Page 57 of Trophy
“I’m not just pressuring you into it?”
She did feel slightly pressured, but it wasn’t because Rob was being mean or selfish—the way Arthur so often had been. Rob was right. If they were in this relationship, then she should be in it for real.
She never wanted him to think she was just playing around with him.
“No. I think I’m ready.” She smiled at him, although her hands were shaking a little.
He reached out to take her hands in both of his, and he held them in a warm, strong grip. “It’s going to be okay, Allison. You don’t have anything to be afraid of with me.”
She could tell he meant it. She believed him. It was impossible not to believe that he genuinely cared for her, wanted to take care of her.
She was safe with him. And it didn’t matter that she still felt a flicker of anxiety that she was caving in to the wishes of another man because she was afraid of standing on her own.
20
The followingSaturday Allison woke up at about eight o’clock in her own bed.
Rob had come over the evening before. They’d had dinner and some quiet sex, since both of them were tired, and then they’d fallen asleep together fairly early. But Rob must have woken up before her and gotten up, since he was no longer in her bed.
She thought over the last week between them, ever since they’d decided to go public with their relationship last Saturday, and she decided that things were going fine.
They’d had a good week. Both of them seemed happy. On Sunday they’d gone to a movie at the closest theater—thirty minutes away—and there hadn’t been anything unnerving about it. She’d started the online class she was taking at the community college, and Rob had been very supportive, which was quite sweet.
Today was her twenty-seventh birthday. She felt a little bad about not telling him.
It hadn’t actually crossed her mind very much. Arthur used to do huge, extravagant gifts for her birthday—usually jewelry—and the memory still left a slightly bitter taste in her mouth, since his gifts had always come with strings and expectations of appropriately expressed gratitude. But now that it was actually the day, she realized that Rob would feel bad if he found out he’d missed her birthday.
She didn’t want him to feel bad. About anything.
She was just getting up to grab her phone to send him a quick text—telling him what day it was and saying she was going to fix her own birthday dinner but he was invited, so he wouldn’t feel any pressure to do something at the last minute—when the sound of a text chirped out in the quiet house.
Snatching her phone up, she saw the text was from Rob.Come outside.
She frowned in confusion and glanced at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, and she just wore a tank top and a pair of cotton pajama bottoms. But she was presentable enough for stepping outside, so she ran to the door.
Rob had backed his truck into her driveway. The truck bed was filled with a huge pile of pretty red mulch.
Her mouth fell open, and she stared speechlessly as he got out of his truck with an adorable grin.
“Happy birthday,” he said. “This is your present.”
“You got me mulch?” she choked, so overwhelmed she could barely get the words out.
His grin faltered just a little. “I know it’s not very romantic, but I thought?—”
Before he could finish talking, she’d stumbled down the front steps and run headlong into his arms. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, bracing himself against the impact.
“Thank you,” she mumbled against his T-shirt.
“You’re welcome. This is really good stuff. It will last a long time, and it won’t attract bugs. I thought we could do your beds tomorrow, if you want.”
“That’s perfect!” She finally pulled away and looked up at his face. “But how did you know it was my birthday?”
“I thought about it a few weeks ago and checked your driver’s license.” He cleared his throat. “I actually thought you would have told me yourself.”
“I should have, but I just hadn’t thought about it very much and I didn’t want you to feel any pressure to do something big.” She gazed at the load of mulch and was so happy about it that she clapped her hands.
“It’s just mulch. I bet no one ever gave you mulch as a present before.” He looked pleased with her reaction but also a little sheepish.
