Page 101 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“What a dick,” William said, taking back his seat at the table and lifting his cup of coffee to his lips.
“They’re both under a lot of pressure.” I tried to remain neutral because I knew how much Joel adored Lily. They were obsessed with each other, and I knew how excited Joel was about marrying her. Maybe he wasn’t as thrilled about the planning part. But we’re all wired differently. Not everyone knows how to show their support, even when they care. But he was covering 100% of the wedding cost and continuously agreed to every detail Lily requested because he wanted to please her.
Joel had always been the more reserved of the brothers when it came to expressing his feelings in general. And no one knew him better than Lily. I was sure they would work things out after she had the chance to vent about her feelings with him.
William and I returned to our breakfast, and once we were finished, I took our plates to the sink. When I walked back to the table there was a medium-sized green box with a silver ribbon made into a beautiful bow.
“This for me?”
He nodded. “Your delayed Christmas present is finally here.”
My heart was jumping with excitement inside my chest. I’d given William his present on the 25th, but he asked me to give him a few days to finish sorting “something” out. I’d been dying to find out what it was, and now it was finally time to open it.
I pulled on the ribbon to undo the bow and lifted the lid. At the top, an envelope read, “9A,” and beneath it were two other items. One was wrapped in red tissue paper, and the other was a black nondescript box.
“Open it.” He flashed me a naughty smile.
It was a white bikini. Atiny, stringy, white bikini with a Brazilian-style cut that would surely put 90% of my ass on display. I’d never owned something like this.
I loved it!
“I know I said I’d get you a red one when the hot tub was ready to use, but when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist.”
“Thank you!” I stood and sat on his lap to kiss his face silly while I looped my arms around his neck. “Can’t wait to wear it.”
“How about we spend all day tomorrow in the hot tub?” He pulled me closer by the waist. I nodded and pressed my forehead against his. “Now open the rest of your gifts.”
I went for the other item inside the box, leaving the envelope for last. When I unwrapped it, I gasped. “William!” It was a Leica M9 camera. But not just any M9, it was the Titanium Edition. “This costs more than twenty thousand dollars!” After my father told me he’d stop financing my studies, I lost all hope of being able to afford a new camera. I’d been saving up to buy the regular Leica M9, which went for a 1/5th of the price, and I had stupidly shared that piece of information with William. But, of course, he went out of his way to get the Titanium Edition, which had only been in the market for a month.
“The company only manufactured five hundred of these,” he said proudly. “Since it’s a collectible, it’ll be worth even more in a few years.”
“How on Earth did you get your hands on one?” I asked as I scrutinized the parts, unwilling to set it up. A part of me was still processing the fact that this camera was mine.
“With my Black Amex card?” He laughed, and I elbowed him playfully in the stomach. “It was all Alice. I was in Vancouver and freaking out about wanting to get it for you, but she made it happen.”
Ugh, as if I needed any more reasons to love Alice.
“I’m speechless.” I hugged him tightly and pressed my face in the crook of his neck. “Thank you somuch. I absolutely love it.”
“Of course. I’m glad you love it.” He stared into my eyes with his signature hypnotizing look, the kind that sucked me in and made time stop. “You still need to open the envelope.”
“Right.” I shook my head twice to snap out of my trance and took a deep breath. “I’m nervous about this.”
“Just open it.”
I tugged on the envelope’s flap and pulled out a handwritten letter.
Valid for a trip to the Australian Open in Melbourne
from January 16th - January 23rd. Yes … Liam is coming.
Tobias too.
Merry Christmas,älskling.
W.S.
My audible gasp made William laugh. “I’ve never been to Australia.” I was stunned with excitement, but my smile quickly melted off my face when my father came to mind. How was I going to pull this off? The semester started on January 21st, but I didn’t think it would be an issue if I missed the first two days of school.
