“Now I feel totally silly going on and on over something like this, after hearing what you went through.” Maddox always had a way of putting things into perspective, and I saw why now; he had grown up way faster than his years. "Thank you for sharing your story with me. I'm sorry if it was hard for you to talk about."
"It's not hard anymore. There was a time that I wouldn't have been able to. Like I said, time heals. Don’t let my story discount how you feel. Everyone is different when it comes to how bad something affects them. However, I'm going to hedge a guess and say that you'll be back to your old self by the end of this trip," He said, his voice full of confidence, as he met my eyes.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I'd say with the few weeks it’s been already has added healing time. Plus, for the next ten days, you just need to lose yourself in your surroundings. You are, after all, in one of the most beautiful cities with amazing food. Plus, you have amazing company, if I say so myself. This time, right here and now, is your time to heal."
I nodded, giving thought to what he was saying. "I just don’t know how you can be so sure?"
"Tess, guys like Derrick don't deserve women like you. They have no concept of what it is they are giving up. They don't understand what it means to value someone. He doesn’t have a care in the world about that, because he’s never been on the receiving end. He has just moved girl to girl whenever the moment suited him. He certainly deserves none of your tears, none of your sadness, because a real man wouldn't have put you in this position to begin with. Instead, they'd sit in front of you and tell you that they didn't feel things were working out before they ever decided to bed someone else."
My heart skipped a beat at his words, and when I blinked, a tear slid down my cheek. I quickly reached up and wiped it away. "Thank you so much for being here."
"Now, no more tears. What you really need to do is dig into this dessert because it’s fucking amazing," he said, winking, as he placed his spoon in his mouth.
I grabbed my spoon and slowly dug into the rich, creamy dessert and slid it into my mouth. He was right, it was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted, and I didn't even like crème brûlée. I had just scraped the last of my little bowl when Maddox cleared his throat.
"I got you something," he said, reaching down beside his chair and bringing up a small box wrapped in shiny gold paper.
"What is that?" I asked. "I never saw you bring anything down."
"That's because it was hidden." He held the box out for me to take.
I quickly unwrapped the gold foil paper and opened the box. Inside was a silver picture frame with the picture of us I had taken of us in the airport before we boarded the plane. "How did you do this?"
He shrugged. "Guess you could say I was a busy guy while you were sleeping the day away."
My heart felt full as I stared down at the picture of us. Then I looked up to Maddox, who sat there watching me, a smile on his face with a look that I hoped I'd never forget.
We took our time walking back to our room after dinner, walking through the lobby of the hotel, looking in a couple of little shops. We finally made our way back up to the room. I went to put the key in the lock, but Maddox stopped me. "Let me," he said, reaching for the key in my hand. "I have a little surprise for you."
"Another one?" I questioned, not letting go of the key.
His hand grazed mine as he gently removed the key from my fingers and his eyes met mine. "Yes, another one," he whispered, jiggling the key like the bellhop had shown us and unlocking the door.
“Now just wait,” he said. “Cover your eyes.”
I did as he told me, covering my eyes as I listened to door squeak as he pushed it open. He stood only inches behind me, and I could feel the warmth radiating off his body. The scent of his skin combined with the scent of his cologne sent waves through me.
"I've got you. Now step forward," he whispered, sliding his arm around me placing his hand on my abdomen, his warm breath tickling my ear. I could feel my skin already pebbling as I took the first step forward. "I have the door, go ahead."
I took a few steps forward into our room and heard the door close behind us. "You can open them now," He said.
I blinked, allowing my eyes to focus, and right in front of me stood a gorgeously decorated Christmas tree. "Oh my, how—how did you do this?" I asked, turning to look at him.
He shrugged. "I know how much you love Christmas. Your house is always so beautifully decorated, so I had this done while we had dinner. The hotel was more than accommodating. After all, we are newlyweds." He winked, causing me to laugh. “Can’t blame a guy for using that to his advantage, can you?”
I shook my head and wandered over to the tree, looking at the all the decorations, and couldn't help but feel emotional. He had done this for me. Instantly, I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself into him for a hug. "Thank you so much. Even though we had a rocky start, this trip is turning out to be so wonderful." I smiled, kissing his cheek.
"You're welcome, Tess," he murmured, wrapping his muscular arms around me.
A little while later, Maddox had gone down to the small store that was off the main lobby, and I stood out on the balcony overlooking the city. I quickly dialled my mom’s number and waited for her to answer. Finally, on the fifth ring, she picked up.
"Hey, honey, how is everything? Are you enjoying your trip?"
"Hey, Mom, everything is going well."
"I'm so happy to hear that. The flight was okay? I know how much you hate flying."