all those months ago; she didn’t seem scared of her own shadow anymore. There was a real confidence within her that was sexy as hell. As she swayed her hips from side to side and dragged her tongue along her lips, I felt those three words burst free from me once more.
“I love you.”
She giggled and blew me a kiss, making me feel truly responsible for the transformation in her. I didn’t meet Alissa and want to change her, but I was glad that I’d pulled the real her out of her shell. I loved to see her smile and have fun. I truly enjoyed her taking charge of the situation. It made me feel incredible. I never usually liked to give women total control over my body, but I would have given Alissa everything.
“I love you, too.”