Page 107 of Rich Girl
I turn to stare at him, unable to figure out why he brought me here.
“I love it,” I admit. “I hope we can live in a house like this one day.”
I give him a shaky smile, praying that he’s not taking it the wrong way. I don’t mind continuing to live in Evie’s grandmother’s old house, despite the newly arisen problem with the neighbor.
Nowadays, I have a better understanding of what it means to be humble and not flaunt your wealth. But I’m not going to lie to him either. And he is the one asking, I’ve never brought it up since I moved here.
“That’s a relief to hear, babe,” he grins at me. “Because this is my gift to you.”
I suddenly feel lightheaded. I pull my hand out of his and press it to my mouth while my other one is pressed to my stomach.
“We’re going to live here?”
“As soon as you furnish the place,” he winks at me. “I’d prefer we set up a budget for it, but…”
“Yes!”
I jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. My lips fall onto his, and we kiss until we’re both out of breath.
“I love you so much, Ray,” I tell him once our lips part. “I hope you know that I am happy with how things are right now, too. I… I just want to be with you.”
“That’s good.”
He picks me up and spins me around. By the time he stops, I am dizzy but so very happy.
He pushes my hair behind my ears, tracing my cheekbones with his fingertips before touching my lips. His touch is tender, like I am made of spun glass and he doesn’t want to break me. It is the total opposite of how he treats me when we have sex, and I absolutely love the contrast.
“Can you see yourself living here forever?”
My eyes widen in surprise that he would question my commitment.
“Ray, I would live next to Gertrude forever if it meant being with you. But this is so much better.”
We both chuckle at that.
Suddenly, I realize that he looks nervous and not like his normal self. Something is bothering him.
“I, uh, hope that you were planning on living here with me, Ray.” My voice sounds shaky when I speak. “This is farther from town than Evie’s house. I don’t want to be out here by myself.”
It is hard enough that he’s not fully committing to living there with me. If he bought me this big house just to leave me alone in it, I will be devastated.
Ray continues staring at me until I am fighting back tears. This is not how I thought tonight would turn out.
“If that’s the plan,” I choke out, “this is the worst anniversary celebration ever.”
He steps away from me and sticks his hand in the pocket of his pressed pants. Panic swirls inside of me, and I might black out. I close my eyes in an effort to regroup. When I open them back up, he is not there anymore.
I gasp in shock when I realize that I can only see the top of his head. Because Ray Parker is down on one knee in front of me.
Oh. My. God.
“What’s happening?”
There is no way to hold the tears back anymore.
Ray lifts his eyes to look at my face. “I showed up with a ring.”
It takes me a second to realize he is repeating what Gertrude said earlier. She told him the flowers were a mistake. That he should’ve showed up with a ring. He did…
