Page 104 of Ordinary Secrets

“Read the back of the picture.”

She does aloud. “Arella, you are my angel. You’re the purpose in life I’ve been searching for. I want to spend eternity with you by my side. We belong together. —Trey.”

The next moments of silence tear at me. The expression on her face is unreadable. Does she think it’s cheesy? Does she not feel the same way?Fuck.I should have written something better.

She tilts her head back and grabs my face, then we embrace in a long kiss. It relaxes the nerves simmering in my gut... kinda.

“This is so sweet, honey,” she says after she pulls away. “I love it. All of it. The surprise spa date with Javina. The delicious dinner. This candlelit Jacuzzi bath with rose petals. This beautiful necklace. Your wonderful note. Thank you so much.”

“Anything for you, baby. Now, turn the necklace over.”

“Let me put this down first.” She leaves the tub to set the picture on the bathroom counter, where it will stay dry. When she returns, she sits in the spot next to me and flips the necklace over to read the engraving.

“Paris? T.G.” Her face crinkles. “Paris? What about it?”

“I wanna take you there.”

Her face goes blank. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

She’s quiet. This would be a great time to be able to project some excitement into her or, at the very least, know how she’s feeling.

“Trey! That’s amazing!” Her giant smile relieves me. That was the easy part. Next is the hard part. As if on cue, she asks, “When do you want to go?”

“As soon as possible,” I say, then lower my voice. “Preferably... tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? I have to go back to work in three days.”

“You don’t have to work anymore. I’ll take care of you.”

She makes athat’s ridiculousface. “I can’t do that.”

I take the jewelry box from her and set it aside. Then I squeeze her hands in mine and look straight into her eyes.

“Arella, you are the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. You make me feel happy and full and... well, a bunch of other things I can’t put into words right now. You deserve way more than what I can give you, but I want to try, and it starts with taking you to Paris. You mentioned that you’ve always wanted to go there.”

“I do. Not tomorrow though. Maybe in a few weeks, after I can make sure I’ve got the time off. How long do you want to go for?”

I swallow thickly. My answer is going to freak her out. I say it anyway because I want to be as honest with her as I can. “Forever.”

“Forever? What do you mean,forever?”

I run my wet fingers through my hair, staring at the rose petals floating in the water. “Like, as in, we won’t be coming back.”

As expected, her face screws together. “What?”

“You said you’ve always wanted to go to Paris, right?” My tone is nonchalant, as if it’s normal to ask your girlfriend to run away to another country with you.

“Yes, to visit. Not to live. You haven’t even asked me to move in with you, and now you’re asking me to move to Paris? Haven’t you ever heard of baby steps?”

I’m not fond of how quickly she’s turning me down. “Can’t you at leastentertainthe idea?”

“Okay, sure. Where will we live?”

“I’ll buy us a nice place there. Any place you want.” I’ve already got options saved on my phone for her to look at. Everything from cute little apartments to fancy mansions.

“What about my grandparents?”

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