Page 57 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

“Well, it’s Christmas now, so I guess there’s no point keeping it from you. The reason I was stuck at the studio so long was because I was busy makin’ you your gift, so I kinda had to keep it a secret.”

I frowned. “My gift?”

“Your Christmas gift. Which is apparently broken now, so all those days without you ending up being for absolutely nothing. See what I mean when I say I have bad luck?”

“That’s what you were doing this whole time?”

“You said you never get handmade gifts,” he said, jumping off the truck and moving to the front of it. When he came back, he had that ruined box in his hands, gently placing it on my lap. “Thought I’d make you something you could keep forever. Merry Christmas, Holly. ”

With gentle fingers, I pulled the wrapping paper off, revealing a pink box and lid that were dented right in the middle. I moved just as carefully with the lid, revealing layers and layers of pink tissue paper that I softly parted, and then I had to hold in a cry at what I was seeing.

Right there in the middle of the mess sat a perfectly unbroken flower made of glass, the petals a gorgeous, vibrant purple and the long stem a pretty green.

It sat there in the center, amongst a sea of shattered pieces of purple and green glass.

Just like the ones he had picked for me on my birthday, the one he had placed in my hair while the others were crushed under the foot of his father.

And once again, a singular one had made it.

“This is for me?” I asked, gripping the box tighter.

It all looked so detailed. So intricate.

Five purple petals, some curved to the side that little bit like there was some invisible wind gently making them dance to the side.

The glass gleamed under the barely there winter sun. One still shining. One still unbroken .

“Yeah, it’s for you. Looks like only one survived,” he said. “At least that’s something.”

“You made this for me? From scratch?”

“Yeah, honey. I wish the others weren’t broken.

Sorry it took so long. I had never made anything with glass before, so it took a few tries, you know?

Just wanted it to be perfect. I made a bunch but I didn’t like the look of them, so I had to keep on making more until I got it right.

Until it was good enough to give it to you.

I didn’t want to give you something you didn’t love. ”

“You spent all that time on me?” I couldn’t fight back the wavering in my voice, my finger stroking at the glass stem, the texture all cool and smooth. Then my eyes found the fragments of glass that framed the one that withstood the angry hands of my father. A boquet shattered.

There was warmth spreading all over my body as I swallowed the lump in my throat, vision that tiny bit blurry as I did my best to keep my tears at bay.

Sparkling jewels and designer dresses didn’t mean a thing, not when someone gave you something that took patience and time.

Not when I could have sworn I felt the love Sawyer put into something he made just for me and only me.

“No one ever thinks of me the way you do…”

“I hope you like it.”

Carefully, I put the box down before turning to Sawyer, pouncing on him right then and there. His lips pressed to mine, his hands on my waist and mine in his hair, so eager to feel him close after last night’s disaster. After everything.

“You like it then?” he asked against my lips.

“I love it. And I love you.”

“I love you too. And I meant what I said: that now that I’m done with all of this, things will be different. No more late hours. No more me being stuck in the studio after work and weekends.”

“But what about your art? You can’t give that up.”

“And I won’t. I’ll still be down there, but it won’t be like before. I was only down there so long because I was working on your gift. I wanted to make sure I made you something special.”

“He broke it,” I whispered.

“It’s okay.” He brushed a hand against my hair. “At least there’s one, right? You can keep that one…”

“I will. I’ll keep it forever. It’s so beautiful. Thank you for making me something so special.”

“I’m gonna show you how much I’ve been missing you. Saying it all the time isn’t enough; I have to actually show you that I miss you. And from now on, I will. No more standing you up, no more missing you cheer. None of that.”

“I just want us to spend more time together,” I said softly.

“But… I haven’t exactly been… understanding of how things feel for you.

About you wanting to work and having your own money.

I know I’ve never had to deal with the problems you have.

I guess I’m kind of ignorant about what it feels like to struggle with money.

I kept pushing you to do things you didn’t wanna do.

Maybe I really am a dumb spoiled rich girl… ”

Chuckling, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’re not dumb. You’re my smart, sweet girl. I know your heart was in the right place.”

“But I messed up too. I kept pushing you about quitting, but I should have realized that working is important to you. You like your job. You told me a hundred times. I need to respect that.”

He nodded, pulling me to him before he gave the top of my head a kiss.

“I do like it and I don’t wanna quit, but maybe it’s a good idea if I’m down there less.

Maybe what you said before about me working part time would be better, and I guess it’d be okay since I don’t have to pay rent anymore.

I still can’t believe you bought the apartment.

You gotta stay away from your damn credit card when you’re drunk. ”

“It’s ours now.” I smiled. “I like that it’s ours.”

“Ours does sound nice…” His eyes stayed fused to mine, all green and deep and beautiful. “How ‘bout we get outta here? Where do you wanna go? I’ll take you wherever you want.”

Tongue clicking, I thought about it for a second. “Can we go to that motel we stayed at for my birthday?”

His brows raised. “You could go anywhere you want, and you wanna go to a crummy motel?”

“I like crummy motels. I like everywhere as long as you’re there.”

“Yeah, I really like everywhere with you too. If that’s where you wanna go, I’ll take you there right now.

I told you things were gonna be different, and I guess a cheap motel is how it starts.

If that’s what you want, then that’s what I’ll give you.

” He pecked my lips before hopping off the car, his hand digging into his pants pocket and pulling out a box of cigarettes.

“I really fuckin’ need one of these after last night. ”

“I think you’ve definitely earned one after what happened,” I said, watching as he stuck a cigarette between his teeth. “I can’t believe you were in prison on Christmas.”

He chuckled, cupping the cigarette with one hand while he lit it with the other. “ Jail , princess. Not prison. And it was only for a night.”

“Just one night in jail sounds like a nightmare.”

“It could have been worse. Guess I’m used to it. It wasn’t my first rodeo.”

“Well, don’t tell my dad,” I said, legs swinging back and forth as I took in Sawyer’s messy hair and disheveled suit, “but I think it’s kind of hot that you’ve been arrested so many times. ”

“You got a thing for bad guys, huh?”

“There’s one I find particularly fascinating.”

Crooked little grin on his face and cigarette hanging loosely from his lips, his eyes met mine. “Next time, I’ll rob a bank for you.”