Falling Into Love with You (The Hate-Love Duet Book 2) Rowe, Lauren (read aloud TXT) š
Book online Ā«Falling Into Love with You (The Hate-Love Duet Book 2) Rowe, Lauren (read aloud TXT) šĀ». Author Rowe, Lauren
She makes an adorable sound of pure joy. āIām gonna hold you to that.ā
āAnd rightly so.ā
We kiss again. But, suddenly, Laila says, āOh! Thereās one more gift you need to open.ā
āNo. Stop. No more.ā
āThis one is a small token. It cost me approximately twenty dollars.ā
She grabs the book-sized wrapped gift from the corner of the bed, and hands it to me. āI had this made for you when we were in Chicago. But I decided to wait a little bit to give it to you.ā
My heart thumping, I open the wrapping paper to find the inside of an old birthday card, given to me by Mimi on the first birthday I spent with her. My thirteenth. Lailaās gotten the card framed behind glass like itās an exquisite work of art. Which it is, to me.
The handwritten note on the card from Mimi reads:
My dearest Adrian,
Happy 13th birthday, my love. I thank God everyday he brought you to me, so you could light up my life like a shooting star. Whenever you get frustrated or angry, if youāre feeling like the world is against you, take a deep breath and remember youāre never going to be alone again. Youāve got me now. And Iām not going anywhere. Even when Iām gone from this earth, my love for you will remain. Youāre the light of my life, Adrian. I love you, forever and always.
Love,
Mimi
Thirty-One
Laila
One month later
Itās around nine in the morning on my twenty-fifth birthday. Iām sitting at the baby grand in the corner of the living room while Savage sleeps upstairs. For the past hour or so, Iāve been working on a song for my third album that came to me in a dream.
Ever since I got back from Mexico a month ago, and Savage and I shared that incredible, magical night, during which we must have said āI love youā to each other a thousand times, Iāve been flooded with musical inspiration. All of it, about love. Or if not that, directly, happiness and joy. And itās no surprise, considering how great everything has been going in my life. Not only with Savage, but with the show, too. When it started airing, the ratings hit record numbers and never dipped. Which, thankfully, has insulated Savage and me from any more meddling from Nadine. In fact, sheās left Savage and me alone to be happy and authentic on-camera, exactly the way she said sheād do when she called me in Chicago. And now, I canāt write one of my usual āfuck you!ā kind of songs to save my life.
āHappy birthday,ā Savage says, entering the living room, and I quickly stop playing the song I was working onāthe passionate love song about Savage that came to me in my sleep.
When Savage reaches me, he kisses me in greeting and then makes me scootch over on the piano bench so he can join me. āThe big two-five,ā he says, settling himself next to me. āI should have gotten you a walker for your birthday.ā
āYou didnāt? Darn.ā
Savage tickles the ivories playfully. āNope. Unfortunately, all I got you was a baby grand, just like this one, thatāll be delivered to your place when weāre booted out of here in a few weeks.ā
I gasp. āNo.ā
Savage grins. āHappy birthday, baby.ā
Squealing, I hug him and thank him profusely, and we talk about my exciting gift for several minutes. āSo, hey,ā I say, āspeaking of us being booted out of here in a few weeks.ā I take a deep breath. Iāve been wanting to broach this topic with Savage for a few weeks now. Heās told me in the past he hates feeling ātied downā or ālocked in,ā but weāve been so happy together, I canāt stand the thought of not waking up to his face every morning after we leave here. Savage couldnāt possibly want to live apart when our contractual relationship is over, could he? I walk my fingers up the piano keys, mustering my courage. āWhen we leave this house, where are you planning to live?ā
When heās silent, I gather the courage to peek at Savageās face and find him red and flustered.
āA hotel?ā I ask, returning to the piano keys.
āUh . . . yeah. A hotel.ā
āI figured. Iāve been thinking, though . . . maybe it would be fun if you came to live with me at my condo.ā Savage says nothing, so I peek at him again. This time, he looks like his mind is racing. Like heās been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. āUh oh, did I scare you away?ā Iāve tried to make my tone sound light and bright. Like this is no biggie. Ha, ha. Just a wild idea. But, truthfully, I feel disappointed he hasnāt replied with a quick and simple yes. But oh well, at least he hasnāt given me an immediate no. So, thatās something.
Savageās features soften when he sees whatever look of anxiety has crept onto my face. āOf course, you didnāt scare me away, Fitzy,ā he says. āNothing you could say or do could possibly scare me away. I just donāt want to be a mooch, thatās all.ā
I sigh with relief. āDonāt think of it like that, babe. I have a place and you donāt. This makes sense. One plus one equals two.ā
Savage bites his lower lip. āYou know what? Youāre right. Of course, we should live together after the show, since I donāt have a place of my own.ā
āExactly.ā
āIt makes perfect sense.ā
āI couldnāt agree more.ā
Savage snickers.
āWhat?ā
āNothing. Iām just excited. Thanks for asking me to live with you.ā
āThanks for saying yes.ā I shudder with excitement. āThis is going to be so fun!ā
Savage smiles
Comments (0)