I can hear the love in his voice as he talks, and before I know it hours have gone by, and unfortunately for me, hearing his stories and the love in his heart only makes me fall a little more for him.
I watch the traffic signs go by, and hours into our drive, I have a pretty good idea where he wants to go, but I keep my mouth shut, and just enjoy this time with him.
I rest my head against the seat, lost in his voice and a long time later he says, “We’re almost there.”
“This must be one special toy store if you drive over six hours to reach it.”
“It is,” he says, as we get into the thick New York traffic. “But to be honest, this trip is more about you than it is for Kaylee.”
“What do you have planned?” I ask, and my heart beats a little faster when he gives me a smile so sweet and tender, I’m not sure how I ever lived life without him.
He pulls up in front of a gigantic hotel, and puts the car into park when a valet circles the front. He stands outside the driver’s side door, waiting for us to exit the vehicle.
“Ready?” Alek asks and grabs his ballcap. He puts it on and pulls it low on his forehead.
My eyes go wide, and a measure of unease worms its way through me. “Wait, what’s going on? Are we staying here?” He nods, and I grasp his wrist. “Alek, this is too much.”
He takes a breath and scrubs his face, his eyes leaving mine. “I want to do this, okay? I want to do this for you and the reason I didn’t tell you is because I knew this is exactly how you’d react.”
Tears prick my eyes. He’s so incredibly sweet, so generous, but I don’t need extravagant things in my life. He’s a guy in between jobs and I don’t want to embarrass him by pointing that out, so I simply say, “You didn’t need to do this for me.”
“I know. All the more reason I want to.” He shifts toward me. “Aly, I want to take care of you—”
“Alek…”
“Just hear me out.” I nod, and he continues with, “I know you’re strong and independent—”
“Like an ant, I know,” I say, wanting to lift some of the tension in my body.
He chuckles and touches my hair, running it through his fingers. I lean into him, my breath catching at the tender way he’s looking at me. “You’re always taking care of everyone else, and tonight, I just want to take care of you. Say you’ll let me.”
“I’ll let you,” I say softly, my heart lodged somewhere in my throat, and he reaches over and unsnaps my seat belt, excitement in his eyes as his mood shifts.
“Come on, let’s go.” He pops the trunk as I open my door. I turn in time to see the big smile on the valet’s face when he glances at Alek, like he knows him or something. Alek quickly hands the keys over, adjusts h
is cap a bit more, and pulls his bag from the trunk. He captures my hand and whisks me inside.
“Did you know that guy?”
“No,” he says and inside the lobby, he glances around. We take the elevator to the registration lobby, and he guides me to a line of sofas. “I’ll be right back. Wait here, okay?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say and take in the huge lobby and all the people milling about. “I could get lost in this lobby.”
Taking me by surprise, he leans down and plants a warm kiss onto my mouth. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you get lost, Aly.”
Oh, God, it might be too late for that because I fear I already am lost—in him. I sit tight as he registers us, and less than ten minutes later, he’s opening a door to the most gorgeous room, with the most amazing view over New York, that I have ever seen.
If I click my heels three time would I find myself back in small town Vermont. I’m not sure, and I’m certainly not going to chance it!
I walk closer to the window and wobble a little. “We are so high up.” I turn to find him grinning at me. “I can’t believe you arranged all this, and I didn’t even know.”
“I had a little help from a friend.”
“Oh.”
He tosses his bag onto the bed and unzips it. He pulls out a beautiful black dress, and holds it up.
My heart jumps and I point to it. “What’s that?”